Latest news with #DanHedaya
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
From debate class to erotica: Where the Clueless cast is now will have you saying ‘As if!'
But as her acting slowed down, Dash made a move no Clueless fan had on their bingo card. She entered the world of political commentary and joined Fox News as a contributor. Her conservative views shocked many of her fans, sparking headlines and controversies that quickly eclipsed her acting. A quick search on TikTok reveals she's the one castmate the younger generations can't get behind. Stacy went from Clueless to cancelled. Photo: Fox News Mel Horowitz might've been a gruff, workaholic lawyer, but his love for his daughter was higher than his cholesterol count. Played by Dan Hedaya, Mel was the perfect foil to Cher's extravagance, full of blunt advice and tough love. Whether he was barking at Josh or grilling Christian, Mel delivered punchlines that still land today. For a character who rarely left the house, he definitely left an impression. Photo: Paramount Dan Hedaya kept the no-nonsense energy going well after Clueless. You've probably seen him pop up in shows like ER, Monk, and Gotham, and in films like The Hurrican e and The Usual Suspects. With that trademark scowl and unmistakeable voice, he carved out a niche as Hollywood's go-to grumpy guy. Photo: Warner Bros Now in his 80s, Hedaya has stepped back from acting. I bet his character would get a kick out of the Apple Watch girlies. 'Do you know what time it is?' 'A watch doesn't really go with this outfit, Daddy.' A Cher line they definitely can't relate to. Photo: Paramount Who could forget Mr Hall? Played by Wallace Shawn, he was grumpy, disorganised, and forever battling the tardy slips. But under all that chaos was a big softie. Thanks to Cher and Dionne's matchmaking scheme, he ended up with Miss Geist and became significantly more mellow. Photo: Paramount Dare I say, this might be the greatest Cupid's play lore in cinematic history. Photo: Paramount Wallace Shawn is basically Hollywood's favourite intellectual and loveable weirdo. Before and after Clueless, he was everywhere, from The Princess Bride to voicing Rex in Toy Story. He's a writer, essayist, theatre legend, and an unmistakably unique character actor. Photo: Pixar You'll find him turning up in sitcoms like Young Sheldon, indie films, voice roles, and political interviews where he casually drops Marxist theory between takes. Honestly, Mr Hall might have been the most on-brand casting decision in the entire movie. Photo: CBS Miss Geist, our awkward, soft-spoken queen. She was composting before it was cool to be kind to the environment. Twink Caplan brought her to life with a nervous sweetness that made you want to give her a hug, and maybe also a hairbrush. Her romance with Mr Hall was one of the most wholesome arcs in Clueless. Photo: Paramount Twink Caplan has mostly stayed behind the scenes, but her legacy is solid. She was a producer on both the Clueless film and TV series, and later worked on the Look Who's Talking franchise and Loser with Jason Biggs. While she hasn't been in the public eye much, she's been spotted at nostalgic fan events, often delightfully on-theme. Photo: Sony Christian was hot, mysterious, fashion-forward, and completely unavailable. Cher fell hard, and honestly, who could blame her? Played by Justin Walker, he swept in with old-Hollywood charm and took Cher on the most stylish non-dates ever. It wasn't until he turned down her 'Betty' energy that she realised he was gay. Photo: Paramount Justin Walker's Hollywood run was short but memorable. After Clueles s, he appeared in a few small roles before stepping away from acting altogether. He reportedly moved into the business world, running restaurants and keeping a very low profile. Photo: LinkedIn Christian may have left Hollywood, but his legacy lives on. He taught an entire generation that having a weak gaydar can lead to some of your most devastating heartbreaks. Photo: Paramount Clueless is about to be more than just a nostalgic rewatch. Cher is coming back. Alicia Silverstone is confirmed to reprise her role in a new Clueless series for Peacock, and she's also stepping in as a producer. While most details are still under wraps, insiders say the show will reflect Gen Z culture while keeping the same biting humour and heart. No word yet on whether Dionne, Josh, or Murray will return, but one thing's for sure … that group chat would be LIT. Photo: Paramount
