20+ Facts About Female-Driven Movies That We All Avidly Watched in the 2000s

The 2000s was a time of mini-skirts, pink lip gloss, and flip phones. It’s quite easy to experience the history of those over-the-top years by getting lost in some of our favorite movies. And this is because movies that we avidly watched at the dawn of the twenty-first century have already become classic and now evoke nostalgia about those golden years that left a deep mark on our hearts.

We at Bright Side decided to brush up our memories of several cult movies of the 2000s and found 20+ cool facts that you probably have never heard about.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

• Today, it’s hard to imagine anyone playing the role of Miranda Priestly apart from Meryl Streep herself. However, there were many other candidates for this role including Jennifer Aniston, Kim Basinger, Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie, Lisa Kudrow, Helen Mirren, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Alicia Silverstone, and Naomi Watts.
• Many fashion designers used their clothes and accessories in the film, which made The Devil Wears Prada the most expensively-costumed movie in the history of cinematography.
• Anna Wintour, Vogue’s chief editor (who was rumored to be the prototype of Miranda Priestly), wasn’t invited to the premiere of the movie. However, she attended an advanced screening for the press, dressed in Prada, head-to-toe.
• Emily Blunt confessed that she borrowed a snarky line she used on Andy from a conversation between a mother and a kid that she overheard on the street. It’s the line when the main character is sharing her plans for the upcoming weekend and Emily says, “Yeah, I’m hearing ’this’ and I want to hear, ’this.’” The line is, of course, accompanied by Emily’s hand-talking gestures.

• At the end of the movie, Andy reveals that she went from a size 6 to a size 4. In fact, Anne Hathaway really did lose this weight while filming.
• Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt are best friends in real life, unlike their characters in the movie.
• Meryl Streep almost left the movie production due to her dissatisfaction with the salary.

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

• While getting ready for the role, Isla Fisher was attending groups that helped people whose lives turned into a nightmare due to their compulsive shopping.

• Fisher was wearing 5-inch stilettos during filming.

• Robert Stanton, who played the ruthless debt collector, Derek Smeath, worked as one in real life. He confessed that it was hard for him to communicate with debtors because he would always laugh.

• In 2014, Kristin Scott Thomas confessed she didn’t like the experience of filming and said, “I thought it would be quite good fun. But I spent my entire time waiting.” In fact, the actress’s character rarely appeared in the movie. She continued, “I hated it, hated it, hated it, and I said that I wouldn’t do another one. Funnily enough, I haven’t been asked to.”

• Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Kirsten Dunst, Katie Holmes, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, and Lindsay Lohan were all considered for the role of Rebecca Bloomwood.

Legally Blonde (2001)

• In order to get ready for the role of Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon spent 2 weeks in an elite female sorority — the same one her character belonged to. The actress didn’t want to portray a stereotypical image of a sorority girl and instead, proved that they can be very kind and polite people that she actually liked to spend time with.
• Witherspoon kept all of Elle Woods’ costumes after filming was over. It was agreed in her contract.
• Amanda Brown, the author of the book that the movie was based on, was sending letters home, in which she had confessed that it was hard for her to fit in with her classmates. Later, based on these messages, the girl made a manuscript and sent it to an agent. The agent was interested in the text because it was the only manuscript written on pink paper. There’s a reference to this moment in the movie — Elle’s résumé for Harvard was also printed on a scented pink sheet of paper.
• The chihuahua who played the main character’s pet was named Moonie in real life. He died in the spring of 2016 at the age of 18.
• Matthew Davis, who played Warner, the guy who dumped Elle, had an actual crush on Witherspoon. One day, the producers pulled him aside and asked if he was okay. Eventually, he confessed his feelings to Witherspoon and she replied that it was so sweet and suggested they get back to their work on the scene.

• When Elle Woods arrives at Harvard for the first time wearing her bright pink outfit in the convertible, one of the students snobbishly gives her the nickname, “Malibu Barbie.” What’s more, is movie fans often refer to Legally Blonde as an unofficial live-action adaptation of Barbie.
• Witherspoon got the role of Elle soon after she gave birth to her child, which is why the movie company hired a personal trainer for her to help her lose the extra weight that she had gained while pregnant.

The Princess Diaries (2001)

Mia from The Princess Diaries became Anne Hathaway’s first role in a movie. It was her clumsiness that drew producers’ attention to the future star and helped her get the role. Hathaway actually fell out of her chair during auditions and the filmmakers liked it because the character was supposed to be clumsy and funny.

The scene where Mia slips and falls on the bleachers was real. Hathaway really stumbled during filming and the director decided that it was so funny, it was worth being inserted in the final version of the movie.

Fat Louie, Mia’s cat, was actually the actress’s real pet. But his role was played by 4 different cats. One could be carried, the second one could sit still, the third one was there for jumping scenes, and the last cat was the one to sit on the pillow at the end of the movie.

The scene where Mia tears off a pore strip from her nose was Hathaway’s idea. She was also the one who thought to get the brush stuck in her hair during the makeover process.

• Anne Hathaway had to wear a huge clip-in hairpiece to make her hair look bushier. The hairpiece got the “beast” nickname on set. The actress’s pre-makeover eyebrows required 1 hour to apply; all because each tiny hair was glued on individually.

Mean Girls (2004)

• It was Lindsay Lohan who was initially cast as Regina but the actress turned the role down because she didn’t want people to perceive her real personality based on the movie’s character. The producer gave this role to Rachel McAdams and said that “only nice girls can play mean girls.”

• It was Amanda Seyfried’s first movie role — she played Karen Smith. However, initially, it was planned that she would get the role of Cady. By the way, Scarlett Johansson also auditioned for the role of Karen.

• The skirts for the Christmas talent show were made of plastic to “represent the Plastics,” which was the name of the girls’ band.

• There’s a reason why the main character has the unusual name, Cady (Lindsay Lohan). It’s the middle name of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the first fighters for women’s rights in the nineteenth century.

• Rachel McAdams is only 7 years younger than her on-screen mother, Amy Poehler.

Which movie did you like to watch over and over in the 2000s?