Reality Bites (1994)
Reality Bites was the link movie connecting Dead Poets Society and Star Trek.
Linked through Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder.
Both Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder appeared in Reality Bites.
About Reality Bites
"A comedy about love in the '90s"
A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Directed by Ben Stiller
Written by Helen Childress
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Behind the camera
Box office
Awards
Reality Bites premiered at Sundance and, as documented, was later nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions in 2002; it also appeared on several critics' year-end lists for 1994 and 1995.
Soundtrack
Score by Karl Wallinger
RCA worked with music supervisor Karyn Rachtman and Ben Stiller on the soundtrack; Stiller picked Me Phi Me as the sole band choice. The soundtrack sold 1.2 million copies, reached #13 on the Billboard 200, and produced the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories. It also features songs by Crowded House, Juliana Hatfield, World Party, the Knack, Social Distortion, Big Mountain and includes "Conjunction Junction."
Movie trivia
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1
Helen Childress wrote the screenplay on spec in 1990, basing scenes on her friends' lives during the early-1990s U.S. recession and producing some 70 different drafts over three years.
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2
Ben Stiller was brought on as director and later opted to play the third point in the love triangle, reshaping Michael Grates into a young television executive and altering the film's structure to focus on Lelaina and Troy.
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3
Production stalled until Winona Ryder committed to the project; she also stipulated Ethan Hawke be cast opposite her and said she was drawn to the contemporary role because she wanted to "wear blue jeans for a change.
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4
Janeane Garofalo was fired during rehearsals for attitude concerns but was rehired after Winona Ryder intervened on her behalf.
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5
Principal photography lasted 42 days on an $11.5 million budget, with many exteriors shot on location in Houston (including atop Two Shell Plaza) while most interiors were filmed in Los Angeles to cut costs.
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6
Director Stiller placed numerous cameos in the film: Andy Dick and John F. O'Donohue appear as small roles, David Spade has an uncredited appearance, Jeanne Tripplehorn parodies Cindy Crawford, and musicians Dave Pirner and Evan Dando also cameo.
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