10 Things I Hate About You
10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger in his film directorial debut and starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Larry Miller, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Susan May Pratt, and Gabrielle Union. The screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith is a modernization of William Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew, retold in a late-1990s American high school setting. The film follows new student Cameron James who is smitten with Bianca Stratford and attempts to get bad boy Patrick Verona to date her asocial sister Kat in order to get around her father's strict rules on dating.
Named after a poem written by Kat about her relationship with Patrick, the film was shot in the Seattle metropolitan area, with many scenes filmed at Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington. Released on March 31, 1999, 10 Things I Hate About You grossed $53.5 million and received generally positive reviews from critics. It provided breakthrough roles for Stiles, Ledger, and Gordon-Levitt, all of whom were nominated for various teen-oriented awards. Ten years later, it was adapted into a television reboot, which ran for twenty episodes and featured Larry Miller reprising his role as Walter Stratford. Since its release, the film has gained popularity as a cult classic, often being cited as one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time.
Plot
Cameron James, a new student at Padua High School in the Seattle area, immediately becomes smitten with beautiful and popular sophomore Bianca Stratford. Geeky Michael Eckman warns him that she is vapid and conceited, and that her overprotective single father Walter, an obstetrician worried about teenage pregnancy, won't allow her or her shrewish older sister Kat, a senior, to date until they graduate. Frustrated by Bianca's insistence and Kat's rebelliousness, Walter declares that Bianca may date only when Kat does, knowing that Kat's unsocial attitude will make that difficult.When Cameron asks Bianca out, she informs him of her father's new rule and suggests he find someone willing to date Kat; unbeknownst to Cameron, Bianca wants to date affluent senior Joey Donner. Cameron selects Australian "bad boy" Patrick Verona. Michael convinces Joey to pay Patrick to ask out Kat. Patrick agrees, but Kat rebuffs his first few advances. After Michael and Cameron probe Bianca for information on Kat's preferences, Patrick begins to win Kat's interest. She goes to a party with him, enabling Bianca and her best friend Chastity Church to tag along.
At the party, Kat becomes upset upon seeing Bianca with Joey, and responds by getting drunk. Patrick attends to her, and she starts to open up to him, expressing her interest in forming a band. When Kat attempts to kiss him, Patrick pulls away, causing her to depart, infuriated and embarrassed. Meanwhile, Bianca upsets Cameron by ignoring him for Joey, but she realizes that Joey is shallow and self-absorbed. When she asks Cameron to drive her home, he calls her selfish for the way she treated him and says his feelings for her are true; she kisses him in response.
Joey pays Patrick more money to take Kat to the prom so he can take Bianca. Although Kat is still angry with Patrick, he wins her over by serenading her with a performance of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli, and she returns the favor by helping him sneak out of detention. Their subsequent date turns romantic and they kiss, but Kat becomes suspicious when Patrick insists she accompany him to the prom, which she adamantly opposes.
Irritated that Cameron hasn't asked her to the prom yet, Bianca accepts Joey's invitation, but Walter declines to allow it unless Kat accompanies her. Kat confesses to Bianca that she dated Joey when they were freshmen and, succumbing to peer pressure, had sex with him and regretted it. After Joey dumped her in response, she vowed against doing things out of peer pressure, and stays unsocial to protect Bianca. Bianca insists that she should be able to have her own experiences, so Kat goes to the prom with Patrick. This lets Bianca go as well, and she attends the prom with Cameron instead of Joey. At the prom, Bianca learns from Chastity that Joey was planning to have sex with Bianca that night. Angry that Bianca spurned him for Cameron, Joey confronts Patrick, revealing that he'd paid Patrick to date Kat and leaving her heartbroken. Joey punches Cameron, but Bianca punches and beats him for hurting her, Kat, and Cameron.
The following day, Bianca reconciles with Kat, and is now officially dating Cameron. For an assignment in which the students were tasked to write their own versions of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 141, Kat reads aloud her version, entitled "10 Things I Hate About You", revealing that she still cares for Patrick. He surprises her with a Fender Stratocaster that he bought with the money Joey paid him, and confesses that he has fallen for her. Kat forgives him, and they reconcile with a kiss.
