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COYOTE UGLY
In
search of an identity
The film may seem to be a sex-comedy,
based as it is on the girls working in a night-club,
but it’s not. Like all Jerry Bruckheimer films,
the theme in this film too revolves around people on
a journey to achieve a goal...
Coyote
Ugly happens to be a name of a nightclub with a twist.
It’s the hottest spot in town, featuring a team
of sexy, enterprising young women. Lil (Maria Bellow)
is the savvy and tough proprietor with an autocratic
reign over her girls, including the ever-flirtatious
Cammie (Izabella Miko), headstrong and antagonistic
Rachel (Bridget Moynahan) and top tip-earner Zoe (Tyra
Banks). The ‘Coyotes’, as they are affectionately
called, tantalise customers and the media alike with
their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the sought-after
haunt for guys on the prowl.
Directed by David McNally, Coyote Ugly is produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman.
The story revolves around Violet, who leaves her over-protective
father, to lead a life of her won. Having decided to
make a cerre in music, she spends her time writing and
recording her original material, making the rounds at
every label and independent record producer in town,
all the while hunting for a job to pay the rent. While
doing the rounds, she thinks she’s found a club
manager who is interested in her music, but instead
finds a genuine fan and love-struck admirer in a young
chef named Kevin (Adam Garcia).
After endless rejections, she begins to focus seriously
on her ultimate goal. Violet lands a job at Coyote Ugly,
a saloon run by the notoriously iron-fisted maiden Lil.
Under the intoxicating influence of the bar, Violet
breaks out of her shell, using her voice and sex appeal
to seize the spotlight. Heady from the ego boost, she
fails to see that she has become nothing more than a
glorified bartender — she risks her job and loses
not only the respect of her father, but true love and
the chance to follow her dream.
Coyote Ugly is a sexy, romantic comedy centering around
one girl’s wild adventure in the big city. “This
is a story about dreams,” says producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
who has earlier produced Flashdance, Top Gun, Con Air,
Armageddon and this year’s Gone In 60 Seconds,
“With a lot of effort, a little homework and keeping
your eye on the prize, you can achieve whatever it is
you set out to do.”
Director David McNally agrees. “It’s an emotional
story, and even though it’s a comedy, the single
thread throughout is this very real love story. I have
this belief about comedy - if you laugh at something,
you’re either seeing something in yourself or learning
something about yourself.”
Bruckheimer, who is known for his enormous success with
first-time directors, tapped McNally to direct after
seeing his many commercials and videos. “David’s
body of work not only had a wonderful look but also
a terrific sense of humour,” he says, “I could
tell that he was able to communicate with his actors.
He was able to make fun, romantic moments out of very
small gestures and seemingly innocuous circumstances;
he is a great story-teller and makes unique casting
choices. I was confident we could magnify that talent
into an hour and a half.”
Suggested by a GQ magazine article (March 1993) written
by Elizabeth Gilbert, screenwriter Gina Wendkos created
her memorable characters and a fictional story around
the real Manhattan watering hole, Coyote Ugly. “Not
unlike Dorothy entering Oz, when I first stepped inside
Coyote Ugly, I was terrified by the in-your-face bartenders,”
says Wendkos, “The terror was soon replaced by
excitement as I found myself returning and returning
and returning for more.” She adds, “The magic
of Coyote Ugly is the female bartenders who flaunt new
styles of post-feminism.”
Actress Piper Perabo says, “This place, this story,
is all about empowerment. These women are capable, intelligent,
strong people, each in her own way. But they’re
all moving toward a goal. Coyote Ugly is a vehicle to
that end.”
Casting the lead actress to play Violet Sanford was
no easy task. The filmmakers went on a worldwide search
to find just the right young lady, combing 20 major
cities throughout the United States and Canada with
open casting calls, as well as accepting tapes from
actresses and singers from as far away as Scotland.
Casting director Bonnie Timmermann believed it was important
to open the search as wide as possible. “I wanted
to open casting for everyone,” she says, “It
was important to give actresses who didn’t have
representation a chance to read for us. It was amazing
how many videotapes came in.”
According to the director, the perfect girl had to have
that elusive something, what they call ‘a movie
star quality’. Assembling the finest cast possible
is always of the utmost importance to Bruckheimer, who
made Tom Cruise a household name. After looking at thousands
of young hopefuls, the filmmakers pronounced Piper Perabo
the lucky winner of the part. A young actress, who had
done small parts in the films The Adventures of Rocky
And Bullwinkle and White Boys, Piper impressed the filmmakers.
“Piper had a real point of view about her character,”
says McNally, “She was prepared and thought about
it. She’s soft and pretty, but she’s not afraid
to be a little wacky and funny. I loved the contrast.
She’s very watchable.”
Piper loved her role the moment she read about it. “The
first time I read the script, I was amazed because there
were so many similarities between Violet and me,”
she says, “I grew up in New Jersey and moved to
New York, and worked in a bar, and then I got my first
acting job. Violet comes from a quiet town and feels
she needs to get out and experience life, which she
certainly does in her first couple of days in the city.”
For the role of Kevin O’Donnell, Adam Garcia was
chosen. Besides being handsome and athletic, what appealed
to the filmmakers was his unique warmth and sincerity.
The actor developed a genuine chemistry with Piper during
rehearsals.
In order to make the bar scenes appear realistic, the
actresses spent weeks before production, as well as
hours during shooting, studying the art of the fast
pour, finessing the bottle twirl and learning other
essential bartending techniques. The filmmakers also
hired choreographer Travis Payne to train the Coyotes.
His job was to create dance numbers and coach the girls
without making them look like professional dancers.
Since costumes were important for the film, Bruckheimer
and McNally turned to designer Marlene Stewart, who’s
worked with Madonna and other music and motion picture
icons, to create looks that would influence fashion
and popular culture for years to come. Stewart was faced
with the challenge to make the clothes flexible enough
for the strenuous dance numbers. “We created a
lot of the garments prior to the choreography being
set and when the dances became very athletic and extreme,
we had to accommodate for that. We essentially recreated
wardrobe, which could stretch and stand up to the special
effects we used, and still look good for the rest of
the scene. We used a lot of stretch leather, which unlike
real leather, has memory, and that gave us a good return.”
Although the clothing is a little sexy, director David
McNally insists the clothes don’t make the sex
appeal. “Of course the girls look sexy, but their
sexuality doesn’t come from the clothing,”
he says, “It comes from their power and their bravado
and their confidence, not the other way around. That
had to be reflected in the wardrobe.” Music is
always an important element in producer Bruckheimer’s
films. “It’s something that embellishes the
story,” he says, “And in this film it enriches
our understanding of the main character. The songs tell
the audience about her trials and tribulations, about
the hopes and dreams of many young people, about heartache
and newfound love and about failure and success.”
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