Trivia / The Crush

• Actor-Inspired Element: Jennifer Rubin contributed most of her own wardrobe, as the costume designer liked her style so much, she just had her wear some of her own clothes in the film.
• Dawson Casting: Alicia Silverstone was fifteen and turned sixteen during filming, playing a fourteen-year-old.
• Executive Meddling: An angry executive called Alan Shapiro berating him about the scene which Nick is hiding in Darian's bedroom and demanded he reshoot the scene and have Alicia Silverstone show off her naked body on-screen, which Alan Shapiro refused because Silverstone was 16 and was underage. The executive reluctantly agreed and had Silverstone showed her bare bottom instead and shot the scene with a body double.
• Fake American: Cary Elwes as Nick.
• Follow the Leader: In the early to mid 90s there was a trend of erotic thrillers involving promiscuous teenage girls trying to seduce older men, such as Poison Ivy and the remake of Lolita.
• Looping Lines: The name Adrian had to be dubbed, and the actors who did so are unknown, as the studio couldn't afford to bring back the main cast. The differences can be heard in more than a few scenes.
• Missing Trailer Scene: Two scenes that were filmed but deleted could be seen in the theatrical trailer: Darian pulls the bed cover off a naked Nick and Amy whilst they're asleep and an extension of the pool scene between Nick and Darian.
• What Could Have Been: Reese Witherspoon and Fairuza Balk were both briefly considered for the role of Adrian.
• Working Title: 'Teenager From Hell'.
• Write What You Know: Writer and director Alan Shapiro's inspiration behind the film was based on a real-life experience. In Los Angeles, Alan Shapiro became a lodger at a guest house following his departure from college, in which the house was owned by a married couple. Shapiro was trying to work on scripts for Hollywood but was constantly distracted by their teenage daughter Darian, who had a crush on him. Shapiro wanted nothing to do with Darian and rejected a sexual relationship with her because she was underage. One day, he came home from an errand, only to find the words "Alan sucks cock!" carved into his new car. When Alan spoke to Darian's parents about it, Darian denied vandalizing his car and worst still, Darian's parents sided with their daughter, refusing to believe Alan. However, a school friend of Darian's came forward to Alan and privately told him that Darian did do it, but Darian's parents still refused to believe Darian's school friend. Because of this, Alan moved out and he never saw Darian again. Years later, Alan's wife reminded him of Darian and told him it would make a good story for a suspense thriller and it became - The Crush.
  • Then, after the movie became a Cult Classic very quickly, the real Darian sued Alan Shapiro for using her real name. As such, the film had to be re-edited and the name was changed to Adrian. As they could not afford to bring back the cast, different actors were brought in to replace the name. This is quite noticeable in several scenes, with clear different voices used when the name is mentioned.

---