50 Fun Facts About Heathers

Who plays Veronica Sawyer in the 1988 film Heathers?

She was 15 when cast and turned 16 during filming; her agent literally got on her knees begging her not to take it.

Who plays Jason 'J.D.' Dean?

He later admitted to channelling Jack Nicholson in the role; he had thrown a tantrum after assuming he botched his audition.

Which future superstar auditioned unsuccessfully for the role of J.D.?

He was still a year away from his breakout in Thelma & Louise.

What is the name of the high school in Heathers?

Though set in Sherwood, Ohio, the school was stitched together from three Los Angeles campuses.

In which state is Heathers set?

Filming was done entirely in Los Angeles over 33 days on a small budget.

Which actress plays queen bee Heather Chandler?

She was dating Christian Slater at the time and got the part after Heather Graham's parents vetoed it.

What does J.D. serve the queen bee as a 'hangover cure', killing her?

Veronica had mixed orange juice and milk to make her vomit; J.D. swapped in the blue stuff.

How do Veronica and J.D. cover up Chandler's death?

The note makes Chandler seem deep and misunderstood, and she becomes more worshipped dead than alive.

Which two football players do J.D. and Veronica lure into the woods?

J.D. claimed the 'ich lüge' bullets were tranquilizers; German speakers will notice the phrase means 'I lie'.

After their deaths, Kurt and Ram are turned into martyrs for what?

J.D. stages the scene to look like a lovers' suicide pact, and their funeral becomes a bizarre celebration.

Which Heather takes over the clique after Chandler's death?

Shannen Doherty played her; she had wanted Veronica but gave an 'amazing' reading as Duke instead.

What was J.D.'s final plan for the school?

He blackmails Duke into getting the whole school to sign a petition that is secretly a mass suicide note.

How does J.D. die at the end of the film?

Veronica had already shot him in the boiler room; he follows her outside, delivers a eulogy and presses the button.

Whom does Veronica invite to spend prom night watching movies at the very end?

Martha 'Dumptruck' Dunnstock had earlier survived walking into traffic and been mocked for it.

How did the original script end?

New World Pictures financed the film but refused the dark ending and insisted it be changed.

Which director did screenwriter Daniel Waters originally want for Heathers?

He admired Dr. Strangelove and figured Kubrick was the only person who could get away with a three-hour teen film.

The cafeteria scene near the start of Heathers is a homage to the opening of which Kubrick film?

Waters modelled Veronica's lunchtime poll on the barracks scene that opens that film.

Who directed Heathers, in his feature debut?

He met Waters through a mutual friend after the script failed to reach Kubrick.

Which actress turned down the queen-bee role because her parents disapproved of the film?

She was 17; the part went to Kim Walker, who was dating Christian Slater at the time.

Doherty refused to go blonde like the other Heathers. What did the producers settle for?

Doherty also refused some of the script's more explicit lines and reportedly ran out crying at the first screening.

Why did Doherty run out crying when the cast first watched the finished film?

Producer Denise Di Novi said Doherty never quite got what Heathers was — which made her character feel real.

How much did Lisanne Falk, who plays Heather McNamara, lie about at her audition?

She was 23 and claimed to be in her late teens, only coming clean once she had the part.

What was the film's budget?

Principal photography took just 33 days in July 1988.

Roughly how much did Heathers gross in the United States during its initial release?

Distributor New World Pictures was going bankrupt at the time; the film only found its audience on video.

Which song appears twice in Heathers, including a Sly and the Family Stone version over the end credits?

Doris Day would not lend her original to a project with profanity, so Syd Straw sang the first version.

What is the name of the fictional band whose hit 'Teenage Suicide (Don't Do It)' features in the film?

Musician Don Dixon wrote it and recorded it with Mitch Easter, Angie Carlson and Marti Jones.

Where did Heathers have its world premiere in the fall of 1988?

It reached Sundance in January 1989 and opened in US theaters that March.

Which prize did Daniel Waters win for the Heathers screenplay?

The film also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.

Which iconic frat-party location does Veronica visit with Chandler early in the film?

Veronica vomiting on Chandler there is what triggers the queen bee's vow of revenge.

How does J.D. first make an impression on Veronica?

J.D.'s father is an explosives-obsessed demolition mogul, a detail that pays off horribly later.

How does Veronica escape when she realises J.D. plans to kill her?

J.D. finds her apparently dead and monologues his whole pep-rally plan to the 'corpse'.

How does Heather McNamara's suicide attempt end?

A rival had told the whole school about McNamara calling a radio show to talk about her depression.

Which two writers created Heathers: The Musical?

O'Keefe had earlier written Bat Boy and Legally Blonde; Murphy came from Reefer Madness and Desperate Housewives.

In which year did Heathers: The Musical open Off-Broadway?

It followed a sold-out Los Angeles try-out.

Who played Veronica in the 2018 London premiere and West End transfer of the musical?

She won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and the show won Best New Musical.

Which new song for Veronica was added when the musical transferred to the West End?

The West End cast recording debuted at No. 24 on the UK Official Albums Chart.

In the musical, what does J.D. do at the 7-Eleven to numb his grief?

That is the setup for the song 'Freeze Your Brain'.

In the musical, what accessory does Heather Duke claim to symbolise taking Chandler's place?

Costume colours do the storytelling: red for Chandler, green for Duke, yellow for McNamara, blue for Veronica.

Which cable channel first ordered the Heathers TV reboot before it moved to Paramount Network?

The series was postponed after the Parkland shooting and eventually burned off in a truncated run.

Which Riverdale episode centres on a high-school production of Heathers: The Musical?

Riverdale staged a different musical each season; the Heathers episode came in season three.

In 2009, Veronica's actress claimed a sequel would bring back J.D. as what?

Director Michael Lehmann quickly denied there was any script or plan.

Which studio released Heathers theatrically in the US in March 1989?

The company was going bankrupt at the time, which did the film's release no favours.

In which fictional Ohio town is Westerburg High located?

The film was actually shot entirely in Los Angeles despite its Ohio setting.

Heathers won Best First Feature at which ceremony?

Waters also took the Edgar Allan Poe Award for the screenplay.

Where was Heathers screened on January 21, 1989, before its US theatrical release?

New World Pictures then released it on March 31, 1989, just as the studio was going bankrupt.

Which two actresses were early choices to play Veronica before Winona Ryder?

Ryder, 15 at the time, begged for the role and offered to work for free.

Over how many days was Heathers' principal photography completed?

Shooting began in July 1988 on a $3 million budget.

Why could the filmmakers not use Doris Day's original 'Que Sera, Sera'?

Instead the film uses versions by Syd Straw and Sly and the Family Stone.

Which musician wrote and produced 'Teenage Suicide (Don't Do It)' for the film?

The ad hoc group Big Fun performing it included Dixon, Mitch Easter, Angie Carlson and Marti Jones.

Who played Veronica in the original 2014 Off-Broadway cast of Heathers: The Musical?

The production ran at New World Stages from March to August 2014.