I know what you did last summer…. | Find out which actors were almost into 90s horror

October, month of halloween. For fans of good old-school horror, that means only one thing: an entire month of genre-centric productions. There’s no shortage of good demand, and while Netflix is ​​pounding the way with series like Round 6, Vingança Sabor Cereja and Missa da Meia Noite, Witches’ Month is also betting on nostalgia in 2021. Maniac Michael Myers, Halloween Kills – The Terror Continues. Apart from that, Amazon isn’t far behind and this Friday the 15th (unfortunately not the 13th), the first four episodes of the series I Know What You Did Last Summer – which the whole 80’s/90’s generation knows well as a slasher at franchise success.

Well, to be fair, the story of… Last Summer originated as a book written by Lois Duncan and released in 1973. Little, other than the title and characters, has survived from the book to the film version, since the literary work was more oriented towards suspense and no one actually died. The idea was adapted by Kevin Williamson even before the author wrote the hit Scream, and turned into a typical teen horror slasher carnage. Once shot to fame after the first Scream, Williamson became Hollywood’s new darling and an easy sell for his take on the new film, which he would continue to star in next year.

As we all know, in the plot four friends from high school, two heterosexual couples, returning from their graduation party after having a few drinks, end up running over a pedestrian on a dark road at night. The seemingly dead subject is soon “begotten” by the foursome, who fear severe punishment. So, in addition to the crime committed, the four still dispose of the body as a way to put a stone to the case. A year later, the four begin receiving threats with the words “I know what you did last summer”, from someone who knows about their crime. Now the friends must find out who knows their dirty little secret, while putting their lives in great danger.

For the lead roles, the producers were looking for four “pretty faces” who were also likable and charismatic actors. They ended up with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillipe and Freddie Prinze Jr., then up-and-coming young actors who were among the hottest names in Hollywood of their generation. Hewitt and Gellar were even more popular, given that the brunette and blonde were on the air at the time in a very successful series – when I know… debuted. Hewitt starred in Fox Network’s Party of Five, while Gellar starred in Warner Network’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Before these handsome and dashing young actors, however, as with most film (or television) productions, other performers auditioned for the roles of Julie, Helen, Barry and Ray; some almost taking the role and some abandoning it. Find out below who were the actors who almost starred in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

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The Eternal Sabrina – The Witch’s Apprentice, from the playful 1990s series (even the most badass revamped on Netflix), was another that was almost in the movie. This is to say if the actress had said yes to the project. Although she didn’t have any significant film work under her belt, Hart was a famous actress in those days thanks to the aforementioned sitcom, which had her loyal teenage fan base. The Columbia/Sony producers, responsible for buying Williamson’s screenplay, approached Hart with the role of Julie James, the protagonist. The actress’ response was blunt after denying it: “I just thought it was another cheap copy of Scream.” Each with it’s each. Although at first glance it seems, in addition to being released later, in the wake of the success of Wes Craven’s film, … Last Summer was written earlier by Williamson.

Today, Reese Witherspoon has become a full-fledged actress, owner of her own career and production company, which creates films and series. To give you an idea, in recent years, Witherspoon, in addition to acting, was also responsible for behind the scenes of hit shows such as Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere and The Morning Show. Not to mention her successful past in movies, like the Legally Blonde franchise. Many, especially younger people, may not know or remember, but Witherspoon had one of the first hits of his career with the thriller Fear (1996), in which he starred alongside from an equally newcomer, Mark Wahlberg. It is therefore quite natural that we offer him another film in the same direction. And Witherspoon auditioned for… Last summer, but fearing she was stuck with this kind of film, she dropped out of the audition. Although it’s unclear for what role, we assume it was Helen. However, she ended up nominating her then-boyfriend, Ryan Phillipe, for Barry’s role with the producers.

Anyone who watches the FBI TV show (which also airs on Globo) must often wonder where they know the interpreter of Special Agent Jubal Valentine. Well, Jeremy Sisto had one of his first career highlights in the beloved 1995 comedy The Patricinhas of Beverly Hills, alongside Alicia Silverstone. Other than that, in 2003 he was one of the main characters in the horror Panic in the Forest – which became a cult of the genre. At that time, Sisto’s name was hot and he was a finalist for the role of Ray, Julie’s boyfriend, which ended up being played by Prinze Jr.

Anyone familiar with the Halloween franchise, especially the infamous episodes four, five, and six, knows who Danielle Harris is. Child actress discovered precisely in 1988, in the fourth film of the maniac Michael Myers, Harris embodies Jamie Lloyd, the orphan daughter of Laurie, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Two copies of Halloween, the fourth (1988) and the fifth (1989), were enough to make the little performer the new “scream queen” of the season. In the older ’90s, Harris was being considered for the lead role of Julie James – which eventually ended up in the hands of the more famous Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, Danielle Harris would land a role in Urban Legend (1998), from the same studio, the following year.

Reverse roles

A curiosity about the film’s protagonists Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar is that they both auditioned for each other’s roles. That is, Hewitt auditioned for show queen Helen, while Gellar auditioned for top notch scholar Julie. It would be interesting to see the film with the roles reversed, overturning the stereotypes that the blonde is always the one who gets the most attention for her beauty and the brunette is more, shall we say, smart and clever. In the end, despite the regrets, the two fit very well into their roles and are very charismatic protagonists. And you, did you want to see the roles reversed or do you not imagine them in the roles of the other?

Director

Written by Kevin Williamson, I Know What You Did Last Summer was the hot new property of the moment. Produced by Columbia/Sony, every kind of director wanted a shot at making the movie. After all, Scream had revived Wes Craven’s career. And before director Jim Gillespie was hired for the role, filmmaker Jamie Blanks put together a trailer symbolizing his vision for the film. Unfortunately, the director arrived a week late and ended up missing his job. However, the film’s producer Neal Moritz liked what Blanks had done so much that he hired him for a new job: directing his next slasher, Urban Legend, released in 1998.

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