80 Fun Facts About 10 Things I Hate About You

Which Shakespeare comedy is 10 Things I Hate About You loosely based on?

The film keeps the play's bones: a headstrong older sister, a sought-after younger one, and a suitor paid to court the difficult sibling.

Who directed 10 Things I Hate About You, in his feature film debut?

Junger came from television sitcoms and later helmed Black Knight and If Only.

On what date did the film open in US theaters?

It landed the same weekend as The Matrix and still opened to more than $8 million.

Which screenwriting duo wrote the script?

The pair began writing together over the phone before ever meeting in person, drafting their first script on cocktail napkins.

What is Kat Stratford's full first name?

The spelling nods to Katherina, the shrew of Shakespeare's original, without copying it exactly.

Who plays Cameron James, the new kid smitten with Bianca?

He was still starring as Tommy Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun when the film came out.

Which actress plays the popular younger sister, Bianca Stratford?

She was 17 during filming and graduated from high school in California the same year the film opened.

Before playing Bianca, the actress had been the title star of which Nickelodeon series?

Alex Mack ran from 1994 to 1998, ending only months before shooting began on the film.

Patrick Verona is described as a bad boy from which country?

The role was written before Heath Ledger was cast, so his native accent was a happy match for the character.

Who plays Ms. Perky, the school guidance counselor?

The West Wing premiered later that same year and made her one of TV's most decorated actresses.

What does Ms. Perky work on at her desk between student meetings?

The counselor is more interested in her manuscript than in the students filing through her office.

Which actress plays Chastity Church, Bianca's best friend?

She appeared in two 1999 teen films, this one and She's All That, before leading Bring It On.

The actress who plays Chastity had her breakthrough the following year in which cheerleading film?

Playing Isis, captain of the East Compton Clovers, turned a supporting player into a lead.

Andrew Keegan's affluent, self-absorbed character aspires to what career?

His vanity pays off in the plot: he bankrolls the whole scheme to free up Bianca's dating life.

Which actor plays Cameron's geeky friend who masterminds the plan?

He later spent six seasons as math genius Charlie Eppes on Numb3rs.

The actor who ended up playing Cameron originally auditioned for that role and which other one?

He was reluctant to do a high-school film at all, then landed Cameron once the other part was cast.

What is Walter Stratford's profession?

His job fuels his paranoia: he has seen too many teenage pregnancies to let his daughters date.

What condition does Walter attach before Bianca may go out with boys?

He assumes Kat's hostility to boys makes the condition impossible, which is exactly what sets the plot in motion.

Bianca is in which year of high school when the story begins?

Kat, by contrast, is a senior counting the days until she can leave town for college.

Who secretly pays Patrick to take Kat out?

The payments escalate: a second, larger sum is offered to get Kat to the prom.

Kat's friend Mandella is a devoted fan of which writer?

She even wears a period costume to the prom to match her literary obsession.

Party host Bogey Lowenstein belongs to a clique of aspiring what?

The golf-loving future business majors are one of several cliques Michael maps out for Cameron on his first day.

At the party, a drunk Kat opens up to Patrick about wanting to do what?

The confession pays off in the final scene, when the money that bought her also buys her instrument.

Which song does Patrick sing to Kat from the stadium bleachers?

The school marching band backs him up while he dodges the campus security guards.

Which song was nearly used for the bleacher serenade before the Frankie Valli number was chosen?

The runner-up was by the Australian band Divinyls, which would have suited the character's nationality.

How many takes did the bleacher serenade scene require?

The most replayed sequence in the film was in the can almost immediately.

Heath Ledger's serenade earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination in which category?

Julia Stiles went one better at the same 2000 ceremony and actually took home a trophy.

At the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, Julia Stiles won which prize?

The Chicago Film Critics Association also named her the most promising actress of 1999.

How does Kat repay Patrick after the serenade?

The distraction she creates for the teacher is one of the film's most quoted moments.

Which real band performs at Club Skunk?

The Boston group also plays a rooftop cover over the closing credits and was billed as Kat's favorite band.

Which ska band plays the prom?

Their set includes a cover of the Isley Brothers' Shout, with Kay Hanley joining them for Cruel to Be Kind.

Which Cheap Trick song is covered on the school rooftop over the closing credits?

The same recording was reused two years later in Josie and the Pussycats.

The Club Skunk band's singer later provided the singing voice for Rachael Leigh Cook in which 2001 film?

Kay Hanley sang lead for the fictional Pussycats while Cook lip-synced on screen.

Kat's poem is written for an assignment to rewrite which numbered Shakespeare poem?

The original is a poem about loving someone in spite of every reason not to, which is exactly Kat's problem.

What gift does Patrick surprise Kat with in the final scene?

He bought it with the very money he was paid to date her, turning the bribe into a peace offering.

Which real Washington campus stood in for the fictional Padua?

Its castle-like building and bowl-shaped stadium give the film its distinctive look.

The castle-like school building seen in the film was originally begun in 1891 as what?

The Panic of 1893 halted construction, and after a fire the shell was converted into a school that opened in 1906.

Filming used a house in the North End of which Washington city?

Co-writer Kirsten Smith grew up nearby in Port Ludlow, so the shoot landed close to home.

Principal photography took place in the summer of which year?

The shoot ran from 8 June to 6 August, less than eight months before the film hit theaters.

Which film beat 10 Things I Hate About You to first place on its opening weekend?

Being runner-up to the Wachowskis was no disgrace: it still earned $21 million in its first five days.

Roughly how much did the film gross in its opening weekend?

It went on to earn $38.2 million domestically and roughly $53 million worldwide.

