Amy Heckerling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amy Heckerling
Heckerling in 2017
Born	(1954-05-07) May 7, 1954 (age 71) New York City, New York, U.S.
Education	New York University (BA) AFI Conservatory (MFA)
Occupation	Director producer writer
Years active	1977–present
Spouse(s)	David Brandt ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1983)​ Neal Israel ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 1990)​
Children	1

Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American writer, producer, and director. She is known for creating popular teen comedies and family films. After studying film at New York University and the American Film Institute, she started making small student films.

Heckerling became famous with her breakthrough film Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). She also directed other well-known movies like Johnny Dangerously (1984), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), and Look Who’s Talking (1989). One of her most iconic films is Clueless (1995), which became a huge hit and a cultural classic.

Many of Heckerling’s films were later turned into television series. For example, Fast Times at Ridgemont High became the TV show Fast Times (1986), and Clueless (1995) became a television series that aired from 1996 to 1999.

Growing Up and School

Amy Heckerling was born on May 7, 1954, in The Bronx, New York City. Her mother was a bookkeeper and her father was an accountant. Both parents worked full-time, so Amy often stayed home alone watching TV. She also spent time at her grandmother's house in Brooklyn, which she enjoyed more. There, she loved visiting Coney Island and watching movies all night with her grandmother.

As a child, Amy loved television, especially cartoons and old black-and-white movies. Her favorites were gangster films, musicals, and comedies. She particularly liked the actor James Cagney.

When her family moved to Queens, Amy felt out of place. She decided to attend the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. On her very first day there, she realized she wanted to be a film director.

After high school, in 1970, she focused on studying film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Her father had given her a book about classic foreign films, and she watched almost all of them. This helped her a lot in her film classes at NYU. She learned a lot and met important people like Martin Brest and her professor Terry Southern.

Starting Her Film Career

After graduating from NYU, Amy Heckerling moved to Los Angeles. She wanted to follow her friend Martin Brest to the American Film Institute Conservatory, hoping to find more chances to work in movies. Moving to LA was a big change for her, especially since she hadn't needed to drive in New York City.

She eventually learned to drive and started working. Her first job in a studio was helping with sound for a TV show. This helped her meet people in the film business. She worked hard on her student films, even using the editing studios at night after her regular job.

Amy's hard work paid off. After finishing one of her films, she showed it, and it got a great reaction. This led to Thom Mount, the president of Universal Pictures, becoming interested in her. Even though she didn't have an agent, Mount called her and asked her to make a film.

Making Feature Films

1980s Hits

Amy Heckerling's first major movie was Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). It was based on a real story about high school students in California. Amy loved the script and worked with the writer, Cameron Crowe, to make it even better. The film helped start the careers of many famous actors, including Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicolas Cage, Forest Whitaker, and Sean Penn. Sean Penn's role as Jeff Spicoli made him a huge star.

Amy was very particular about the music in the film. She wanted new, edgy 1980s music from bands like Oingo Boingo and The Go-Gos, even though the studio wanted more mainstream bands. She had to fight for some of her music choices.

The studio wasn't sure how to promote Fast Times, so they released it in only a few hundred theaters without much advertising. But the film was a huge success right away! It quickly became a pop culture classic and earned over $27 million. It even led to a short-lived TV series called Fast Times, which Amy also worked on.

After Fast Times, Amy directed Johnny Dangerously (1984). This movie, starring Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito, was a comedy that made fun of old gangster films. It didn't do well at first because many people didn't know the old movies it was spoofing. However, over time, it gained a loyal fan base.

The next year, she directed National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985), a sequel to a popular comedy. It starred Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. This film was another success for Amy, earning over $74 million. Even though critics didn't always love her films, audiences often did. Amy admits she enjoys "silly things," which has helped her make successful comedies.

In 1989, Amy had her biggest hit with Look Who's Talking. It starred John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, and a baby whose thoughts were voiced by Bruce Willis. Amy got the idea for the movie when she was pregnant with her daughter. She loves writing comedies because she wants the process of making a film to be fun for everyone involved. Look Who's Talking earned almost $300 million, making it her highest-grossing film. This success helped her achieve a goal: to have a huge hit movie, like the big hits made by male directors.

1990s Classics

Two sequels to Look Who's Talking followed. Amy directed Look Who's Talking Too in 1990, which was also a moderate success. She produced, but did not direct, the third film, Look Who's Talking Now. The movies also inspired a brief TV show called Baby Talk, which Amy largely wrote.

In 1995, Amy wrote and directed Clueless. This film was a modern and funny version of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma. It was about wealthy teenagers living in Beverly Hills. Amy first thought of Clueless as a TV show because she loved writing the main character, Cher, who she described as a "happy, optimistic, California girl."

To research for the script, Amy sat in on classes at Beverly Hills High School. She watched how teenagers acted, though she admits she made up most of the story. She noticed how teenage girls constantly groomed themselves. Like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless quickly became popular with teenagers and a major pop culture reference. The film earned over $56 million and helped launch the careers of actors like Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, and Brittany Murphy. It also became a successful TV series, and Amy wrote the pilot and directed some early episodes.

2000s and Beyond

Amy Heckerling directed and produced Loser (2000), a romantic college comedy. It didn't do as well as her previous films. After a break, her romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd, was released directly to video in the US instead of in theaters. This was due to financial problems with the film's distribution. During this time, Amy was also taking care of her parents, who were very ill. Even though she was upset about the film not being released in theaters, she enjoyed working with Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer. Amy also directed an episode of the popular TV show The Office.

In 2011, Heckerling directed the horror-comedy film Vamps. It starred Sigourney Weaver, Alicia Silverstone, and Krysten Ritter. The movie was about two vampires living in New York City as best friends. The film was released in theaters in 2012.

More recently, a musical version of Clueless opened Off-Broadway in 2018. Amy Heckerling wrote the story for the musical herself.

Filmmaking Style

Amy Heckerling's films often show a strong focus on female characters and their experiences. She likes to challenge traditional ideas about women in movies and in society. Her films, like Clueless and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, often focus on young women at important times in their lives, like finishing high school and moving into adulthood. Her characters often go against what society expects of women. Amy also tends to highlight the importance of friendships between girls in her films.

Personal Life

Amy Heckerling briefly dated her friend and fellow film director Martin Brest when she first moved to Los Angeles. They remained good friends after they broke up. Amy was married twice. Her first marriage was to David Brandt from 1981 to 1983. In 1984, she married director Neal Israel, but they divorced in 1990.

Amy and Neal had a daughter named Mollie Israel, born in 1985. Mollie appeared in small roles in some of her mother's films, including Look Who's Talking and Loser. Amy says that Mollie never wanted to be a "girly girl" and didn't get involved much in her mother's work, like the characters in Clueless. Despite this, they get along very well, and Mollie often introduces her mother to new music and movies.

Awards and Recognition

Amy Heckerling has received several awards for her work. In 1995, she won the National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay award for Clueless. She was also nominated for a WGA Award for the same film.

In 1998, she received the Franklin J. Schaffner Medal from the American Film Institute. In 1999, she was honored with the Crystal Award from Women in Film Los Angeles. This award recognizes women who have shown great strength and excellence, helping to expand the role of women in the entertainment industry.

Filmography

Movies She Worked On

Television Work

Television Acting Roles

See Also

In Spanish: Amy Heckerling para niños

• List of New York University people