20 facts you might not know about 'Mean Girls'

In 2002, Rosalind Wiseman wrote a non-fiction book called Queen Bees and Wannabes, which was written for parents of teenage girls to help them navigate the waters of the high school experience. It ended up serving as the basis for Mean Girls, a work of fiction that involved an entirely crafted plot.

Fey was working on Saturday Night Live when she read Wiseman’s book. She called up Lorne Michaels and said she was interested in turning the book into a movie. Michaels got Paramount to buy the rights to the book, and the beginnings of the movie were in place.

Fey wrote the screenplay to Mean Girls, and she turned to her own memories of being in high school to help fuel the plot. She also used the names of people she new in real life for characters, including Cady, Damian, and even Glenn Coco.

Janis Ian isn’t named for a friend of Fey’s from her childhood, but the name didn’t come out of nowhere. The character was named for the musician Janis Ian, famous for the song “At Seventeen.” She was also a musical guest on the first episode of Saturday Night Live.

Lindsay Lohan ended up playing Cady, and Amanda Seyfried for the role of Karen. However, they both original read for the part of the lead mean girl, Regina George. The casting team actually suggested Lohan take the role of Cady instead. Lohan agreed — worried that playing an antagonist might hurt her reputation anyway.

Ultimately, Rachel McAdams would get the role of Regina. Fey actually thought McAdams would be perfect for playing a villain because of how “kind and polite” the actress was.

Blake Lively auditioned to play Karen, but she did not get the part. Meanwhile, Ashley Tisdale tried out to play Gretchen, but she did not get the role either. On a different note, Evan Rachel Wood was offered a role, but she turned the movie down.

For the role of the love interest of Aaron Samuels, a future star was considered for the role. That would be James Franco, who around the time of casting had been given a notable supporting role in Spider-Man.

An unknown actor was cast to play Aaron initially. However, they would eventually get fired. Jonathan Bennett, who played the role, was added to the cast late in the process. Evidently, Fey was swayed by the fact that Bennett looked similar to Jimmy Fallon.

For the role of Janis, director Mark Waters envisioned an a “Kelly Osburne type.” Caplan auditioned, and apparently, there was concern she was “too pretty” for the part. However, she was cast anyway, because Waters and company felt she gave a great emotional performance to the role.

Fey wanted Amy Poehler and Tim Meadows — two other veterans of the Chicago improv scene — for the film, and they both got roles. However, Fey was worried that her good friend Poehler would be nixed by the studio for being too young to be the parent of a teenager. Fortunately, that concern proved unfounded. Additionally, another SNL alumnus in Ana Gasteyer ended up with a role as well.

Hey, we would never quibble with Poehler or McAdams being in a movie. That being said, the idea that Poehler was too young to play McAdams’ mom is valid. Poehler is only seven years older than McAdams.

Waters got the gig directing Mean Girls on the heels of his breakout comedy Freaky Friday. That movie also starred Lohan. Waters must have enjoyed the experience of working with her on that film if he was down to take this job.

Fey invented “fetch,” the slang that Gretchen tries to make a thing. She didn’t do it because she was interested in crafting a hip neologism, though. The screenwriter didn’t want to use any current real teen slang, because Fey knew that eventually it would become outdated.

Rajiv Surendra did not necessarily have rap chops before being called upon to do so in Mean Girls. Fey and Poehler coached the actor on his rapping. Having come up in improv, the two had likely been called upon to rap comedically at times. Also, if you have seen Poehler on SNL or heard her on some hipster comedy podcasts, you know she can legitimately rap.

Mean Girls is set in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and the home of Northwestern University. However, the movie did not shoot there. Almost the entirety of the film was shot in Toronto. A high school in Montclair, New Jersey, was also used briefly, but the bulk of the action was done in Canada.

Made for a budget of only $17 million, Mean Girls made $130.1 million worldwide. It was critically well received, and won three Teen Choice Awards and three MTV Movie Awards. The film has kept its legacy strong as well. In 2021, Marie Claire named it the best 2000s movie.

Mean Girls hit Broadway in 2018. Fey wrote the book, and her husband, composer Jeff Richmond, handled the score. While the musical was nominated for a whopping 12 Tonys, it did not win any. Since 2020, Fey has talked about plans to adapt the musical version of Mean Girls into a movie. Hey, it worked for The Producers.

Yes, there is a Mean Girls 2. Don’t worry if you missed it. The film debuted on ABC Family (now Freeform) in 2011 before hitting DVD. Only one character, and actor, returned from Mean Girls. That would be Meadows as Principal Duvall.

In 2014, a spinoff movie called Mean Moms was announced. However, New Line pulled the movie from its release schedule later that year, and the movie idea never resurfaced. There has also been a lot of talk of a potential theatrical sequel, and as recently as 2020, both Lohan and Waters have talked about wanting to do it. However, unless Fey writes the film, it seems unlikely to happen.