During her talk show, Drew Barrymore recalled one of her most beloved starring roles. The film was Never Been Kissed and involved the actress also in the role of producer. The interpreter of ‘Josie Buzzicozza’ revealed the pressures she suffered during the genesis of the comedy, which also involved her look.
Remember the movie Never been kissed? In the romantic comedy dated 1999 and directed by Raja Gosnell, Drew Barrymore he interpreted Josie. Thanks to her work, the former homely high school girl has a second chance to become the most popular girl in school. The actress, during her talk show daytime, recalled the genesis of movie and, believe it or not, the anxiety experienced during resumed.
That’s right: it wasn’t justJosie Buzzicozza‘ having to deal with the embarrassment of being a high school student. Drew too, due to the pressures of productionhe didn’t live simple days. Never been kissed he saw her engaged for the first time also in the guise of producer, as well as a protagonist. A trend that, nowadays, is increasingly widespread. Just think about the activity of Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman or Emma Stone. Apparently, however, this was not frowned upon at the time.
The 49-year-old presenter, chatting with Christine Taylor And David Lascher (hosts of the podcast Hey Dude the 90s Called), recalled that the rom-com with David Arquette, James Franco And Octavia Spencer it coincided with the debut of his production company Flower Films. The stakes, therefore, were very high. The actress was sure that if the film turned out to be a flop, her career would producer it would be over before it even began.
I was so scared during the whole movie because I knew that if it didn’t work, we wouldn’t have another chance.
It’s not all. The executives also criticized the way Barrymore had decided to stage the film Josie Geller. The incipit of the film, you will remember, presents the protagonist as an awkward and decidedly unattractive seventeen-year-old, thanks to her braces and her extravagant look. Well, despite Drew Barrymore was having a lot of fun characterizing the character, he found himself having some difficult conversations with the studios.
I would get these calls from the studio and they would say, ‘I’m sorry, but you sound too unattractive. Stop.’ And I replied: ‘Good!’. And they were like, ‘No, no, no. It’s too much!’. I was forced to tone down the character a little, because I had gone too far.
Finally, the upper floors prevailed. Therefore, the awkward Josie that viewers saw in the film is evidently a ‘watered down’ version of Drew’s initial idea. “And then they said something that appealed to my sensibilities rather than my ego—he continued—Something like, ‘We don’t want you to lose heart, because you’re going so far with comedy.’”
And they weren’t wrong: Never been kissed he almost cashed in 85 million dollars, more than triple its starting budget of $25 million. The doors of Hollywoodat that point, opened wide for Barrymore, who had the opportunity to direct and star in many other successful films, including Charlie’s Angels (and its sequel), Donnie Darko And The truth is he does not like you enough.
