Random Behind-The-Scenes Secrets Of 'Mean Girls' (13 items)

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  (#9) The Studio Was Nervous About Turning 'Mean Girls' Into An 'SNL' Movie

  Mean Girls has many ties to Saturday Night Live. In addition to playing math teacher Ms. Norbury, SNL actress Tina Fey wrote the movie's screenplay, and SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels was a producer on the film. Bringing other SNL alums into the mix might seem like a foregone conclusion, but this wasn't the case.

  Paramount Pictures actually had mixed feelings about casting Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall and Amy Poehler as Regina's mom. Director Mark Waters explained:

  It's weird, but Paramount had a nervousness about Saturday Night Live. They'd been burned on some Saturday Night Live movies that had come from Lorne, so they didn't want many Saturday Night Live actors in Mean Girls, because then it might feel like an SNL movie and people might shy away from it.

  Waters said the studio was particularly resistant about casting Meadows, but the director stepped in to fight on the comedian's behalf. When Fey suggested Poehler to play the velvet jumpsuited Mrs. George, Waters immediately started the process of hiring her, despite the challenges associated with scheduling around her SNL tapings.
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  (#8) Amy Poehler Helped With The Kevin Gnapoor Rap

  In the movie, mathlete captain Kevin Gnapoor (Rajiv Surendra) delivers a controversial rap at the holiday talent show. The scene ends when the principal's disembodied voice says, "Thank you, Kevin, that's enough," and Kevin waves a polite holiday greeting to the crowd. The camera then flashes to a reluctantly cheerful Ms. Norbury, played by Tina Fey, at the piano.

  The real-life Fey had less to do with the rap than her bestie, Amy Poehler. Director Mark Waters told Vulture: "[Fey will] actually give credit to Amy for this, because Amy is more of a rap person. Amy definitely coached him on how to do the rap, and she actually gave him some of the moves and choreography for it."
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  (#5) 'Mean Girls' Was Almost Rated R

  When Mean Girls debuted, teens flocked to theaters to see it without their parents. But this wouldn't have been possible if the Motion Picture Association of America had stuck with its original plan to give Mean Girls an R rating, requiring a parent or guardian to tag along with anyone younger than 17.

  The MPAA was apparently not pleased with the screenplay's relatively liberal use of language referring to women's nether regions. Director Mark Waters fought against the MPAA, and the writers had to compromise on certain lines, including "Amber D'Alessio made out with a hot dog," which was originally supposed to be "Amber D'Alessio gave a [BJ] to a hot dog."

  Waters invoked Anchorman - another popular film at the time - as evidence that sexual content should carry a PG-13 rating and accused the MPAA of discriminating against mentions of female anatomy.
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  (#7) Jonathan Bennett Had Never Played Soccer Before Becoming Aaron Samuels

  There was a lot to love about on-screen heartthrob Aaron Samuels, which made it easy to believe he was at the center of frenemies Cady and Regina's conflict. Played by then newcomer Jonathan Bennett, Aaron was cute (that swoopy hair!) and smart (so good at math!) and appeared to have a good moral compass.

  Aaron was also an athlete, but Bennett told Teen Vogue that the soccer scenes were some of the most challenging for him to film:

  I don't know how to play soccer, nor had I ever kicked a soccer ball in my life. So we went to rehearsal and the director, Mark Waters, just shook his head and said, "cr*p." And they had to get a soccer coach to teach me how to kick the ball because I was so bad at it. It was the first and only time I've played soccer.
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  (#6) Lohan Referred To Her Approach To Playing Cady As 'Somewhat Method'

  Lindsay Lohan was a teenager when she brought Cady Heron to life in Mean Girls, so settling into the role of a social-climbing high school student wasn't much of a stretch. Lohan told Entertainment Weekly - with a laugh - that her approach on the set was "somewhat method." Method acting is the process in which actors get in touch with their characters by trying to experience life as that character, even when they're away from the camera.

  Tina Fey said she remembered Lohan's intense quest for pink Uggs to wear during the scene where she falls in the trash can. Lohan also reportedly held conversations with Fey and Amy Poehler about "her beef with Hilary Duff."

  Lohan didn't fight the characterization: "I mean, I was rhinestoning my phone at the time with Swarovski crystals."
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  (#2) Lindsay Lohan Wanted To Be Regina

  Lindsay Lohan has said that early on, she was interested in playing Regina - we could have ended up with a completely different Mean Girls. But producer Lorne Michaels and director Mark Waters decided to work backward instead, casting her as the nice girl who would end up turning into a Regina wannabe.

  Lohan told Entertainment Weekly: "I had just played - in Confessions [of a Teenage Drama Queen] and Freaky [Friday] - not the cool girl in school. I was still 17 years old and I wanted to be the cool girl on set."

  Screenwriter and co-star Tina Fey said this choice allowed Lohan to "get to that point of being Regina, but... let her be the innocent side, too."

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