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‘Clueless’ at 25: Breaking down 5 celeb call-outs
“Clueless” is forever.
The 1995 comedy that put modern sensibilities into Jane Austen’s 19th century novel “Emma” is as vibrant today as it was upon release 25 years ago – even with slang and fashion that scream 1990s.
“Clueless” stamps its era naming its two central characters, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and Dionne (as in Warwick, played by Stacey Dash), both named after famed singers who turned to ubiquitous early ‘90s infomercials.
As “Clueless” sees new glory days streaming (with a Blu-ray commemorating its anniversary), writer-director Amy Heckerling helps break down the film’s most cutting celebrity call-outs.
A guide for a new generation of fans:
Marky Mark is clueless about his own contributions
At the time of release, Mark Wahlberg was the chisel-chested Calvin Klein underwear-modeling 1990s sex symbol. It’s no wonder Josh (Paul Rudd) is smugly proud to have Marky Mark, as he was called, plant a celebrity tree for his charity.
“Maybe Marky Mark wants to use his popularity for a good cause, make a contribution,” Josh explains to Cher.
Heckerling says bad boy Marky Mark, with songs like 1991’s “Good Vibrations” and “his way of dancing with his pants that were very low slung,” was the obvious choice for the mention.
When asked about “Clueless” this year, Wahlberg insisted he wasn’t aware of the name-drop honor.
“I’ve never never seen it,” he said. “I totally have to see it. On the 20th anniversary.”
It’s 25 years, Mark, but whatever.
Pauly Shore took the fall for Chevy Chase
Cher, who dates only college-age men, says that “searching for a boy in high school is as useless as searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.”
In the early ‘90s, Shore played Stoney, an outcast, suburban California teen who discovers a caveman in 1992’s dude
Dionne (Stacy Dash, left) and Cher (Alicia Silverstone) are named after “famous singers of the past, who now do infomercials,” Cher says. comedy “Encino Man.” This was followed by forgotten fluff comedies such as 1993’s “Son In Law” and 1994’s laughdeficient “In the Army Now.”
Heckerling says she feels bad about dissing Shore in the line, especially since she originally wanted to use Chevy Chase’s name, the actor with whom she “did not have a good time with” when directing 1985’s “National Lampoon’s European Vacation.”
“But the studio didn’t want me to bad mouth him,” Heckerling says of Chase. “They said put someone else in. So I was racking my brains and came up with Pauly Shore.
“But I actually like Pauly Shore movies.”
Mel Gibson didn’t find tragedy in his ‘Hamlet’ mention
During a discussion on “Hamlet,” Cher correctly points out that the Danish prince didn’t say the line, “To thine own self be true,” referring to Mel Gibson’s 1990 titular role in his movie version of the Shakespeare play as proof.
“Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn’t say that. That Polonius guy did,” Cher tells Josh’s new college girlfriend.
Heckerling says it would make sense that Cher would know the classic tragedy through Gibson, at the time a “Lethal Weapon,” heartthrob. (It’s also a “Hamlet” portrayal the director admires.)
After “Clueless” was released, Gibson sent Heckerling a letter saying he had watched the movie on an airplane and laughed at the moment. “And then he wrote in capital letters, A LOT!’” she says.
Kenny G was anything but cool
During one bickering moment with Josh over music, Cher snipes, “Thank you, Josh. I so need lessons from you on how to be cool. Tell me that part about Kenny G again?”
The abundantly haired saxophonist was the smooth jazz soundtrack of the 1990s, to the dismay of jazz purists.
“Cher’s going to think his music is whiny or too emotional,” Heckerling says. “I personally have nothing against Kenny G and he did set a record for holding the longest note.” (Indeed, Kenny G held the world record for a single note lasting 45 minutes and 47 seconds until 2017).
Priestley was no Dean
When Christian (Justin Walker) shows off a leather jacket to Cher, he checks on the coolness factor: “Is it James Dean or Jason Priestley?”
Priestley was at the height of his heartthrob rebel status on TV’S “Beverly Hills, 90210,” but no match for “The Rebel Without a Cause” icon Dean.
“There’s always been young rebellious guys in jackets with pompadours; James Dean was an influence for half a century,” Heckerling says, saying she considered other actors to lose that match-up, “but I ended up with Jason Priestley.”
