Song for Ophelia: Unofficial Lois Duncan Site

BACK :: I Know What You Did Last Summer

Cast
Summary
Availability
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Book vs. Movie

CAST

Directed By: Jim Gillespie (I)

Writing Credits: Kevin Williamson, Lois Duncan (novel)

Jennifer Love Hewitt .... Julie James
Sarah Michelle Gellar....Helen Shivers
Ryan Phillippe ....Barry Cox
Freddie Prinze Jr.....Ray Bronson
Bridgette Wilson....Elsa Shivers
Johnny Galecki....Max
Anne Heche....Melissa Egan ("Missy")
Muse Watson....Benjamin Willis/Fisherman
Stuart Greer....Officer
Rasool J'Han ....Deb
J. Don Ferguson....MC Deborah Hobart
Mary McMillan....Mrs. Cox
Dan Albright....Sheriff
Lynda Clark.... Pageant Official

MOVIE SUMMARY

Of course, most people know about this early fall hit back in 1997. Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt (Party of Five), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Johnny Galecki (Cruel Intentions), and Freddie Prinze Jr., the IKWYDLS movie is loosely based on Lois Duncan's original novel. The movie, to no surprise, became a smash hit, riding on the success of the Scream movies. Kevin Williamson, writer of the Scream trilogy, wrote the screenplay. Interesting enough, his first vision of this movie is not the final product. As stated in the article His Voice Should Be Heard. Talking with "Scream King" Kevin Williamson by Andy Mangels for Sci-Fi Entertainment:

"I [Williamson] saw it as a morality play. This sounds so stupid, but when I read it, for the first time, you know what came to mind? Howard's End. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was about a morality choice. It was about how this one little thing affected generations to come. And when I read I Know What You Did Last Summer, it was a story about that one moment when she went to their house and she clearly saw the havoc of that one decision. This family had just fallen apart. That's what made me interested in the project, was that morality tale."
However, that wasn't what the studio wanted. They wanted a teenage slasher movie, and directed Williamson to provide it. "And so I came up with the Fisherman - my dad was a fisherman, and I knew the boat, I knew the hooks, I knew the winch. . ." The resulting film brought several stings to Williamson. Lois Duncan gave several interviews criticizing the film, a point which Williamson concedes. "She created it. If I was her and I wrote this book, which was a morality play about these kids, and I went to see a movie about a man with a fishhook slicing up kids. . . I think I'd have something strong to say about it, too. I mean it's her creation, and this is what she has to live with. I'd be upset if I was her, too. I can't blame her at all."

When the studios asked Duncan to write the screenplay for the sequel to IKWYDLS, she refused.

Here is a brief summary of the movie taken from the ~~Official site~~:

Last summer, four friends made a desperate pact to conceal a shocking secret. But now, someone has apparently learned the truth of their heinous act and the horror is starting again. There is an unknown avenger out there stalking them in a deadly game. Will he stop at terror--or is he out for revenge? Jennifer Love Hewitt, currently starring on Fox Television's hit series "Party of Five," and Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of the new hit Warner Bros. television series "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," star in I Know What You Did Last Summer, a horror thriller from screenwriter Kevin Williamson, whose last project was the critical and popular hit Scream.

From the success of the first movie, a sequel was produced called I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. The picture stars the Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Brandy, Laura Esposito, and Bill Cobbs. In the sequel Julie James (Hewitt) goes along with her friends on an all-expense paid trip for four to the Bahamas. Of course, when they get there, the terror begins. Here is a summary taken from the Internet Movie Database:

I Still Know takes place one year after the original movie. Julie's room mate - Karla - wins a trip for four to the Bahama's. Karla, her boyfriend and Julie with her new boyfriend - Will - go on vacation. While singing on stage, Julie follows the words for the song on a screen, but she then see's the words I STILL KNOW flash across the screen. Julie is now trapped on the island with the hook wielding killer who knows what she did last summer...

A third movie called I Always Know What You Did Last Summer was a direct-to-video release in August 2006.

For more info on the I Know What You Did Last Summer movie, click here.