Cast
- Julia Stiles as Katarina "Kat" Stratford, the antisocial and shrewish older Stratford sister
- Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, the Australian "bad boy" hired to date Kat
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron James, the new student at Padua High School who is smitten with Bianca and goes to great lengths to win her over
- Larisa Oleynik as Bianca Stratford, the superficial and popular younger Stratford sister
- Larry Miller as Walter Stratford, an obstetrician and single parent who is overprotective of his daughters
- Andrew Keegan as Joey Donner, an affluent and self-absorbed high school senior and aspiring model who intends to have sex with Bianca, and to that end pays Patrick to date Kat
- David Krumholtz as Michael Eckman, a geek who assists Cameron in his quest to woo Bianca, and in the process tries to woo Kat's friend Mandella
- Susan May Pratt as Mandella, Kat's only close friend and an aficionado of William Shakespeare who falls for Michael
- Daryl "Chill" Mitchell as Mr. Morgan, teacher of Kat, Patrick, and Joey's English class
- Allison Janney as Ms. Perky, Padua High School's guidance counselor and a writer of erotic literature
- David Leisure as Mr. Chapin, coach of the girls' soccer team
- Gabrielle Union as Chastity Church, Bianca's best friend who later becomes her enemy
- Greg Jackson as "Scurvy", a friend of Patrick
- Kyle Cease as Bogey Lowenstein, a golf enthusiast and member of a clique of aspiring MBAs
- The band Letters to Cleo appears as the band performing at Club Skunk, playing their songs "Come On" and "Co-Pilot", and a cover of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" on the school's rooftop during the closing credits. Hanley and Eisenstein also appear in the prom scene, performing a cover of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind" with Save Ferris.
- The band Save Ferris appears as the band performing at the prom, playing their songs "I Know" and "Can't Stop" as well as covers of The Isley Brothers' "Shout" and Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind".
Production
Background
Writing duo Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith were inspired to write 10 Things I Hate About You after watching Clueless. Being a fan of teen films, the pair set out to find a classic play or myth to turn it into a contemporary high-school movie, eventually settling on The Taming of the Shrew, a comedy by William Shakespeare. They wanted to write a strong-willed, feminist character. Patrick Verona was inspired by Judd Nelson's character in The Breakfast Club. The script was finalized in November 1997. The screenplay was eventually picked up by The Walt Disney Company, with Gil Junger attached to direct.Casting
Junger was keen to find unknown actors for the movie. Josh Hartnett and Ashton Kutcher were in the running to play Patrick Verona. Eliza Dushku auditioned for the role of Kat Stratford. Katie Holmes was also considered for the role. Kate Hudson was offered the part but her mother, Goldie Hawn, did not like the script, so she passed on the role. Casting director Marcia Ross contacted Junger and recommended Julia Stiles for the role.Junger met her that evening and was "immediately taken"; after the 10 minute meeting, he gave her the role. Joseph Gordon-Levitt auditioned for the roles of Cameron and Michael, despite initial reluctance to act in a "high school film". The role of Michael eventually went to David Krumholtz and Gordon-Levitt was then offered the role of Cameron. Casting for Patrick Verona was a long process, with Andrew Lazar reporting he had seen over 1,000 boys for the role. Three and a half weeks before filming was due to start, Ross brought Heath Ledger into a casting session, and Junger was immediately inspired by him.
Filming
Filming took place in 1998, between June 8 and August 6. Many of the scenes were filmed on location at Stadium High School and at a house in the North End of Tacoma, Washington. The prom sequence was shot over three days in Seattle. Ledger's singing scene in the high-school bleachers, regarded as one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, had just three takes. The song for the scene changed numerous times, almost being "I Touch Myself" by Australian rock band Divinyls, before "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli was settled on.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's and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's vintage tuxedos came from Isadora's in Seattle.