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Clueless review – Alicia Silverstone and Brittany Murphy are class acts in 90s Jane Austen parallel
Thirty years ago, the world was swooning over Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice adaptation … but all the time, the actual Jane Austen screen sensation that year was happening elsewhere in plain sight. Amy Heckerling's high school romcoming-of-age masterpiece, inspired by Austen's Emma, is now on re-release for its 30th anniversary and more than ever it feels like a complete joy, a deliciously movie-literate (and literate-literate) classic, with references to Stanley Kubrick, Oscar Wilde and William Burroughs to go with the Austen parallel. Clueless is something to compare with Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story – and Alicia Silverstone's final, tearful scene matches, and even outclasses, Julia Roberts' speech in Notting Hill about being just a girl standing in front of a boy. Like Withnail and I, it's a film which is composed entirely of quotable funny lines and for each rewatch fans could lip-sync along with the entire film. Maybe some of the material wouldn't fly now – Cher's body-image jokes ('I feel like such a heifer!') are … of their time … but what contemporary movie has this level of sustained wit and fun? Silverstone gives a lovely performance as the spoilt, yet innocent and sweet-natured not-quite-16-year-old Cher (like her friend Dionne, played by Stacey Dash, she is named after a star of the past who does infomercials). She is the daughter of a widowed, wealthy lawyer in Beverly Hills, played by the formidable Dan Hedaya, who had terrified audiences in the Coen brothers' debut Blood Simple. Cher's conceit is gently mocked, and yet we're always laughing with, not at her. Silverstone is amazingly innocent and charming and her sublimely weightless screen presence has a kind of serenity and maturity that belongs to an instinctive comedy performer. Super-popular Cher, having already played matchmaker to her two teachers Mr Hall (Wallace Shawn) and Miss Geist (Twink Caplan), decides in her high-handed and meddling way to take a new student under her wing: maladroit suburban kid Tai (Brittany Murphy). But the endlessly considerate Cher, always thinking of others in her narcissistic way, finds it poignantly difficult to find a soulmate herself, having conceived a tendresse for the beautifully dressed Christian (Justin Walker) who seems to be more interested in hanging out with other guys. The awful truth is that Cher may have feelings for her goofy, annoyingly progressive stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd). Watched again 30 years on, it's impossible not to marvel at the fact that eerily youthful Paul Rudd really doesn't look much different now (really, it should be Rudd, not Sarah Snook, doing a stage version of The Picture of Dorian Gray). There is also, sadly, a tone of melancholy in savouring Murphy's terrific performance; she died in 2009 of drug-related issues aged just 32 and like Silverstone, she was a natural comedy player and, also like Silverstone perhaps, she never got a role as good as the one in Clueless. There is great stuff also from Breckin Meyer as stoner skater-boy Travis, with whom Tai is really in love, Donald Faison as Dionne's boyfriend Murray, Jeremy Sisto as the caddish Elton, and also Walker as the sleek gay exquisite Christian. Never was a title more misleading. This is sophisticated pleasure. Clueless is in UK cinemas from 27 June.
