Executives at New World Pictures agreed to finance the film, but they disliked the dark ending and insisted that it be changed. Some reviewers have discussed similarities between Heathers and Massacre at Central High, a low-budget 1976 film.
Academics have likened Heathers to other films popular during the 1980s and early 1990s which characterized domestic youth narratives as part and parcel of the "culture war". Waters created a specific set of slang and style of speech for the film, wanting to ensure that the language in the film would have "timeless" quality instead of just reflecting teen slang at the time.
She then invites Martha to spend prom night watching movies together, as Duke watches on. ==Cast== ==Production== ===Development=== Daniel Waters began writing the screenplay in spring of 1986, while he was working at a video store.
The producers wanted her to dye her hair blonde to match the other "Heathers", but Doherty refused, so they compromised on her having red hair. ===Filming=== Principal photography took place over 33 days in February and March 1988, on a budget of $3 million.
Heathers is a 1989 American black comedy teen film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts.
Waters intended for the film to contrast the more optimistic teen movies of the era, particularly those written by John Hughes, by presenting a cynical depiction of high school imbued with dark satire. Heathers premiered on January 21, 1989 at the Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 31, 1989 by New World Pictures.
The song is included on Dixon's 1992 greatest hits album (If) I'm A Ham, Well You're A Sausage. The film's electronic score was composed and performed by David Newman and a soundtrack CD was subsequently released. ==Release== ===Critical reception and box office failure=== Heathers was released to the public in March 1989, at which time New World Pictures was going bankrupt.
If movies were food, Heathers would be a cynic's chocolate binge." Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4 and wrote that the film "is a morbid comedy about peer pressure in high school, about teenage suicide and about the deadliness of cliques that not only exclude but also maim and kill." ===Cult success and subsequent home media=== New World Video released Heathers on VHS and LaserDisc in 1989, and it developed a cult following after being unsuccessful at the box office.
Academics have likened Heathers to other films popular during the 1980s and early 1990s which characterized domestic youth narratives as part and parcel of the "culture war". Waters created a specific set of slang and style of speech for the film, wanting to ensure that the language in the film would have "timeless" quality instead of just reflecting teen slang at the time.
The song is included on Dixon's 1992 greatest hits album (If) I'm A Ham, Well You're A Sausage. The film's electronic score was composed and performed by David Newman and a soundtrack CD was subsequently released. ==Release== ===Critical reception and box office failure=== Heathers was released to the public in March 1989, at which time New World Pictures was going bankrupt.
It was released again on LaserDisc on September 16, 1996, as a Widescreen Edition digitally transferred from Trans Atlantic Pictures' interpositive print under the supervision of cinematographer Francis Kenny.
The film was then first released on DVD on March 30, 1999, in a bare-bones edition.
In 2001, a multi-region special edition THX DVD was released from Anchor Bay Entertainment in Dolby Digital 5.1.
Each release included a different front cover featuring Veronica, J.D., Chandler, Duke, and McNamara. In 2001, a limited edition DVD set of only 15,000 copies was released.
On July 1, 2008, a new 20th anniversary special edition DVD set was released by Anchor Bay to coincide with the DVD of writer Waters' new film Sex and Death 101.
On November 18, 2008, Anchor Bay released a Blu-ray with all the special features from the 20th anniversary DVD and a soundtrack in Dolby TrueHD 5.1.
Much of the language made its way into the popular vernacular and the film is among the most cited in the Oxford English Dictionary as a result. ==Related projects== ===Possible film sequel=== On June 2, 2009, Entertainment Weekly reported that Ryder had claimed that there would be a sequel to the film, titled Heathers 2, with Slater coming back "as a kind of Obi-Wan character".
However, Lehmann denied development of a sequel, saying, "Winona's been talking about this for years — she brings it up every once in a while and Dan Waters and I will joke about it, but as far as I know there's no script and no plans to do the sequel." ===Musical=== In 2010, Heathers was adapted into a stage musical directed by Andy Fickman.
The Heathers musical, which opens with a number depicting Veronica's acceptance into the Heathers' clique, received several readings in workshops in Los Angeles and a three-show concert presentation at Joe's Pub in New York City on September 13–14, 2010.
The film was then re-released on Blu-ray by Image Entertainment in 2011 as a bare-bones edition 2 years after Anchor Bay. In June 2018, Arrow Films reported that Heathers would be re-released on 8 August 2018 in cinemas and on 10 September on Blu-ray, in a new 4K restoration.
The cast of the Joe's Pub concert included Annaleigh Ashford as Veronica, Jenna Leigh Green as Heather Chandler, and Jeremy Jordan as J.D. The musical played at off-Broadway's New World Stages with performances beginning March 15, 2014 and an opening night on March 31.
It closed on August 4, 2014. An Off-West End production of Heathers, directed by Andy Fickman, played at The Other Palace in London with performances between 19 June and 4 August 2018.
A high school production of the musical is the focus of " Big Fun" episode of Riverdale. ===Television adaptation=== In March 2016, TV Land ordered the series as an anthology dark comedy series set in the present day, with a very different Veronica Sawyer dealing with a very different but equally vicious group of Heathers.
The series was written by Jason Micallef and Tom Rosenberg, and Gary Lucchesi was the executive producer In January 2017 the Heathers Anthology was ordered to Series at TV Land.
Original star Shannen Doherty guest-starred in the pilot. In March 2017, it was reported that the series was moved to the then upcoming Paramount Network.
A trailer for the rebooted series was released in August 2017.
The film was then re-released on Blu-ray by Image Entertainment in 2011 as a bare-bones edition 2 years after Anchor Bay. In June 2018, Arrow Films reported that Heathers would be re-released on 8 August 2018 in cinemas and on 10 September on Blu-ray, in a new 4K restoration.
It closed on August 4, 2014. An Off-West End production of Heathers, directed by Andy Fickman, played at The Other Palace in London with performances between 19 June and 4 August 2018.
It transferred to the West End in September 2018, playing in Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
On November 12, 2019, Image Entertainment released a 30th Anniversary steelbook edition on Blu-ray.
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