Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Trivia / WorkingGirl

Go To

1* AllStarCast: By means of RetroactiveRecognition. Only Ford and Weaver were big stars at the time, but the film is a gold mine of RetroactiveRecognition goodness. Plus, a number of the supporting actors and minor players are still quite active and recognizable today.
2* BillingDisplacement: Lead Creator/MelanieGriffith gets third place in the film, behind bigger names Harrison Ford (doesn't appear until about a half hour in) and Sigourney Weaver (shelved during Act 2). It didn't go unnoticed in ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'''s satire "Lurking Girl," in the panel where "Junk" meets up with "Tush" in a bar and asks her to come home with him "in a totally unnecessary scene":
3-->'''Tush''': What's in it for me?
4-->'''Junk''': For YOU — nothing! For ME — a desperate attempt to justify my top billing in this lousy film!
5** DiagonalBilling: Creator/HarrisonFord, the biggest star, takes the upper-left billing slot on the box art and film posters while lead Creator/MelanieGriffith takes the lower but center position. As a star name but supporting character to both, Creator/SigourneyWeaver is on the same billing plane as Ford, above Griffith, but on their right.
6* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/AlecBaldwin was initially cast as Jack Trainer before Creator/HarrisonFord got the part.
7* DawsonCasting: A very borderline example of this trope. When Tess and Katharine first meet, Tess has just celebrated her 30th birthday a few days earlier, while Katharine is turning 30 the following week. Creator/MelanieGriffith was actually 30 at the time of filming, but Creator/SigourneyWeaver was 38. However, the fact that Weaver's character ''seems'' much older than she is in comparison to Tess is intentional.
8* TheOtherMarty: Creator/KevinSpacey was brought in as a last-minute replacement for another actor in the part of Bob Speck. On the day the scene was shot, Creator/MikeNichols, who had previously directed Spacey in ''Film/{{Heartburn}}'', sent a car to Spacey's New York apartment, with a copy of the script in the back seat. Spacey learned his lines while on the way to the shoot. Nichols was under pressure to finish the scene so he wouldn't have to postpone his wedding to Diane Sawyer two days later. Years later, when Spacey became a producer on ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'', he gave a part to Creator/DakotaJohnson, who is the real-life daughter of Creator/MelanieGriffith.
9* StarMakingRole: For Creator/MelanieGriffith as this film earned her an [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Academy Award]] nomination for Best Actress and helped shoot her straight into the A-list going into the 1990s.
10* ThrowItIn: In one montage there's a shot of Tess vacuuming Katherine's apartment. It's such a distant shot it's hard to tell, but she's wearing nothing but a pair of blue panties at the time. Creator/MelanieGriffith suggested it to the director because it was something she often did at home. (this really is TruthInTelevision for some women, who say it's easier to wash off dirt and dust from themselves than clothing, not to mention that housework can actually be quite a workout and make you hot and sweaty)
11* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
12** Creator/KimBasinger, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/WhoopiGoldberg, Creator/GoldieHawn, Creator/ShelleyLong, Creator/CatherineOHara, Creator/MerylStreep and Creator/KathleenTurner were considered for the role of Katherine.
13** Creator/LorraineBracco, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/CarrieFisher, Creator/ShelleyLong and Creator/MichellePfeiffer, were considered for the role of Tess.

Top