American Pie

American Pie (1999)

Timing: 1:35 (95 min)

6.603/10
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7.218/10
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7/10
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All about film

Video 31

Photo 80

Actors and characters

Release date

1999-07-09

Country

United States

Production

Universal Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Newmarket Capital Group, Zide-Perry Productions

Genre

Comedy, Romance

Budget

$11 000 000

Revenue

$235 483 004

Website

Director

Paul Weitz

Actors

Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Alyson Hannigan, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Chris Weitz, Chris Moore, Craig Perry, Warren Zide

Operator

Richard Crudo

Composer

David Lawrence

Artist

Lisette Thomas

Audition

Joseph Middleton

Editing

Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
All team (111)

• Initially, the role of Heather was offered to Alison Hannigan, but after reading the script, Alison requested the role of Michelle.
• When Adam Herz pitched his script to studios, he titled it: “Untitled teen comedy that can be shot for under $10 million, and that will likely offend many who read it, but you, I am sure, will enjoy.” Later the script was renamed “East Great Falls High,” then “Great Falls,” and finally “American Pie.”
• To accurately depict an erection in one of the scenes, the crew boiled a sausage, then put it on a pencil and wrapped it in foil. When it was placed between Jason Biggs’ legs, it was still hot.
• The tuxedo Sherman wore to the prom is the same as the one Steve Buscemi wore in the film “The Wedding Singer.”
• The music in the scene where Stifler’s Mom seduces Finch is “Mrs. Robinson” from the film “The Graduate.”
• It took four attempts for the film to receive an R rating instead of NC-17.
• Members of the punk band "Blink 182" can be spotted in the scene where Nadia is being broadcast over the internet. Their song "Mutt" plays during this scene.
• The apple pie was purchased from the Costco supermarket.
• The web address of Jim's webcam, which he sent to his friends: http://128.220.27.192/temp/NadiaVision (in reality, the IP address belongs to the Department of Psychology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore).
• During the scene where Finch runs to the bathroom, the song "Walk, Don't Run" by The Ventures is playing.
• Jim's email: jim@eastgreatfalls.edu.
• The name of the school in the film, East Great Falls High, is based on the real East Grand Rapids High School, which screenwriter Adam Hertz attended. In East Great Falls High, the diner where students eat is called “Dog Years,” while in East Grand Rapids it’s called “Yesterdog”; the school colors at EGFH are blue/white, and at EGRH are blue/white/gold.
• Casey Affleck played the episodic role of Kevin's older brother. He talks to him on the phone in a restaurant.
• The scene where Oz and Stifler play their final lacrosse game, and the coach gives a speech while the assistant coach repeats his words – is a tribute to Trey Wilson for his speech in the film “Bull Durham” (1988).
• In the original version of the film, when Stifler drinks the semen smoothie, Kevin says, “Hey, Stifler, how’s the shellfish chowder?” However, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) objected that this phrase was not even suitable for an NC-17 rating, so during post-production the phrase was changed to: “Hey, Stifler, how’s the milkshake?”
• "Milkshake" was actually beer with beaten eggs.
• "The Bible" is located below the decimal (numerical) system of the Dewey Decimal Classification in a section titled "Fluid Dynamics".
• Exterior shots of the school were filmed at Millikan High School in Long Beach, California, while interior apartments were filmed at Poly High School, also in Long Beach.
• The members of the band "Blink 182" are credited as: "Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge, and Scott Raynor", however, the drummer in the film is not Scott Raynor, but Travis Barker. (Scott Raynor left the band in 1998).
• In the scene where Jim runs home, actor Jason Biggs suffered from heatstroke. The film crew had to put ice in his shirt to cool him down while he ran. Subsequently, the actor was sent to the doctor. Another incident: while Jason Biggs was at home, he took too many zinc tablets and became ill. Therefore, his character (Jim) had to be removed from the scene in the script where Finch plays golf and talks to Kevin.
• In the scene where Jessica and Vicky are working on Spanish, Jessica says: “Is this a correct translation?: Put a hat on your penis, or your ears will freeze” – this joke belongs to the film’s director, Paul Weitz, who used it even when he was in school.
• Mena Suvari sang in her own voice.
• In the original script, Eddie Kaye Thomas’s character – Paul – initially had the last name French, which was later changed to Finch. And Stifler’s first name was Ryan, later changed to Steve.
• The phrase “Say my name, bitch,” in the bedroom scene between Jim and Michelle, is an improvisation by Alison Hannigan. The director and producer found this line very funny and left it in the final version of the film.
• When Jim is waiting for Nadia, he sets up a webcam on his computer, which is to the left of the bed. In the following shots, it is visible that the video his friends are watching is filmed from a different angle.
• Filming took place from July 21 to September 11, 1998.
• When Adam Herz offered his screenplay to the studios, he titled it: "Untitled Teen Comedy That Can Be Shot For Under $10 Million And Will Probably Offend Many Who Read It, But You Will Love, I'm Sure." The script was later renamed 'East Great Falls High,' then 'Great Falls,' and finally 'American Pie.'
• The tuxedo that Sherman wore to the prom is the same as the one worn by Steve Buscemi in 'The Wedding Singer'.
• The music in the scene where Stifler's Mom seduces Finch is “Mrs. Robinson” from The Graduate.
• The name of the school in the film, East Great Falls High, is based on the real East Grand Rapids High, which screenwriter Adam Herz attended. At East Great Falls High, the diner where students eat is called “Dog Years,” while at East Grand Rapids it's “Yesterdog”; the school colors at EGFH are blue/white, and at EGRH are blue/white/gold.
• The scene where Oz and Stifler play their final lacrosse game, with the coach giving a speech and the assistant coach repeating his words, is a tribute to Trey Wilson’s speech in Bull Durham (1988).
• The Bible is located below the Dewey Decimal System in the section titled “Fluid Dynamics.”
• In the scene where Jessica and Vicky are working on their Spanish assignment, Jessica says: “Is this a correct translation?: Put a hat on your penis, or your ears will freeze” – this joke belongs to the film's director, Paul Weitz, who used it back when he was in school.
• The phrase “Say my name, bitch” (“Как меня зовут, мразь”), in the bedroom scene between Jim and Michelle, was improvised by Alison Hannigan. The director and producer found the line very funny and left it in the final cut of the film.