Information about Coyote Ugly (film)

Coyote Ugly
Directed by	David McNally
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer Chad Oman
Written by	Gina Wendkos
Starring	Piper Perabo Adam Garcia Maria Bello Izabella Miko Tyra Banks Bridget Moynahan Melanie Lynskey John Goodman
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	4 August 2000
Running time	101 min.
Language	English
Budget	$45,000,000 USD (estimated)
IMDb profile

Coyote Ugly is a romantic comedy/drama based on the actual Coyote Ugly Saloon, set in New York City, and released in August 2000 (See 2000 in film). The film stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia with a small role by Tyra Banks. It was directed by David McNally and written by Gina Wendkos.

Plot

Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo), an aspiring songwriter, leaves her home and her father Bill Sanford (John Goodman) to pursue her dream in New York City. As shown in the movie, many teenagers have left from her home town in order to try and get out and be noticed in the outside world. She signs an autograph which is pinned on the wall dotted with other autographs signed by the rest of the troupe that left before her. She tries, unsuccessfully, to get her demo tape to be noticed by the studios. On one unsuccessful night she goes to a restaurant with only a few dollars in her pocket and ends up getting an apple pie on the house. She notices some girls flaunting the cash they had made the previous night and after enquiring, finds out that they worked at a bar called Coyote Ugly. She finds her way to the bar and is hired by the bar's owner Lil (Maria Bello) due to her sudden display of headstrong behavior which the owner admires. After starting her job, she quickly discovers that in order to keep her job she must learn the ropes of singing, dancing, and performing wild acts before a rowdy crowd. On one night she tries to get herself a good word through a bartender who jokingly diverts her to Kevin making her believe that he is the bar owner thus making a fool out of her which eventually brings them close together. They end up doing odd jobs together such as packing fish thus splitting the proceeds. Romantic interest Kevin O'Donnell (Adam Garcia) tries to help her in overcoming her shyness on the stage. She ends up landing a deal at a famous record label after a successful open mike night at the Bowery Ballroom.

Production

Kevin Smith, who did an uncredited rewrite of the script, stated that a total of eight writers worked on the script while the Writers Guild of America only gave credit to Gina Wendkos, who wrote the first draft of the script, which, according to Smith, little-resembles the final film.^[1] (See WGA screenwriting credit system.)

Early on, before the producers decided to cast mostly unknown actors for the movie, the lead role of Violet Sanford was offered to pop singer Jessica Simpson, who turned it down.^[2]

Unrated edition

In summer 2005 an unrated special edition of the film (the original release was rated PG-13 and the director's cut rated R) was released on DVD. The extended cut adds approximately six minutes to the film's runtime, most of which consists of additional shots of the "coyotes" dancing on the bar and of Violet and Cammie (Izabella Miko) trying on different outfits while shopping. Arguably the most notable additions are the extension of the sex scene between Violet and Kevin (Piper Perabo used a body double for most of the scene), and the inclusion of an additional scene, which shows the "coyotes" winning a softball game because Cammie distracts the pitcher by stripping. (The special features of the extended cut DVD are identical with those of the previous DVD release.)

Cast

• Piper Perabo as Violet Sanford
• Adam Garcia as Kevin O'Donnell
• Maria Bello as Lil
• Melanie Lynskey as Gloria
• John Goodman as Bill Sanford
• Izabella Miko as Cammie
• Tyra Banks as Zoe
• Bridget Moynahan as Rachel
• Del Pentecost as Lou the Bouncer
• Michael Weston as Danny
• LeAnn Rimes as herself
• Johnny Knoxville (Uncredited extra)

Soundtracks

The film's soundtrack features Violet's four songs from the movie, performed by LeAnn Rimes, as well as several other songs not exclusive to the film. It achieved gold status within one month of its release on August 1 2000 and platinum status by early November. The only single released from the album, LeAnn Rimes' "Can't Fight the Moonlight", also achieved gold status, became a nearly instant hit on the radio charts and peaked at #11 on The Billboard Hot 100.^[3]

A second soundtrack, More Music from Coyote Ugly, with more songs that appeared in the film and remixes of two of Rimes' songs, followed in 2003.

Coyote Ugly O.S.T.

1. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes
2. "Please Remember" by LeAnn Rimes
3. "The Right Kind Of Wrong" by LeAnn Rimes
4. "But I Do Love You" by LeAnn Rimes
5. "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" by Don Henley
6. "Unbelievable" by EMF
7. "The Power" by Snap!
8. "Need You Tonight" by INXS
9. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band
10. "Boom Boom Boom" by Rare Blend
11. "Didn't We Love" by Tamara Walker
12. "We Can Get There" (TP2K Hot Radio Mix) by Mary Griffin

More Music from Coyote Ugly

1. "One Way or Another" by Blondie
2. "I Will Survive" by Aretha Franklin
3. "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
4. "Rock This Town" by Stray Cats
5. "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by The Georgia Satellites
6. "Out Of My Head" by Fastball
7. "Battle Flag (Lo-Fidelity Allstars Remix)" by Pigeonhed
8. "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
9. "Love Machine" by The Miracles
10. "We Can Get There (Almighty Radio Edit)" by Mary Griffin
11. "Can't Fight The Moonlight (Graham Stack Radio Edit)" (bonus track) by LeAnn Rimes
12. "But I Do Love You (Almighty Radio Edit)" (bonus track) by LeAnn Rimes
13. "Wherever you will go" by The Calling

Trivia

• It was based on an article, The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon, in GQ by Elizabeth Gilbert who worked as a bartender in East Village. The bar which opened in 1993 quickly became a favorite of the Lower East Side hipsters.
• The slang term "coyote ugly" refers to the feeling of waking up after a one night stand and discovering that you are beside someone who is so physically repulsive that you would gladly gnaw off any of your limbs that he or she is sleeping on just so you can get away without being discovered. Coyotes are known to gnaw off limbs if they are stuck in a trap.
• The film has a cameo appearance by Johnny Knoxville, pre-Jackass fame, and also a performance by the band The Calling, also before the fame brought by their debut album Camino Palmero.
• The band playing at the end of the film is Chalk FarM.
• Although Piper Perabo was able to sing for her character, it was decided that LeAnn Rimes would provide Violet's singing voice, albeit with a deliberate deviation from her natural vocal range. This means that during LeAnn's cameo in the movie, she is effectively duetting with herself.
• Michael Bay makes a cameo as a photographer.

References

1. ^  Kevin on his involvement in 'Coyote Ugly'. The View Askewniverse. Retrieved on October 7, 2005.
2. ^  Simpson Was Scared Of Failure. contactmusic.com. Retrieved on October 7, 2005.
3. ^  LeAnn Rimes: Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on January 12, 2006.

External links

• (English)
• (English) Coyote Ugly at Rotten Tomatoes
• (German) Comparison of the theatrical release and the Unrated Edition, with screenshots