"MEAN GIRLS"

Calling somebody else fat will not make you any thinner.
Calling somebody else stupid will not make you any smarter.
And you've got to stop calling each other sluts and whores.
It just makes it all right for guys to call you that.

-- Math teacher Ms. Norbury (Tina Fey) addressing a student assembly

Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) thinks she knows about "survival of the fittest." But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 15-year-old enters public high school for the first time and falls prey to the psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today.

Directed by Mark Waters ("Freaky Friday"), from a screenplay by Emmy winner Tina Fey ("Saturday Night Live"), "Mean Girls" is a fictional comedy based on Rosalind Wiseman's New York Times bestseller, Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence, which Time praised as "a chilling account of the life our girls navigate in their school lunchrooms and hallways."

Paramount Pictures presents a Lorne Michaels Production, "Mean Girls," starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, Ana Gasteyer and Tina Fey. Directed by Mark Waters from a screenplay by Tina Fey, based on the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, the film is produced by Lorne Michaels.

Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the production, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and music.

This film is PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying.

THE STORY
Illustrating a serious issue facing girls all across the nation, “Mean Girls” is the story of Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), a cultural blank slate when she first sets foot on the grounds of North Shore High School in a town outside of Chicago, Illinois. After living in Africa, Cady, now a junior, has no idea how “wild” things can be in civilization until she crosses paths with one of the meanest species of all -- the "Queen Bee," who at this particular high school is the cool and calculating Regina George (Rachel McAdams).

But Cady doesn't just cross paths with this Queen Bee; she really stings her when she falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett). Now Regina's set to sting back by pretending to still like Aaron so he won't go out with Cady, all the while pretending to be her friend. With no choice but to use the same M.O. to stay in the game, the "Girl World" one-upmanship escalates until the entire school gets dragged into a first-class mean-fest.

Surrounded by jocks, mathletes, flaky teachers and subcultures galore, Cady climbs up -- and slides down -- the harrowing social ladder of junior year, and life in the jungle turns out to be cake compared to high school!

***

As exemplified in her wickedly funny and often acerbic writing style, "Saturday Night Live" head writer Tina Fey has long been fascinated by social dynamics and --thought that the phenomenon of Girl World nastiness bore further investigation. To that end, she got in touch with Rosalind Wiseman, co-founder of the Empower Program, a nonprofit organization that works to empower girls and boys and stop adolescent violence. Wiseman's book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence impressed Fey with its insight into how girls navigate through the cliques and hierarchies of adolescence, and she was convinced that the material could provide the spark for a very funny and very topical movie.

"I think that girls are ingenious in how they find ways to sabotage one another in these invisible, unseen, hurtful ways," says Fey. "What struck me most were the anecdotes of the girls that were interviewed for the book. Rosalind, rightfully, takes them very seriously, but in my opinion, they're also very funny. I mean the way girls mess with each other is so clever and intricate, and probably very instinctive."

"SNL" creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels loved Fey's idea to turn the book into a film. "This is very rich subject matter, and very relevant at the moment. I knew that Tina would have a smart take on it," says Michaels, who has been launching the theatrical debuts of "SNL" cast members since 1986. "She's somebody who considers what she does very carefully, and I had every confidence it her ability to spin this book into a great film."

While adapting a book to a screenplay can be complex at best, the task was made that much more difficult because Fey was turning nonfiction into fiction. Using the concepts and anecdotes in Wiseman's book as a springboard, and pulling materials from interviews with teenage girls and her own experiences in high school, Fey created a very funny screenplay that drew topnotch talent, including director Mark Waters.

Hot off the success of "Freaky Friday," one of last summer's biggest hit comedies, Waters says Fey's script is one of the best he's read in years.

"It was witty and funny and full of humor yet still had a kind of humanity to it that you could connect to," Waters recalls. "It wasn't your average cookie-cutter high school script. Tina has created a universe of fleshed out characters that you really care about, and the minute I read her screenplay I knew I had to do it."

With Waters on board, the filmmakers set out to find the right actress to play the pivotal lead role of Cady, a critical choice made easy once Lindsay Lohan, one of the most talented young actresses working in Hollywood today, agreed to bring the character to life.

Having worked with Waters on "Freaky Friday," Lohan embraced the chance to be a part of the film, not only because of its director but also because of the script's humor, style and characters.

"I think Tina did a great job of getting into girls' heads," says the 17-year-old actress, whose 1998 feature film debut in "The Parent Trap" drew rave reviews, as did her more recent "Freaky Friday" performance. "The script is very realistic, very true to high school and the rivalry that goes on there."

Lohan points out that all kids -- both boys and girls -- go through a lot of phases until they find themselves, and the environment in school doesn't help. "In Cady's case, she gets caught between the Mathlete World, where being a good student is what it's all about, and the Plastic World, where being liked is the most important thing. I think every girl going to high school now, who will go or who already went can relate to this. I know I certainly do."

Walters agrees completely with Lohan's description of Cady's predicament, adding that the actress truly nailed the character.

"Having been brought up in isolated circumstances abroad, Cady has no conception of what it means to live in modern-day culture," Walters observes. "Then she gets plunked down in the middle of this crazy petri dish of a Midwestern public high school and is 'adopted' by various groups who try to make her their own. It's hard on her, and she ends up finding a real 'dark side' of herself that she never knew existed."

Walters adds that Lohan is perfect for the role because it calls for a strong actress with a strong personality. "Audiences have to believe that Cady is capable of going from this innocent girl to one capable of true meanness, then back to a girl with real humanity," says Waters. "Lindsay handled it beautifully. In the beginning, when she's supposed to be sort of passive, she's still so alive that audiences never stop believing she's a formidable contender."

