Legally Blonde (2001)

Producer Marc Platt first fell madly in love with the character of Elle Woods when an unpublished novel manuscript by Amanda Brown crossed his desk. Amanda Brown, a blonde lawyer herself, attended Stanford Law School and found it was the perfect place to make an anthropological study of the "law student species." The resulting novel was Legally Blonde, featuring a funny, charming, innocent young heroine whose head was crammed with pop trivialities but whose heart could take her anywhere — even to the halls of Harvard Law School and a headline-making murder trial. Platt immediately saw this clever blonde-out-of-water comedy as an inspirational tale about transcending the limits of expectations.

"What I loved about this story is that it's hilarious, it's sexy and, at the same time, it's empowering," says Platt. "The world looks at Elle and sees someone who is blonde and beautiful but nothing more. Elle, on the other hand, doesn't judge herself or anybody else. She thinks the world's great, she's great, everyone's great and nothing can change that. She's truly an irrepressible modem heroine."

Platt has a history of being drawn to unique female characters, having previously worked with Jessica Lange in Blue Sky and Julia Roberts in her Academy Award®-winning Erin Brockovich role. But Elle's tale, he knew, would require something special: a wicked sense of humor. He brought in screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith to adapt the novel into a sparkling screen comedy; they'd just adapted Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew into the tongue-in-cheek teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You. Bringing their trademark mix of sunny attitude and satirical bite to Elle's story, Lutz and Smith peppered it with pop culture references, trendy current-speak and moments of comic revelation.

"Karen and Kirsten have a way of looking at the world through the eyes of twenty- something girls that is outrageously funny, yet stunningly real," notes Platt. "Their script is filled with the brightness and power of a pop song."

Upon their first introduction, Lutz and Smith were also taken with the character of Elle Woods. "She's such a pure and vibrant character," observes Kirsten Smith. "She's outgoing and hilarious, and she's the ultimate in 'girl power."' Adds Karen McCullah Lutz: "Elle is someone who finds out she can accomplish a lot more in life than she ever imagined. She breaks the mold, and that's pretty exciting. She learns she can be herself and victorious at the same time."

With the screenplay in place, Legally Blonde needed a director, someone who could bring a fresh point of view to this sassy satire on labels and stereotypes. Who better than an outsider new to these shores himself? Young Australian director Robert Luketic, who made waves with his debut short film Titsiana Booberini, was immediately drawn to the sweet and spicy Americana of Elle's story. He was also intrigued by how the heroine navigates the territory from perky sorority girl to a woman acutely aware of her own serious power.

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