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Oct 1, 1999 · American Beauty: Directed by Sam Mendes. With Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley. A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
- (1.2M)
- Drama
- Sam Mendes
- 1999-10-01
Annette Bening stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney co-star.
- The Scene Where Kevin Spacey Sings “American Woman” Was Improvised.
- Annette Bening Would Improv as Carolyn Burnham When The Cameras Weren't rolling.
- American Beauty Was Inspired by Amy Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco.
- Sam Mendes storyboarded The Entire Film Before Filming.
- Thora Birch Needed Parental Permission For Her Topless Scene.
- Paula Abdul Choreographed The Spartanettes' Cheerleading routine.
- Kirsten Dunst Was Offered The Role of Angela, But Turned It down.
- Alan Ball Had His Own Profound Encounter with A Plastic Bag.
Several actor improvisations were incorporated into the film. The most memorable? Kevin Spacey’ssolo of “American Woman” as Lester smokes a joint and passes through a drive-thru after quitting his job. “If I feel like somebody’s stuck in a scene I’ll sometimes say, ‘Put down the camera, everybody go have a cup of coffee, we’re just going to improvi...
In 1999, Spacey told Playboy, “She would do improvs where she would begin talking as Carolyn. It would be not only hilarious but frightening. She became like this Stepford wife. I don’t know how Warren [Beatty] put up with it. I’m great friends with her, but if this goes to series, I worry for her children.”
For those unfamiliar with the early 1990s scandal, the two made headlines for their illicit affair; Fisher, who became known as the “Long Island Lolita,” was 17 years old when she shot her lover’s wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco, in the face. She served a little over six years in prison while Joey spent four months behind bars for statutory rape. “I had b...
As Mendes’s origin story goes, Steven Spielberg—who bought Alan Ball’s script for DreamWorks—had been a fan of the up-and-coming director’s work after seeing his production of Oliver! in London. When it came time to find a director for American Beauty, Spielberg remembered Mendes's work and went to see his production of Cabaret with the film’s prod...
For the scene in which Thora Birch’s Jane Burnham takes her top off for creepy neighbor Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), Birch needed explicit permission from her parents to go half-nude. Why? She was 17 at the time. “To me, [the scene] made sense. It wasn’t something that shouldn’t be in there. It’s something that would happen,” Birch told The Berkshire...
Paula Abdul isn’t just a former American Idol judge and pop star; she actually came up as a choreographer. In the late 1990s, she revisited her Laker Girl days by choreographing the high school halftime routinethat sends Lester Burnham into fantasyland.
According to Dunst, who was on a win-streak in the late 1990s with Dick, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and The Virgin Suicides, the idea of getting intimate with an older man was simply not for her. “I was only 15 then and I didn’t want to kiss Kevin Spacey or be seen lying naked in those rose petals,” Dunst told BBC Five Live.
Believe it or not, the bizarre scene, which eventually took on a life of its own (see Not Another Teen Movie’s hilarious parody), actually happened to the director. “I had an encounter with a plastic bag! And I didn’t have a video camera, like Ricky does. I’m sure some people would look at that and go, ‘What a psycho!’ But it was a very intense and...
Mar 6, 2024 · Bening gives major props to the film's director, Sam Mendes, for those incredibly volatile moments and said that it was his extended leash that allowed her and the other actors in the film to...
Sep 24, 1999 · Annette Bening as Carolyn Burnham. Thora Birch as Jane Burnham. Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts. Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes. Chris Cooper as Colonel Fitts. Directed by Sam Mendes; Written by Alan Ball
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Mar 6, 2024 · American Beauty, which also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, was overall improv-friendly, Bening reveals. “I can remember him coming in and saying— Sam Mendes, our director ...
Annette Bening. Actress: American Beauty. Annette Bening was born on May 29, 1958 in Topeka, Kansas, the youngest of four children. Her family moved to California when she was young, and she grew up there. She graduated from San Francisco State University and began her acting career with the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco ...