To play the role of Regina George, Queen Bee of North Shore High's three-girl clique, The Plastics, filmmakers cast Rachel McAdams, who was last seen on the big screen as a lead star in "The Hot Chick." Never affiliating herself with any one specific group when she went to high school, McAdams says she had a great time camping it up as the Queen Bee of all Queen Bees.

"Regina is absolutely in a league of her own at the very top, at the very pinnacle of popularity at her school," observes McAdams. "In essence, she and her friends practically run the school, since they dictate what's cool and what's not, the style of clothing everyone should wear and how people should behave."

McAdams also points out that, as Queen Bee, Regina completely understands the notioin that it's good to keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer.

"Regina is definitely smart, and she knows the second she meets Cady that her domain could be threatened," McAdams observes. "She recognizes that Cady is pretty enough and smart enough to be very popular, and she realizes that if Cady becomes high school savvy enough, she has the potential to throw Regina right off her throne. So she immediately takes Cady under her wing to keep an eye on her."

On-screen McAdams exudes just the right blend of sugar-sweet charm and menacing intimidation to be totally believable as Regina; however in real life she anything but resembles her character. Director Mark Waters definitely noticed the dissimilarities between the character and the young actress.

"I think it's true that you have to cast a nice girl to play a mean girl, just like you have to cast a smart person to play a dumb person," says Waters. Rachel is this incredibly hardworking, really terrific girl who can be totally evil on camera, but is actually incredibly nice in person. Which is lucky for all us," he adds with a grin. "If she was anything like Regina in real life it would be a nightmare."

The filmmakers searched long and hard to find the right actors to play the roles of Janis, Damian, Gretchen, Karen and Aaron, all of whom help Cady as she navigates the ups and downs of her first year of high school. Casting a wide net, they auditioned young actors and actresses between the ages of 15 and 25 in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago.

Portraying Gretchen and Karen, Regina's sidekicks, best friends and devoted followers are Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried. Together the three make up The Plastics, the most feared, revered and ultra-fashionable clique at North Shore.

Chabert, who plays Gretchen Weiners, maintains that her character is "only mean by association" and, because she has a tendency to spill everyone's secrets, it gets her into a lot of trouble. "She's incredibly wealthy because her father is the inventor of Toaster Strudel, and she loves people to know that," laughs Chabert. "She's also incredibly insecure, constantly having anxiety attacks that Regina is going to kick her out of The Plastics, and fearful that she'll lose her status. Therefore, she's terrified of Regina, but at the same time idolizes her. She just knows that one day she's going to cross the line and wear the wrong color or something and zap -- she'll be kicked out and washed up."

Having spent her high school years playing the role of Claudia on the hit television series "Party of Five," Chabert was tutored in a trailer on a studio lot, so she understands Cady's dilemma of missing out on a normal high school experience. "That's not to say I couldn't grasp my own character's experience," Chabert points out. "In fact, the script is so vividly written that all the characters just jumped off the page."

Newcomer Amanda Seyfried says she was thrilled when she was cast as one of The Plastics and that she didn't mind being cast as the "dumb" one of the group. "Karen may be clueless," observes Seyfried, "but she's also fun-loving and energetic."

While the Plastics are the creme de la creme of the North Shore girls, Aaron Samuels, all-round-nice-guy, hunk du jour and the object of Cady's first high school crush, not to mention Regina's ex-boyfriend, is definitely the big man on campus. Jonathan Bennett, who portrays Aaron, admits that the character is not unlike the guy he was in high school.

"Aaron is a pretty cool, laid-back kind of guy," says Bennett. "Even though he's good at sports and decent in math, he's not a jock or a mathlete; he's just kind of everybody's friend. I understand Aaron perfectly, having not wanted to align myself with any one group either, so it was easy to step into his shoes."

Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese play art freaks and witty social outcasts, Janis and Damian. Seeing Cady as a possible kindred spirit, the two adopt her as their own, becoming Cady's first new friends at North Shore and, ultimately, partners in her plan to dethrone Regina George.

"There's people like Janis and Damian in every high school," explains Caplan. "Viewed as outsiders, they accept the label because they know they're smarter than everybody else in the school. They can see the stupidity of all the backstabbing, and know that in four years they can get on with their lives."

Franzese echoes Caplan's sentiments: "Damian and Janis come together as a pair because Damian and Janis are the two kids in school who really get it. They get that high school isn't the be-all and end-all of their lives, and they've figured out that they don't have to rely on status to take themselves to the next step."

Holding their own against this formidable young cast are veteran comedy actors and current or former "Saturday Night Live" repertory players Tina Fey as Cady's math teacher, Ms. Norbury, Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall, Amy Poehler as Mrs. George and Ana Gasteyer as Cady's mother, Betsy Heron. Neil Flynn of "Scrubs" fame plays Cady's father, Chip.

An "SNL" repertory cast member since 2002, Amy Poehler portrays Regina's super-hip mom to the hilt--and beyond. So proud of her Queen Bee daughter, Mrs. George wants to be Regina, to the point of becoming a wannabe herself.

"I just let this character rip!" exlaims Poehler. "She's an 'SNL' skit rolled into one, and Tina couldn't have provided me with better material."

As for Tim Meadows, he thinks what makes the movie so good is an amazing script. "I think the dialogue and the language in the movie is probably different from other teen comedies in that it really captures the way kids talk today. Tina didn't sugarcoat a thing. These girls are really mean, and all I can say," he adds with a laugh, "is I'm sure glad I'm not a teenage boy anymore!"