Christina Applegate as Sue Ellen "Swell" Crandell, Danielle Harris as Melissa Crandell, Christopher Pettiet as Zach Crandell, and Robert Gorman as Walter Crandell. Instead, it found a much more receptive audience through VHS rentals and seemingly endless HBO airings. Also available in black. Easily move forward or backward to get to the perfect spot. Arrested Development (2003) - S04E01 Flight of the Phoenix, Arrested Development (2003) - S01E01 Pilot, The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985) S01E02 Daisy's Song. God rest his soul.”. I remember when we wrapped, I gave Christopher a surfing book as a present and wrote something sappy inside, like, ‘You'll call me when I'm 18’ or something ridiculous like that.”, Though it wasn’t on her 18th birthday, Pettiet and Harris did reconnect, sadly just before he died from an accidental drug overdose in 2000. “We're all watching over her, clicking over her like mother hens, 'Are you OK, honey? “She nailed every single set-up and made it all work. “The whole point was we had no idea what the company did, but more importantly, Sue Ellen had no idea what the company did,” said Landau. It’s impossible to ever know for certain what transforms a movie into a cult classic. Scream and Clue Tee Preorder Open Until 6PM EST, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead I'm Right On Top Of That Rose Sweatshirt. Whether Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead eventually clicked because of its snappy one-liners, indelible performances, inescapable cable airings, or a combination of all of those elements, Landau's frustrations over rewrites, re-titles, and reviews have long been eclipsed by a sense of pride. “They wanted there to be higher jeopardy at the office.”. “I was shooting a movie in Turks and Caicos about 10 years ago and this little girl comes running over to me and says, ‘Oh my god! It’s particularly a feat for those who helped bring the movie to the screen, especially since there was a time when it looked like Don’t Tell Mom might not get made at all. You wrote that?!? You. ], For Duchovny, the film was memorable for two reasons: “It was maybe the first or second job I got here when I moved out to Los Angeles,” he told BuzzFeed News. “It was hugely popular and we felt vindicated a little bit.”. Perhaps this post should have been a thinkpiece: “How Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead Predicted MeToo Over 25 Years Ago.” She, again in a PG-13 way, gets to shoot Gus in the dick. And I've been there too and it's very uncomfortable.”. But she was brilliant, brilliant in it.”, Although Applegate was nervous, considering Don’t Tell Mom was also the biggest-budget production she’d ever been involved with, she didn’t want to show it. !’ This crowd formed around me who were just in awe of the fact I wrote that movie, which was, honestly, pretty hilarious. - I'm right on top of that. First it was a vitamin company, then it was a book company — drafts after drafts of different companies.” Eventually the nondescript workplace became General Apparel West, a company that manufactured sports uniforms (which play a major role in the film’s iconic denouement). For some, the film’s enduring appeal is that it’s naively aspirational. Before it was put away though, The Real World had already been through some of the rewriting process and Landau and Ison weren’t exactly thrilled with the results. “It was something my boss had said when clients are in the office.”, But it’s since become something much larger. The studio hired several marketing companies and after several focus groups, they landed on: Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. Five siblings are left alone all summer when their mom leaves town and the evil babysitter … From Rocky Horror Picture Show to Clue, there’s no commonality between all the films to earn this distinction. -That ain't all. Find the exact moment in a TV show, movie, or music video you want to share. Don’t Tell Mom flopped at the box office, opening in sixth place and garnering some truly scathing reviews: Gene Siskel voted it one of the year’s worst movies, Entertainment Weekly gave it a D+, and the Washington Post’s Hal Hinson wrote that it was “the kind of movie that makes you wish you could sneak into the projection booth with a pair of pinking shears. How "Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” Went From D.O.A. But we were also told that with Stephen Herek attached to direct and Christina Applegate starring, we would have a green light. Each and every person is such an integral part of what you're doing. But when she wound up leaving the project for undisclosed reasons, the script sat on a shelf for a while. “It's not that I'm trying to act professional, it's that I really do believe that you don't show up late to things. Because I feel that what's very important is you have to love these characters; as wicked as they are, there's gotta be something that makes them lovable.”. Although only a moderate success theatrically, the film later achieved a cult following on VHS and cable television. Plush TGT Sweatshirt: Super soft pullover crew neck sweatshirt. Harris, Applegate, Gorman, Coogan, and Pettiet as the Crandell kids. Sue Ellen, the QED reports! “Betsey Johnson tweeted, ‘Right on top of that, Rose,’ and [tagged] me in it,” Applegate added. It's like somebody put a magic spell on America and they were somehow forced to love this movie.”