Keanu Reeves' resume contains an assortment of iconic roles over his years as an A-list movie star, but he's breaking new ground with his latest job: comicbook writer.
Reeves strikes a humble note when talking about his creation, the coming 12-issue limited series “BRZRKR” (Boom! Studios, out monthly beginning Oct. 7).
“I guess I'm in the writing room,” he tells USA TODAY. While in Berlin for “Matrix 4” rehearsals prior to filming resuming on the expected sequel, Reeves says he's been “Skyping pretty regularly” with co-writer Matt Kindt.
“We're excited about what's happening,” Reeves says. “The story's taking some really interesting twists and turns.”
Illustrated by Alessandro Vitti, the action-packed and hyperviolent “BRZRKR” centers on a warrior who looks a lot like a certain beloved actor and has walked a blood-soaked path for centuries. In present day, the Berzerker performs dangerous jobs for the U.S. government in exchange for the truth about his existence.
Last year, Reeves met with Boom! about creating material for live-action vehicles, and he pitched them on “this character who was born 80,000 years ago, half man, his father's a war god. It's a little fantasy in reality,” Reeves says. “I had this image in my head of a guy fighting through the ages because of his father's compulsion to violence,” but with the pathos of a man “trapped and trying to figure it out.”
Working with Reeves has been “immensely cool,” says Boom! editor-inchief Matt Gagnon.
“Spend five minutes with Keanu and it becomes clear very quickly why he's earned all the success he has,” Gagnon says. “Exceptional creative instincts, deep reservoirs of wisdom on story, the ability to consistently tap into the raw emotion of a moment, relentless commitment to quality and the task at hand – it's all this and much more that make Keanu an inspiring force.”
Reeves brings creativity to “the action and the backstory of the characters,” Kindt says, “and he's been open to me inserting my fascination for history, conspiracies and espionage into the mix along with a fragmented narrative structure.”
The Berzerker has battled through the ages in places of great war and conflict, yet even though he's immortal in a way, “he has to also hide himself. So he'd pretend to die and then keep moving on,” Reeves says. When readers first meet him, he's “hiding” in the USA and has struck a bargain with authorities: ”It's like, ‘I'll go do some missions for you and you'll help me figure out who I am and how this has come to be and how maybe I could get released from this.' But then of course there's ulterior motives on both sides.”
Reeves' character isn't just a stoic butt kicker: The Berzerker sports a good sense of humor, he's a “warm guy” but
“world weary” because of his past.
“He's seen a lot,” says Reeves, adding that the comic explores themes including “the nature of violence, morals, ethics (and) what side do you choose.”
Berzerker's origin story also digs into his perfect memory and his ability to speak many languages.
“We have hopefully some nice scenes where when they're looking at hieroglyphics, and he's like, ‘No, you got that wrong,' ” Reeves says. “And there's things like, ‘Hey man, I wasn't everywhere. I'm just one guy.' Part of the research that they're doing on him is trying to download all of the knowledge that he has.”
As far as the ultraviolence goes, Reeves and Kindt share in the brutality.
“It's like, ‘Yeah, I think it would be fun just to see him punch through someone's chest or pull out a rib or rip an arm off,' ” Reeves says. The Berzerker “can heal to a certain extent, so it's fun to have these kinds of outrageous consequences and still have the character kind of moving forward.”
The guy drawing those fight scenes loves them, too: They “really gave me the sense that I was on a Hollywood movie set,” says Vitti, who rewatched Reeves' “John Wick” movie trilogy “for research purposes and inspiration.”
Reeves, who'll be seen on-screen next in “Bill & Ted Face the Music” (in theaters Aug. 28), recalls first getting into comics when he was 9 or 10.
“You're going to camp, so there's like ‘Richie Rich' around and then you get a little older and your mom's boyfriend has ‘Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers' and some alternative comics,” Reeves says.
Reeves, 55, never harbored dreams of writing or drawing comics.
“As a young kid, I was like, ‘Aw, man, I'd love to play Wolverine,'” he says. (Reminded that his fans would still love to see that as well, Reeves demurs with a soft “Nooo.”) Boom! does have a firstlook deal with Netflix, however, so is Reeves down to add Bezerker to his pantheon alongside John Wick, Neo and Ted “Theodore” Logan?
“I'd love to play Berzerker!” Reeves says.