I Know What You Did Last Summer

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I Know What You Did Last Summer
Directed by Jim Gillespie
Produced by William S. Beasley
Neal H. Mortiz
Written by Lois Duncan
Kevin Williamson
Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Ryan Phillippe
Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Music by John Debney
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) October 17, 1997 (USA)
Running time 100 minutes
Language English
Budget $17,000,000
Gross revenue $72,500,000
Followed by I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

This article is about the film. For the novel by Lois Duncan, see I Know What You Did Last Summer.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a popular horror film released in 1997. It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze, Jr. The screenplay was written by Kevin Williamson, very loosely based on a popular novel by Lois Duncan of the same title. The film was followed by the sequels, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and the straight-to-DVD I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer.

Contents

[edit] Production

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Kevin Williamson's screenplay was purchased before his screenplay for the movie Scream. It was only after Scream's success that producers rushed Williamson's screenplay for I Know What You Did Last Summer into production. Scottish director Jim Gillespie was hired by producer Neal H. Moritz to make his debut feature film on the strength of his 10-minute short film "Joyride". The film was shot in Southport, North Carolina, which also served as the film's setting.

[edit] Differences Between the Movie and the Novel

Essentially, the two have little to nothing in common except the title and a few names.[citation needed]

Lois Duncan, the author of the book, was barred from the set of the movie.[citation needed] She was not aware of the drastic changes to her source material until she saw the completed film.

  • The novel is set in New Mexico, while the movie is set in North Carolina.
  • In the novel, the victim's name is David Gregg, not David Egan. He is a young boy on a bike, and the novel's villain is David's older brother seeking retribution. He is not a fisherman, never uses a hook, and is not a killer, although he seeks to murder Julie, and her friends.
  • In the novel, Barry is driving the car, and it is a hit and run accident, not a cover up.
  • For the movie, Elsa and Helen's last names were changed from "Rivers" to "Shivers."
  • In the novel, Helen works as a weather girl for the local news station; she is successful enough that she can afford to live at The Four Seasons, a swanky apartment complex. In the movie, Helen lives at home after failing to make it as an actress in New York, and she works for her father's department store.
  • In the novel, Julie is a year younger than Barry and Ray, and is at the end of her senior year in high school at the beginning of the story. She has just been accepted into Smith College. In the movie, Julie graduates the same year as Barry and Ray, and is struggling with low grades at Duke University.
  • In the novel, Helen jumps from the bathroom window of her condominium to escape the killer. She is only injured by the fall, whereas she is actually killed in the film, not by the fall, but by the killer a few minutes later.
  • In the novel, Barry is shot in the abdomen and has to be fitted for a colostomy bag, thereby ending his sports career before it begins; ultimately, he dissolves the pact by agreeing to report what he and his friends did last summer, when it becomes only too clear that all four of their lives are being jeopardized in every sense.
  • In the novel, only Julie receives the note while Helen receives a drawing, Ray receives a newspaper clipping and Barry receives a phone call. In the movie, only notes are delivered and only to Julie and Ray.
  • The novel begins with Julie receiving the note. The movie begins with the night of the accident.
  • In the novel David's sister name is Megan not Missy

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Result
1997 ASCAP Award Top Box Office Films, John Debney Nominated
1998 Saturn Award Best Horror Film Nominated
1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Female Newcomer, Favorite Actress, Jennifer Love Hewitt Won
1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actress - Horror, Sarah Michelle Gellar Won
1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actor - Horror, Freddie Prinze Jr. Nominated
1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actress - Horror, Jennifer Love Hewitt Nominated
1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actor, Ryan Phillippe Nominated
1998 IHG Award Best Movie Nominated
1998 MTV Movie Awards Best Breakthrough Performance, Sarah Michelle Gellar Nominated
1998 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress, Jennifer Love Hewitt Nominated

Awards & Nominations for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" at IMDb

[edit] Reception

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The film opened to $15.8 million in 2,524 theatres on October 17th, 1997. The movie stayed in the top position for three consecutive weeks. The end result was a total of $72.5 million in the US and a worldwide theatrical gross in excess of $125 million.

Critics, however, were mixed in their reviews. Critic Roger Ebert wrote in his review, "The best shot in this film is the first one. Not a good sign."

[edit] See also

List of characters in I Know What You Did Last Summer series

[edit] External links