CNN
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Clueless' director Amy Heckerling looks back on the inspiration for everyone's favorite scary dad, Mel Horowitz
CNN — There are few patriarchs within the teen film genre like Mel Horowitz in 'Clueless.' The straight-talking litigator portrayed by Dan Hedaya terrifies everyone in his path – with the exception of his daughter Cher, played by Alicia Silverstone in the beloved 1995 film. He's a man of multitudes. Direct and assertive, yet attentive and loving. The heavily New York–accented Mel is an outlier to the breezy Beverly Hills setting of the movie. Although 'Clueless' is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel 'Emma,' the film's director Amy Heckerling drew on a range of influences outside of Emma's father, the charming Mr. Woodhouse. 'I suppose the main inspiration for Mel was my father – an angry accountant. He was always yelling about one thing or another,' Heckerling recently told CNN over email. 'I never seemed to figure out how to diffuse his anger, unless we were driving and I'd stick in a Benny Goodman or Mills Brothers tape.' Heckerling continued to build Mel, taking cues from detective and gangster archetypes, looking for an actor who would be normally cast in such roles – like 'Law & Order' star Jerry Orbach or Quentin Tarantino fixture Harvey Keitel. Both were approached, but prior filming commitments and a strict budget for 'Clueless' kept either from landing the role. Hedaya came into the picture via a recommendation from a friend of Heckerling. 'He looked like he could play Bob Shapiro, the famous litigator working on the O.J. trial. I was so happy we were able to get him,' she said of casting the character actor, whose other credits include 1996's 'The First Wives Club' and playing Richard Nixon in 'Dick' in 1999. In 'Clueless,' although Cher is Mel's only biological child, he opens his home to his college-aged stepson Josh, played by Paul Rudd. Mel 'treats him like a son,' according to Heckerling. Studying law, Josh spends an inordinate amount of time at the Horowitz mansion, aiding Mel in his legal cases and referring to him as 'dad,' much to Cher's chagrin. But in Mel's words, 'You divorce wives, not children.' While other characters who encounter Mel appear to find him scary, 'Cher only sees lovable daddy,' Heckerling observed. Cher possesses the ability to stay positive and calm in the face of her dad's fury, which is something Heckerling learned when dealing with her own father: 'If anger is coming at you, it doesn't mean you have to let it in.' In a touching scene toward the film's climax, Mel lists Cher's personal achievements, mentioning that her organizational skills and caring nature reminds him of Cher's dearly departed mother. Although Mel is seen as tough, he's also fair. His ability to verbalize praise sets him apart from fathers in similar features at the time, such as the overbearing Walter in '10 Things I Hate About You' (Lary Miller), rigid Harlan in 'She's All That' (Tim Matheson) and the legacy-obsessed Sam in 'Varsity Blues' (Thomas F. Duffy).
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Clueless' director Amy Heckerling looks back on the inspiration for everyone's favorite scary dad, Mel Horowitz
There are few patriarchs within the teen film genre like Mel Horowitz in 'Clueless.' The straight-talking litigator portrayed by Dan Hedaya terrifies everyone in his path – with the exception of his daughter Cher, played by Alicia Silverstone in the beloved 1995 film. He's a man of multitudes. Direct and assertive, yet attentive and loving. The heavily New York–accented Mel is an outlier to the breezy Beverly Hills setting of the movie. Although 'Clueless' is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel 'Emma,' the film's director Amy Heckerling drew on a range of influences outside of Emma's father, the charming Mr. Woodhouse. 'I suppose the main inspiration for Mel was my father – an angry accountant. He was always yelling about one thing or another,' Heckerling recently told CNN over email. 'I never seemed to figure out how to diffuse his anger, unless we were driving and I'd stick in a Benny Goodman or Mills Brothers tape.' Heckerling continued to build Mel, taking cues from detective and gangster archetypes, looking for an actor who would be normally cast in such roles – like 'Law & Order' star Jerry Orbach or Quentin Tarantino fixture Harvey Keitel. Both were approached, but prior filming commitments and a strict budget for 'Clueless' kept either from landing the role. Hedaya came into the picture via a recommendation from a friend of Heckerling. 'He looked like he could play Bob Shapiro, the famous litigator working on the O.J. trial. I was so happy we were able to get him,' she said of casting the character actor, whose other credits include 1996's 'The First Wives Club' and playing Richard Nixon in 'Dick' in 1999. In 'Clueless,' although Cher is Mel's only biological child, he opens his home to his college-aged stepson Josh, played by Paul Rudd. Mel 'treats him like a son,' according to Heckerling. Studying law, Josh spends an inordinate amount of time at the Horowitz mansion, aiding Mel in his legal cases and referring to him as 'dad,' much to Cher's chagrin. But in Mel's words, 'You divorce wives, not children.' While other characters who encounter Mel appear to find him scary, 'Cher only sees lovable daddy,' Heckerling observed. Cher possesses the ability to stay positive and calm in the face of her dad's fury, which is something Heckerling learned when dealing with her own father: 'If anger is coming at you, it doesn't mean you have to let it in.' In a touching scene toward the film's climax, Mel lists Cher's personal achievements, mentioning that her organizational skills and caring nature reminds him of Cher's dearly departed mother. Although Mel is seen as tough, he's also fair. His ability to verbalize praise sets him apart from fathers in similar features at the time, such as the overbearing Walter in '10 Things I Hate About You' (Lary Miller), rigid Harlan in 'She's All That' (Tim Matheson) and the legacy-obsessed Sam in 'Varsity Blues' (Thomas F. Duffy). Just make sure you don't sit in Mel's chair.