. The dark, twisted script became the subject of a bidding war, with multiple studios looking to produce the story of a young girl thriving in corporate America. But in terms of cementing its popularity in a practical sense, everyone involved with Don’t Tell Mom agrees that it comes down to that early partnership with HBO. California residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. Don't complain and don't be late. I could visualize it, I could see this boss,” Cassidy, who now stars on Bravo’s Odd Mom Out, told BuzzFeed News. Get all the best moments in pop culture & entertainment delivered to your inbox. Next on Bialy’s to-do list was the role of Kenny, Sue Ellen’s younger brother who transforms from pot-smoking slacker to responsible burgeoning chef over the course of the film. With the cast locked in, production began in and around Los Angeles during the summer of 1990 and it soon became clear to everyone on set just how much of a star Applegate was going to be. “We cast Jennifer Love Hewitt and [Kids Incorporated] wouldn't let her out to do the movie, so I quickly brought people in,” Bialy said. Sarah Buxton as Tess, Applegate as Swell, Deborah Tucker as Nicole. “In our highfalutin perception of the script, we wanted to do something more like Working Girl and have it be a smart teen comedy. “I worked in a lot of offices and was around a lot of corporate culture and if anybody ever asked you something, no matter what, you always said, ‘I'm right on top of that,’” he explained. “We had very high expectations because the test screenings all went well,” Landau said. “Thirteen-year-old boys came up with that title,” the actor said, dismissively. Maiya is 5'6" and wearing a size small. Nearly 25 years after its unceremonious release, the stars and … Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! “I was at a Christmas party and a big, big producer was introducing me to someone as the guy who wrote Don't Tell Mom. For me, it's about always being kind and loving. “We liked him personally, but were worried the movie would get dumbed down or too silly,” he said of his and Ison’s concerns of the director, who declined to be interviewed for this story. The next order of business was to fill out the cast, so producers turned to Sharon Bialy, who had previously helped cast Blue Velvet, Child’s Play, Say Anything, and Drugstore Cowboy. It's the saddest thing that could ever happen. Nearly 25 years after its unceremonious release, the stars and the creative minds behind the dark comedy talk to BuzzFeed News about hating the title, the stars who backed out (like Jennifer Love Hewitt), the franchise that almost was, and the loss of one of their own. She was hysterical. Keith Coogan, who had already starred on dozens of television shows, came in to audition — but not for the role he was truly interested in. Reporting on what you care about. “The timing was weird because a friend of mine and I had been messing around with a video camera, filming this little cooking sketch we had about two stoners who could barely get through grilled cheese sandwiches,” he said. I was in Spain and this little girl did the same thing. “He did a riff on our movie title and I can promise you — I can almost guarantee you — without that title, nobody would remember the movie. ), Then, at Landau’s suggestion, Joanna Cassidy, who had previously appeared in Blade Runner and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, was tapped to play Rose Lindsey — Sue Ellen’s passionate and slightly unhinged boss at General Apparel West. The iconic I'm Right On Top Of That Rose sweatshirt was one of the first pieces ever created here at Totally Good Time in 2015. “She was a woman that fell in love with everything. HBO / Via Alice Mongkongllite for BuzzFeed. -We're right on top of that. In the end, The Real World ended up at 20th Century Fox and was set to star Justine Bateman, hot off Family Ties. To Beloved Cult Classic. That's just rude and it ruins everybody else's operation. The plot focuses on seventeen-year-old Sue Ellen Crandell, who assumes the role as head of the house for her siblings when the babysitter her mother hired suddenly dies in her sleep. Why was I rushing to be a grown up for so long? Directed by Stephen Herek. “I think this town pigeonholes actors all the time. You were 12 when that came out!’”. But with all those accolades and beloved performances to her name, nothing quite compares to Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. “He said, ‘I can get the script to Christina Applegate,’ who we heard was interested.” So, the producer went to a taping of Married With Children, O’Neil handed the script to Applegate, and the rest fell into place. “Yes, the repetition starts to set it in people's minds, and that has been wonderful, but you also have to consider that a movie has to be likable in order for that to happen,” she said, noting that she’s spent the last 24 years being reminded of that fact almost daily. “The day after I arrived I met with an agent to represent me in California and she was like, ‘I love you, I want to sign you and — actually — I've got something I think you would be really right for, so we should see if we can get you in today?’ I was like, ‘I already have an audition?’ It ended up being for Don't Tell Mom. When production on the film — then still titled The Real World — wrapped in the fall of 1990, the now-iconic MTV reality series of the same name was about to debut, forcing the film to find a new title. “We didn't get great reviews and I couldn't figure out why not,” she said. Keith's Keith — he's great and fun and friendly and open, very similiar-ish to his character at times. “I liked the idea of this teenager having to parent her siblings,” Applegate said. Maybe that's why I was drawn to him.”, After his audition for Bryan, which, to his recollection, did not go well, Coogan went to his car, put on the stoner costume, and barged back into the audition room. right on top of that little table right there. “I think if we had zero expectations, it would have been fine, but we were really pumped up.

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