Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles in “10 Things I Hate About You" at the Bettendorf Public Library -- May 16.
Friday, May 16, 6 p.m.
Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf IA
Presented at part of the Bettendorf Public Library's Teem Movie Night series, 1999's iconic Shakespeare-comedy-turned-Hollywood-smash 10 Things I Hate About You, will be screened in the library's Junior League Program Room on May 16, this iconic romantic comedy famed for delivering breakthrough roles for Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the late Oscar winner Heath Ledger.
Directed by Gil Junger and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smithand, 10 Things I Hate About You is a modernization of William Shakespeare's late-16th-century comedy The Taming of the Shrew, with Junger's film retelling the Bard's tale in a late-1990s American-high-school setting. In this update on the classic story, new student Cameron (Gordon-Levitt) is smitten with Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), and, in order to get around her father's strict rules on dating, attempts to get bad boy Patrick (Ledger) to date Bianca's ill-tempered sister Kat (Stiles). The movie is titled after a poem written by Kat about her bittersweet romance with Patrick, and much of the filming took place in Seattle's metropolitan area, with numerous scenes shot at Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington. By the end of its run, 10 Things I Hate About You grossed roughly $60 million domestically off a budget of some $13 million, and 10 years after its debut, the film was adapted into a television series of the same title that ran for 20 episodes and featured Larry Miller reprising his movie role as Kat and Bianca's father Walter.
Included on Entertainment Weekly's list of “The 50 Best High School Movies,” 10 Things I Hate About You was a huge hit with its chief demographic, and was nominated for seven Teen Choice Awards: Choice Comedy; Breakout Star (Stiles); Funniest Scene; Love Scene; Villain; Soundtrack; and Hissy Fit (for one of Gordon-Levitt's). The film's casting directors Marcia Ross and Donna Morong won "Best Casting for Feature Film, Comedy" at the Casting Society of America in 1999, and the following year, Stiles won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for "Most Promising Actress," as well as an MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance. That same year, Ledger was nominated for Best Musical Performance for his rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus on 10 Things I Hate About You states that "Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger add strong performances to an unexpectedly clever script," while Film Threat's Brad Laidman raved that the movie was “pure of heart and perfectly executed.”
10 Things I Hate About You will be presented as part of the Teen Movie Night series on May 16, and because the library closes at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays, doors will re-open for the event from 5:45 to 6 p.m., when the screening begins. Popcorn and soda will be provided, admission is free, and more information is available by calling (563)344-4175 and visiting BettendorfLibrary.com.
