Bring It On: The Complete Story of the Cheerleading Movie That Changed, Like, Everything (No, Seriously)
By (Author) Kase Wickman
Chicago Review Press
Chicago Review Press
1st May 2023
United States
General
Non Fiction
791.4372
Hardback
320
Width 152mm, Height 229mm, Spine 30mm
530g
Featuring dozens of interviews with the cast and crew, fans of the franchise, film scholars, former and current cheerleaders, fellow filmmakers, and more.
Gabrielle Union, Kirsten Dunst, and Eliza Dushku have all risen to fame since their performances in the original cheer classic, but boldface names like Solange Knowles, Rihanna, Hayden Panetierre, Ashley Tisdale, and more also appeared in Bring It On films. The first-time director who helmed the movie, Peyton Reed, now has multiple Marvel smash hit films under his belt.
Not bad for a movie that almost didnt get greenlit in the first place but went on to win the box office its opening weekend, gross more than $90.45 million worldwide, and spawn a half-dozen sequels, a Tony-nominated musical, and a whole new genre of female-led films.
With the support of the filmmakers and producers, author and pop culture expert Kase Wickman accessed Universal's archives and conducted new interviews with cast, crew, and more for a full reveal of all the stories fans will love in this complete history and examination of the legacy of the greatest cheerleading movie almost never made.
Beyond its 20th anniversary, the legacy of Bring It On endures. Its time we all understood how it changed, like, everything.
"'We Blew the Doors Off' How Bring It On Shocked Hollywood"-- Kase Wickman, Vanity Fair
"This book is a definitive history of the film's creation and cultural impact. While readers don't need to have seen Bring It On to enjoy it, the film's fans will read the upbeat tale in droves ... Like the film that inspired it, this book is a lesson in cultural optimism." "--STARRED REVIEW, Booklist Reviews
"Wickman spoke with Vogue about Bring It On's legacy, its connection to Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, and its bonafides as one of the greatest sports movies ever made." -- Michelle Ruiz, Vogue
"Given the fact that Vanity Fair editor Wickman has assembled all the film's players to talk to her for her memorandum, I dare say she's not the only one talking about Bring It On " -- Shondaland
"Though Wickman succeeds in demonstrating that the film resonates with an audience that extends beyond cheerleaders and teen girls, she also conveys how it felt to see Bring It On for the first time when she was 12: "I firmly believe that the magnetic pull of Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union combined is more than any human can withstand." Readers will revel in this nostalgic look at a pop culture phenomenon." -- Publishers Weekly
"Kase Wickman is a funny, sharp, and incisive chronicler of pop culture. A must-read for not only fans of this iconic movie, but all film buffs who want this inside scoop on how cinematic magic is made." --Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They'll Never Catch Us, They Wish They Were Us, and The Counselors
"The time to call Bring It On what it's always been--the greatest sports movie ever!--is now. The book to do it is in your hands. Put the itch in your spirit fingers and Bring It On!" --Tony Reali, host, ESPN's Around the Horn
Kase Wickman is a writer, journalist, and creative who has been on staff at MTV News, the New York Post, the Boston Globe, and the Huffington Post. Her work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Village Voice Media, and The Awl. Kase specializes in long-form journalism, quirky subjects and subcultures, and women in entertainment. When she's not writing, she spends time crafting, baking, and exploring the best corners of New York and New Jersey with her husband, Christopher Rosen, and daughter.