10 Things I Hate About You

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10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You poster
Directed by Gil Junger
Produced by Andrew Lazar
Written by Karen McCullah Lutz
Kirsten Smith
Starring Heath Ledger
Julia Stiles
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Larisa Oleynik
David Krumholtz
Andrew Keegan
Larry Miller
Music by Richard Gibbs
Cinematography Mark Irwin
Editing by O. Nicholas Brown
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the United States March 31, 1999
Flag of Australia June 24, 1999
Flag of the United Kingdom July 9, 1999
Running time 97 mins.
Country USA
Language English, French
Budget US$16,000,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American romantic comedy film. It is directed by Gil Junger and stars Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz and Larry Miller. A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew set in a modern American high school, the screenplay was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. The movie's title is a twist on The Taming of the Shrew (see below) but is also a reference to a poem written by the film's female lead to describe her bittersweet romance with the male lead. The film was released March 31, 1999 and was a breakout success for stars Stiles and Ledger.[1][2][3]

Contents

[edit] Tagline

The tagline is an allusion to a poem written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning called Sonnets from the Portuguese

  • How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.

[edit] Plot

A new boy in school, Cameron, likes the ever sought-after Bianca. However, she can't date anyone until her sister, Kat, does. Cameron gets the popular model Joey to pay outsider Patrick Verona to take out the ill-tempered Kat, so that he can take Bianca out. Joey thinks Bianca is going to go out with him though, and it all culminates at the prom.

[edit] Cast

Kay Hanley, lead singer of Letters to Cleo, has a cameo appearance.

Gordon-Levitt, Oleynik, and Miller have all appeared in 3rd Rock from the Sun prior to the movie.

[edit] Production

  • Exterior shots were filmed in Gig Harbor, Tacoma and Seattle, Washington. The high school's exterior was shot at Tacoma's Stadium High School.
  • Bianca and Kat's home in the film is in Tacoma's exclusive North End neighborhood, the same neighborhood where the home from The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is located.
  • A brief scene takes place at the Fremont Troll in Seattle, Washington.
  • Katarina and Patrick's date takes place at Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington.
  • The biker bar that Patrick is shown going into is the Buckaroo Tavern in Fremont, Seattle. The exterior shot was taken at Alki Beach.[4]
  • The Padua High School Prom was filmed at Seattle's Century Ballroom as well as at the restored Paramount Theatre. The prom sequence was shot over three 90+°F days in Seattle.[5]
  • Costume designer Kim Tillman designed original dresses for Larisa Oleynik and Julia Stiles as well as the period outfits for Susan May Pratt and David Krumholtz. Gabrielle Union's snakeskin prom dress is a Betsey Johnson design. Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's vintage tuxes came from Isadora's in Seattle.[5]

[edit] Shakespearean references

The two sisters in The Taming of the Shrew are called Katharine and Bianca, while the two sisters in 10 Things are named Katarina, known as Kat, and Bianca. Kat and Bianca's last name is Stratford, making reference to Stratford-upon-Avon, the English town known worldwide as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Katharina's suitor in Shakespeare's play is Petruchio of Verona, who becomes Patrick Verona in 10 Things. In the movie, the high school is named Padua, the city in which Shakespeare's play is set.

Comparison of the two works will also reveal similar plot ideas. For instance, Shakespeare's Lucentio wishes to wed Bianca, but cannot until her sister is married. Knowing that Bianca cannot enter into any relationships, he poses as a tutor named Cambio in order to become closer to Bianca — much as in 10 Things where the similarly named Cameron takes up French to tutor Bianca. While still posing as Bianca's tutor, Lucentio confers with a somewhat wild character, Petruchio. Like Patrick, he is an out-of-towner and little is known about him. Petruchio agrees to marry Katharina simply for the dowry that comes along with her, allowing Lucentio to pursue Bianca — just as Patrick agreed to date Kat for the money offered to him by Joey.

The characters of 10 Things are unusually verbose, regardless of the cliques to which they belong, which is much in keeping with the style of Shakespeare. At several points the characters also either directly quote Shakespeare or allude to his style of writing in their own speech, typically for comedic value. For example, upon seeing Bianca for the first time, Cameron declares "I burn, I pine, I perish!" Also, when Michael pulls out on his motorbike in front of Kat and she admonishes him, he calls her "the shrew."

An additional tie-in to the work of Shakespeare is the fetish that the character Mandella (Susan May Pratt) has for things Shakespearean, including costumes, plays and poetry. In an apparent third (although not quite as developed as the two lead couples in the final film) coupling, Michael falls for Mandella while learning about Kat. The attraction begins when he starts to quote Macbeth to her and she finishes the line. Mandella is told later in the film that William Shakespeare will be her date to the prom. Fulfilling the promise, Michael appears dressed as William Shakespeare. The title of the song "Cruel to Be Kind" performed for the film by Letters to Cleo is taken from a line from Hamlet.

The Shakespeare references continue when Kat is assigned to write her own version of Shakespeare's Sonnet 141. Her poem becomes "10 Things I Hate About You."

Joey Donner is Hortensio, Michael Eckman is Tranio and Walter Stratford is Baptista.

[edit] Soundtrack

10 Things I Hate About You
10 Things I Hate About You cover
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released April 6, 1999
Genre Pop
Label Hollywood Records

The 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack was released on April 6, 1999.

  1. Letters to Cleo - "I Want You to Want Me"
  2. Semisonic - "FNT"
  3. Sister Hazel - "Your Winter"
  4. Jessica Riddle - "Even Angels Fall"
  5. Save Ferris - "I Know"
  6. Leroy - "New World"
  7. Ta-Gana - "Saturday Night"
  8. Joan Armatrading - "The Weakness in Me"
  9. George Clinton - "Atomic Dog"
  10. Brick - "Dazz"
  11. The Cardigans - "War"
  12. Madness - "Wings of a Dove"
  13. Letters to Cleo - "Cruel to Be Kind"
  14. Richard Gibbs - "One More Thing"

[edit] Songs not on soundtrack

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aames, Ethan. "Julia Stiles on "The Omen"". Cinema Confidential News. June 5, 2006. Retrieved on October 28, 2006.
  2. ^ Eisenbach, Helen. "10 Thing We Love About Julia Stiles". Manhattan File Magazine. January 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2006.
  3. ^ Maher, Kevin. "Heath Ledger- The Accidental Hero". Times Sunday Magazine. October 14, 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2006.
  4. ^ IMDB
  5. ^ a b Write-up on CinemaReview.com Accessed on 2008-05-24.

[edit] External links

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