When Callie Khouri, a 30-something Texas native and jobbing production assistant, sat down to write her screenplay for the film, she had no idea she would end up spawning a pop-cultural phenomenon. Having studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in LA, Khouri was grindingly familiar with the two-dimensional roles typically offered to women in Hollywood, and, feeling that “I wasn’t seeing women represented in a way that made me want to be one”, set about writing the film she wanted to see. The British Film Institute published a book about the film in 2000 [57] as part of a Modern Classics series. On the Writers Guild of America Award's list of 101 best screenplays, it made No. 72. [58] Stage adaptation [ edit ] Scott considered four people for the role of director, all of whom turned down the opportunity. Per Gitlin's recollection, three of the candidates were Bob Rafelson, Kevin Reynolds and Richard Donner. Scott was reluctant to direct the film himself but eventually took on the role, having been persuaded by Michelle Pfeiffer. [5] Casting [ edit ]

Ouzounian, Richard (June 6, 2011). "Driving off a cliff into movie lore". The Star. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018 . Retrieved August 25, 2018. It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances. Filming took place in California and Utah from June to August 1990. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and a then-unknown Brad Pitt in one of his first major film roles. Ebert, Roger (1991). "Thelma & Louise". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015 . Retrieved July 7, 2018. Then there are the reams of statistics about female talent either side of the cameras, which never fail to depress despite increasing clamour for change in the industry. In 2014, just seven per cent of the top-grossing films in the US were directed by women, while 12 per cent of the protagonists in those films were female – four percentage points lower than in 2002.The following morning, they discover J.D. has stolen Louise's savings and fled. Louise is distraught, so a guilty Thelma takes charge and later robs a nearby convenience store using tactics she learned from J.D. Meanwhile, the FBI closes in on them after witnesses at the bar identify Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. Their whereabouts are also questioned by the owner of the fishing cabin after they fail to arrive. Two audio commentaries, featuring Scott, screenwriter Callie Khouri, and actors Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman". [41] However, she also said that women-themed films have since been losing ground. [41] Accolades [ edit ] Award Cook, Bernie, ed. (2007). Thelma & Louise Live! The Cultural Afterlife of an American Film. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292794658. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018 . Retrieved July 7, 2018. Documentary featuring Davis; Khouri; Sarandon; Scott; actors Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt; and other members of the cast and crew

That leads, as such flirtations sometimes tragically do, to an attempted rape in the parking lot. And after Louise comes to her friend’s rescue, there is a sudden, violent event that ends with the man’s death. And the two women hit the road for real. They are convinced that no one would ever believe their story -- that the only answer for them is to run, and to hide. Dunne, Michael (2001). Intertextual Encounters in American Fiction, Film, and Popular Culture. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p.89. ISBN 0-87972-848-5. Gibson, Caitlin (April 20, 2016). "25 years ago, 'Thelma & Louise' was a radical statement. Sadly, it still is". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020 . Retrieved July 19, 2020.

As a filmmaker, Ridley Scott has always been somewhat reticent to embrace the urgency of the contemporary moment. Though he’s never less than competent in terms of form and as a director of actors, Scott remains to this day a genre-driven stylist and a lover of the physical design, cultural symbols, and lingo that characterize a specific era. Scott’s best films ( Blade Runner, Alien) called for immense design work, the crafting of vehicles and creatures, and the imagining of a culture far removed from our current standings; Gladiator and The Duellists bloomed largely due to exhaustive detailing and accuracy of historical costume design, if not historical events exactly.

Benson, Sheila (May 31, 1991). "True or False: Thelma & Louise Just Good Ol' Boys?: For all its craftsmanship, the Ridley Scott film is just a high-toned 'Smokey and the Bandit' with a downbeat ending and a woman at the wheel". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 29, 2022. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features Movies filmed in the Moab area". Moab Area Travel Council. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010 . Retrieved July 29, 2008. So the girls hit the road for a weekend (Thelma is so frightened of her husband she leaves him a note rather than tell him). They’re almost looking to get into trouble, in a way; they wind up in a saloon not too many miles down the road, and Thelma, a wild woman after a couple of margueritas, begins to get caught up in lust after a couple of dances with an urban cowboy. Thelma & Louise premiered in the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 1991, before being released theatrically in the United States on May 24. It later became a critical and commercial success, receiving six Academy Award nominations and winning for Best Original Screenplay. Scott was nominated for Best Director, and both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for Best Actress. To date, this is the most recent film to have two actors nominated in the same category for either Best Actor or Best Actress. It influenced other films and artistic works and became a landmark of feminist film.Roger Ebert also praised the film but withheld a perfect score on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin. It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste .... It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear." [21] After watching the film, singer-songwriter Tori Amos wrote " Me and a Gun", the story of her rape several years earlier. [22] [23]