How the ‘Mean Girls’ Directors Captured Social Media’s Brutality

“Mean Girls” (2024) directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. transformed to present teens to obtain a feeling of what the fierce social food web of senior high school can be like currently versus the early 2000s, when Tina Fey’s initial model of “Mean Girls” struck movie theaters.

They gotten in touch with the teenagers at a three-day workshop with movie theater children in Canada.

“We would help them with their monologues and then at the end, they felt like they could really talk about it,” Jayne informed TheWrap. “Kids are really nice to each other’s faces now, because the s–t all goes down on here [points to phone]. Oh, my god, does it go down. And it happens fast, and it’s huge and explosive. The way kids are mean to each other now, it’s interesting.”

Both likewise talked to Perez Jr.’s dramatization instructor, that he had actually talked with for several years.

“[The kids] were telling us how it really is, because we needed to be like, ‘Well, how is it really?’” he claimed. “At the beginning, they were just telling us like, what they probably tell their parents. It’s vicious, absolutely vicious. Play-by-play.”

“And recorded, like texts. Your popularity is quantified,” Jayne included. “And there’s not just a rumor that a party is going on. Like no, a real f–king party is happening. You see all the people there who didn’t tell you about it. It can be devastating, but it can also be really fun and it can be really euphoric, and it can be really community-based. For instance, adapting the [‘Mean Girls’ Broadway song] ‘Sexy.’”

Both talked to TheWrap regarding bringing Tina Fey’s manuscript to life, harmonizing the 2004 movie, the Broadway musical and their variation of “Mean Girls,” along with the modifications to Janis and Regina’s backstory.

How did you equilibrium the tone established by the 2004 movie with adapting the 2024 variation from the Broadway musical, and how did this variable right into the 2024 motion picture’s general look?

Jayne: The initial is so legendary and we understand that, and we’re both extremely followers of the initial. We understood that that needed to be its very own point. The Broadway variation is normally its very own point.

What we enjoy around the Broadway variation, narratively talking, is the building and construction of it, where Janis and Damian are the all-knowing storytellers and this is informed via their knowledge, their mind’s eye. And simply that building and construction alone enabled us to be able to be speculative with it in such a way where we resembled, “Oh, you know what, it’d be cool if Janis and Damian were the directors of this movie.”

Our design, we such as to be based and responsive, and it provided itself so well to the do it yourself nature of what a self-proclaimed “art freak” would certainly have readily available to them and the buddies that they would certainly draw in to be the Greek carolers in such a way to aid inform the tale. To ensure that’s what delighted us regarding this variation.

And afterwards likewise the reality that there’s an entire brand-new host of means to be imply nowadays with social networks, oh my god, and all those horrible points that I do not covet teenagers for [having] to handle in any way. They are so endure, and simply weaving all those in to be able to inform Tina’s message of “Young women should support each other,” is such an essential point. And if we might reimagine it, have this be its very own point for this generation and likewise for the OG followers, then that’s what made us the most delighted regarding it.

Returning to when Damian and Janis begin making the video clip on their phone, can you chat extra regarding including modern innovation right into the movie?

Perez Jr.: We really did not exaggerate it. If Janis and Damian are absolutely quote-unquote “the directors” of this motion picture, after that they would not desire it to really feel simply on the phone either. They’re making a flick, yet they intend to have fun with the social networks and they intend to maintain unexpected you.

When they do utilize social networks, it’s to highlight the message is a flick. If you actually think of it, why do this once again? And why should individuals enjoy it once again? Not just is it for the extraordinary songs and all the efficiencies and the craft, yet extra significantly, I believe for the message.

Auli’i Cravalho [as Janis] approached her function as if she did have a crush on Regina back in the day. What does that upgrade to the backstory of how they were buddies and their befalling adjustment for your movie?

Jayne: It was actually crucial to Tina to obtain that right and to make that struck with children currently. She has 2 ladies herself. It was something that she talked about with them. She desired that to really feel dimensional and genuine, and dive deeper right into Janis a bit. Experiencing that type of embarassment and shame and dishonesty when you remain in intermediate school is a large sensation.

Completely expanding that tale and informing it actually includes this crucial backstory to ensure that later on, when she’s vocal singing “I’d Rather Be Me,” you recognize how she’s actually overcome that and actually end up being undaunted where she was after that to where she is currently. It dimensionalizes Janis in a truly attractive means.