Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
It’s no exaggeration to say that Thelma & Louise was a sensation when it premiered in the spring of 1991. A film about two women who set out for a weekend away from it all and ended up on the run from the law became a lightning rod for feminist cinema and all the commentary and controversy that you might imagine would accompany that. As the title characters, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon delivered the performances of their lives; both women have had (and are still having) spectacular careers, but these are the roles they’ll be remembered for. And while director Ridley Scott will probably end up being remembered more for movies that feel more Ridley Scott-ish, Thelma & Louise will always be one of his very best accomplishments.
There are moments in this movie that are indelible in the American cultural consciousness. A polaroid taken at the start of the journey. Shooting out the gas tanker. A sexy drifter demonstrating proper bank stick-up technique. And then that ending, in all its gorgeous, sad, defiant audacity.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this hugely important film, we’re presenting ten facts and stories about Thelma & Louise that you may not have known.
The Larry David Connection
Screenwriter Callie Khouri was inspired to write Thelma & Louise in part due to two violent encounters she’d experienced in her life. One was getting mugged while hanging out with her friend, country singer Pam Tillis. The other was getting held up at gunpoint after a shift at the Improv as she was being walked to her car by, yes, Larry David.
Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer Almost Played the Leads
Thelma & Louise was in development for a long time, and for much of that development, the one constant was the two actresses attached to play the leads: Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer. But as development stretched on, they reached a point where Foster and Pfeiffer each had to exit the project due to other commitments: Foster for The Silence of the Lambs and Pfeiffer for the film Love Field. Foster ended up winning the Oscar for Silence over Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, while Pfeiffer was Oscar-nominated the following year when Love Field came out.
Geena Davis Was Dead Set on Playing Louise
After Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer exited the project, Geena Davis was attached, and the search was on for a second actress. During that time, Davis had her heart set on playing Louise. She eventually signed a contract that said she’d be willing to play either of the title roles, and indeed once Susan Sarandon was signed on, Davis was cast as Thelma (and the Louise character was aged up a bit, to reflect the actresses’ 10-year age difference).
'Thelma & Louise' Nearly Cost Us 'Death Becomes Her'
One interesting footnote is that two of the actresses scouted for the title roles were Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, who were looking to make a movie together. And while it’s more than a little mind-blowing to imagine Thelma & Louise with Meryl and Goldie blasting off into the Grand Canyon, it’s even more mind-blowing to imagine that we’d have never gotten Death Becomes Her — the movie that Streep and Hawn did end up making — if they hadn’t been passed over for Thelma & Louise.
Thank 'Backdraft' for Your Lifetime of Brad Pitt Fantasies
Like the two lead characters, the character of charismatic drifter/hustler J.D. went through many casting iterations before settling on Brad Pitt. The one actor who seemed to be set in the role was William Baldwin. But much like Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer, he had to leave the slow-moving Thelma production when he got offered another movie: the Ron Howard firefighter movie Backdraft. Now, Baldwin gave us a very memorable butt-baring scene in that movie, and for that we are grateful. But he also paved the way for Brad Pitt’s career-making, wildly sexy performance in Thelma & Louise, so really this was divine providence all around.
George Clooney Auditioned to Play J.D. Five Times
Also losing out in the J.D. sweepstakes was George Clooney, who reportedly auditioned for the role five times. According to Clooney, he didn’t watch Thelma & Louise for a long time after it premiered. When he did, he saw that Pitt was actually the right man for the part.
Ridley Scott Really Loved Hans Zimmer's Score
Zimmer’s score is one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable of the 1990s. Director Ridley Scott liked it so much that he changed his original plans and included an opening credits sequence for the movie just so he could feature the music.
Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen Rode Again
Keitel and Madsen play the police detective tracking the women and Louise’s boyfriend, respectively. The very next year, they would go on to be co-stars again, this time in Quentin Tarantino’s debut film Reservoir Dogs.
Sarandon and Davis Were a Cautionary Tale for Oscar Strategists
Thelma & Louise lost out on a Best Picture nomination, but it was nominated for six other Oscars, winning one for Callie Khouri’s screenplay. Both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were nominated in Best Actress, losing to Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs. Their dual nominations mark the last time that two performers from the same movie have been nominated in the same lead acting category. The common wisdom being that they ended up splitting each other’s votes and costing each other the win. Which is why nearly every year now you see studios campaign their same-gender dual leads in separate categories, no matter how fraudulent the designation. We saw it just this past year with Cate Blanchett (lead) and Rooney Mara (supporting) in Carol.
The U.S. Box Office Was Weird That Week
Thelma & Louise opened on May 24, 1991, finishing in fourth place for the weekend. And what a weird weekend at the box office that was. In first place was erstwhile J.D. and butt-barer Billy Badlwin in Backdraft. Second place was What About Bob? in its second weekend of release. Third place? Bruce Willis’ bomb Hudson Hawk. Fifth place the John Candy/Maureen O’Hara film Only the Lonely. And in sixth place, that great classic of comedy cinema, Drop Dead Fred.