CNN
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Clueless' director Amy Heckerling looks back on the inspiration for everyone's favorite scary movie dad, Mel Horowitz
There are few patriarchs within the teen film genre like Mel Horowitz in 'Clueless.' The straight-talking litigator portrayed by Dan Hedaya terrifies everyone in his path – with the exception of his daughter Cher, played by Alicia Silverstone in the beloved 1995 film. He's a man of multitudes. Direct and assertive, yet attentive and loving. The heavily New York–accented Mel is an outlier to the breezy Beverly Hills setting of the movie. Although 'Clueless' is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel 'Emma,' the film's director Amy Heckerling drew on a range of influences outside of Emma's father, the charming Mr. Woodhouse. 'I suppose the main inspiration for Mel was my father – an angry accountant. He was always yelling about one thing or another,' Heckerling recently told CNN over email. 'I never seemed to figure out how to diffuse his anger, unless we were driving and I'd stick in a Benny Goodman or Mills Brothers tape.' Heckerling continued to build Mel, taking cues from detective and gangster archetypes, looking for an actor who would be normally cast in such roles – like 'Law & Order' star Jerry Orbach or Quentin Tarantino fixture Harvey Keitel. Both were approached, but prior filming commitments and a strict budget for 'Clueless' kept either from landing the role. Hedaya came into the picture via a recommendation from a friend of Heckerling. 'He looked like he could play Bob Shapiro, the famous litigator working on the O.J. trial. I was so happy we were able to get him,' she said of casting the character actor, whose other credits include 1996's 'The First Wives Club' and playing Richard Nixon in 'Dick' in 1999. In 'Clueless,' although Cher is Mel's only biological child, he opens his home to his college-aged stepson Josh, played by Paul Rudd. Mel 'treats him like a son,' according to Heckerling. Studying law, Josh spends an inordinate amount of time at the Horowitz mansion, aiding Mel in his legal cases and referring to him as 'dad,' much to Cher's chagrin. But in Mel's words, 'You divorce wives, not children.' While other characters who encounter Mel appear to find him scary, 'Cher only sees lovable daddy,' Heckerling observed. Cher possesses the ability to stay positive and calm in the face of her dad's fury, which is something Heckerling learned when dealing with her own father: 'If anger is coming at you, it doesn't mean you have to let it in.' In a touching scene toward the film's climax, Mel lists Cher's personal achievements, mentioning that her organizational skills and caring nature reminds him of Cher's dearly departed mother. Although Mel is seen as tough, he's also fair. His ability to verbalize praise sets him apart from fathers in similar features at the time, such as the overbearing Walter in '10 Things I Hate About You' (Lary Miller), rigid Harlan in 'She's All That' (Tim Matheson) and the legacy-obsessed Sam in 'Varsity Blues' (Thomas F. Duffy). Just make sure you don't sit in Mel's chair.