What was the film's production budget?

The modest spend meant a worldwide gross of about $53 million counted as a clear hit.

What approval rating did the film hold on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2025?

The critics' consensus credits Stiles and Ledger with lifting the film slightly above typical teen fare.

What grade did opening-night audiences give the film in CinemaScore polling?

Reviews were kinder over time; the film is now routinely ranked among the best teen comedies ever made.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give the film?

He liked the spirit, the actors and the music, but felt the tired story formula held it back.

How many Teen Choice Award nominations did the film receive in 1999?

Categories included Choice Movie: Villain for Andrew Keegan and Choice Movie: Hissy Fit for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Which actress reportedly passed on the role of Kat because her mother disliked the script?

The disapproving parent was Goldie Hawn; Kate Hudson made her breakthrough the next year in Almost Famous instead.

Which pair of actors were in the running to play Patrick Verona?

The search was exhaustive: producer Andrew Lazar said more than a thousand boys were seen for the part.

How long before filming was Heath Ledger finally cast?

He arrived late in a search that had already seen more than a thousand hopefuls, and the director was inspired on the spot.

How old was Julia Stiles when she was cast as Kat?

The director reportedly gave her the part after a ten-minute meeting.

Julia Stiles graduated in 2005 with an English degree from which school?

She nearly turned down The Bourne Identity because of exams, and lived in the same dorm as the co-star who played Cameron.

Heath Ledger was born in which city?

The city later named a 575-seat theatre after him at its State Theatre Centre.

The screenwriters said they were inspired to write the film after watching which 1995 teen movie?

That film had reworked Jane Austen's Emma, so the pair went looking for a classic of their own to modernize.

Patrick Verona was modeled on Judd Nelson's character in which 1985 film?

John Bender's leather-jacketed defiance became the template for a brooding Australian transfer student.

The title came from a list one of the screenwriters kept in her high-school diary about whom?

The teenage original was called 10 Things I Hate About Anthony.

The same screenwriting duo went on to co-write which 2001 hit?

That film cost about $18 million and grossed more than $140 million worldwide before spawning a Broadway musical.

The writers later turned which other Shakespeare play into the 2006 comedy She's the Man?

Amanda Bynes took the Viola role, disguising herself as her twin brother to play soccer.

Which network aired the 2009 television series based on the film?

The half-hour, single-camera comedy premiered on 7 July 2009 and was cancelled the following spring.

Which cast member was the only one to reprise a film role in the 2009 TV series?

The film's director and composer also came back behind the scenes, but he was the only on-screen holdover as Walter Stratford.

Who played Kat Stratford in the 2009 series?

She was fresh from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide; Meaghan Martin played her sister Bianca.

Which actor took over the role of Patrick Verona for the TV series?

Grandson of Gregory Peck, he later played Spock on Star Trek: Discovery and Strange New Worlds.

In the TV series, the Stratford sisters have just moved to California from which state?

Relocating the family let the show restart both sisters as newcomers at Padua High.

How many episodes of the TV series were made before its cancellation?

Showrunner Carter Covington announced the cancellation on Twitter in April 2010, blaming low ratings.

Who composed the film's original score?

He returned a decade later to write the music for the television spin-off.

Where did the soundtrack album peak on the Billboard 200?

AllMusic called it one of the best modern rock soundtracks of spring 1999 during its seven-week chart run.

What is the film's running time?

Brisk pacing helped it become a cable and sleepover staple through the 2000s.

Which Disney label produced the film?

Buena Vista handled distribution; the film's PG-13 content sat under Disney's grown-up banner rather than the mouse-ears one.

The June 1999 novelization published by Scholastic was adapted by which author?

Each chapter is told from the point of view of Bianca, Cameron, Kat, Patrick or Michael.

A stage musical adaptation announced in 2025 has a score by which pop artist?

Lena Dunham co-writes the book, with Christopher Wheeldon directing and choreographing.

The 2025-announced sequel 10 Things I Hate About Dating is based on a play by which writer?

The Misanthrope is the source this time, and the director hopes original cast members will cameo.

Which actress was cast to lead the shelved 2012 sequel, 10 Things I Hate About Life?

Production halted partway through and the film was shelved indefinitely, ending in legal action from its producers.

Chastity's snakeskin prom dress was designed by whom?

Vogue later called the film's costumes a time capsule of 90s fashion.

In 2024, which rapper posted a clip of Kat reading her poem in response to a rival's diss track?

The clip was his reply to Kendrick Lamar's Euphoria, giving the film an unexpected viral moment 25 years on.

Patrick Verona corresponds to which suitor in Shakespeare's original play?

Both men share a surname beginning with P and a job: winning over the difficult sister for money.

Which casting director recommended Julia Stiles to the director?

The film's casting team was nominated for an Artios Award for their work.

Roughly how many boys did casting's Andrew Lazar report seeing for the role of Patrick Verona?

After that marathon search, Heath Ledger was brought in only three and a half weeks before filming and won the part on the spot.

The prom sequence was shot over three days in which city?

Most of the school scenes were filmed at Stadium High School in Tacoma, but the prom moved to Seattle for a three-day shoot.

Who adapted and produced the 2009 ABC Family television series based on the film?

Film director Gil Junger directed many episodes including the pilot, and composer Richard Gibbs returned for the music.

Approximately how much did the film gross worldwide?

About $38 million of that came from the U.S. and Canada, a strong return on a $13 million budget.

Which costume designer created the original dresses worn by Larisa Oleynik and Julia Stiles?

Vogue later praised the costuming as a 90s fashion time capsule that visually split the two Stratford sisters.