Off the Cliff: How the Making of Thelma & Louise Drove Hollywood to the Edge

The persistence of scriptwriter Callie Khourie in her initial writing, managing, and marketing of the script of the film Thelma & Louise (1991), is celebrated in the opening chapters of this study from Aikman (Saturday Night Widows). The author also describes the Hollywood atmosphere as misogynist, women's films of the time as poor and weepy, and the filmmaking industry as pretty much a boys' world. Aikman covers Khourie's early life, emotional inclinations, and work style: how she links up with an editor and an agent and connects with someone who can maneuver the Hollywood market. Repetitious gender-bias reminders prevail as this girl group works. An enjoyable shift in subject to the production and filming of the movie brings fascinating revelations from interviews with people of varying degrees of involvement in the work: try outs and casting, costuming, location selecting, props and equipment (dust blowers, tumbleweed, five Thunderbirds), relationships among actors (Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon, director Ridley Scott, new discovery Brad Pitt). The final scene was the subject of ongoing debate, harsh and nuanced, profit and creative principle at odds. The ultimate choice is still debated in this now-classic girls' odyssey film.