Drop Dead Gorgeous

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Timing: 1:38 (98 min)

6.381/10
361

6.308/10
8642

6.7/10
45000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 5

Actors and characters

Release date

1999-07-23

Country

United States

Production

Capella International, KC Medien AG

Genre

Comedy

Budget

$15 000 000

Revenue

$10 571 408

Website

Director

Michael Patrick Jann

Actors

Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley, Allison Janney, Sam McMurray, Mindy Sterling, Brittany Murphy, Amy Adams, Laurie A. Sinclair
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Gavin Polone, Judy Hofflund, Donna Langley, Lona Williams, Claire Rudnick Polstein

Operator

Michael Spiller

Composer

Mark Mothersbaugh

Artist

Audition

John Papsidera

Editing

Janice Hampton, David Codron, Robert Graf
All team (77)

• Screenwriter Lona Williams once participated in beauty pageants. She appeared on screen as the third judge of the competition (a non-speaking role).
• Allison Janney, who played Loretta, claims she is more often recognized as the character from this film than any other.
• The first screen appearance for Amy Adams, Jessie King, and Amanda Detmer.
• The film features numerous references to dishes from traditional Minnesota cuisine.
• The film's original title was "Dairy Queens," but it had to be changed when the American multinational fast-food and ice cream café chain Dairy Queen threatened legal action.
• According to director Michael Patrick Jann, Kirstie Alley (who played Gladys) refused to even try on many of the costumes selected for her character and suggested sending them to the Scientology Celebrity Centre in Hollywood (an institution that caters to the spiritual needs of celebrities and helps them achieve enlightenment and personal growth).
• The film is set in the fictional town of Mount Rose, an anagram of Rosemount, where screenwriter Lona Williams graduated from high school.
• The school's sports team is called the "Muskies." This is a reference to the muskellunge (a relatively rare freshwater fish of the pike family, found in North America, particularly in Minnesota).
• While working on the character of Gladys, Kirstie Alley drew inspiration from Frances McDormand's performance in Joel and Ethan Coen's thriller "Fargo" (1995).
• Scenes with Will Sasso (playing Hank) were filmed and added to the film after the main shooting period had ended, when the producers realized there weren't enough male characters.
• The original ending of the film showed Kirstie Alley's character committing suicide, with the sniper revealed to be the character played by Claudia Wilkens. The ending was reshot due to audience reaction at a preview screening.