Movies
Cher Horowitz herself tells us about the ‘Clueless’ reboot, Aerosmith videos, and more ahead of her New England visit.
This is totally buggin’. The clueless Cher Horowitz is coming back to our screens — both big and small.
When I reach Alicia Silverstone, she’s home in LA getting ready to do something she rarely does: watch “Clueless” with a live audience and answer questions.
In fact, by her count, Sunday night marks only the third time she’s done this — and the first in New England. She’ll watch the cult-classic film in Portsmouth, N.H., on Sunday night as part of the New Hampshire Film Festival — the appearance at Portsmouth’s The Music Hall (from $77) is something of a surprise for fest-goers, as the event replaces a scratched John Cusack.
For the legion of “Clueless” fans, it’s like Christmas dropping in out of the blue. In October.
Speaking of treats, here’s another: Silverstone, 50, tells me the “Clueless” reboot is official and will start filming in January.
The sequel has been ordered by Paramount+ as a limited series, per Deadline. The project is from Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, Jordan Weiss, and CBS Studios.
Bonus: Looks like there’s a New Englander involved: Schwartz is a Providence, R.I., native. (There’s always a New England connection.)
Kids growing up in the ’90s quoted “Clueless” like we quoted “Ace Ventura” and Adam Sandler movies. This is what we did before memes, children. And 31 years after “Clueless” hit theaters, Silverstone has heard ’em all.
“All the time. The most common is probably ‘As if,’” she tells me with a laugh. “But it’s really sweet and really fun.”
Ahead of her Portsmouth screening, we talked all things Cher, the new reboot, Boston’s Aerosmith, Jesse Plemons, a new movie, and the therapeutic magic of good art.
Boston.com: I love that you’re screening “Clueless” here in New England. I grew up on this movie in the ’90s. You must hear that all the time from fans.
Alicia Silverstone: On the daily. This movie is beloved. For some people, it was helpful for identity, being themselves. For others, it’s fashion — they became stylists or designers. Other times, it’s parents telling me, “My kid was harassing me for clothes after this film,” and I’m like, “I’m sorry.” [laughs]
[laughs] I bet.
Mostly people just love it, and that’s really sweet. It’s nice to have that.
You couldn’t have known, when it came out, the cultural impact it would have. When did you first realize it was such a phenomenon?
I don’t even know. The anniversary celebrations started quite a long time ago. I remember feeling like we were celebrating the anniversary every year, all of a sudden [laughs]. Halloween was major. It also started showing up on runways — people using the clothes as inspiration. That was interesting.
Tell me about this reboot. This is huge for fans. How did this come about?
So maybe four years ago, I was in Amsterdam shooting a movie called “Krazy House” and got a call from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie and [director] Amy [Heckerling] saying, “We want to talk to you about this.” I’d just shot the Super Bowl commercial [for Rakuten], where I played Cher.
All these years, it had been sort of off-limits in my mind — you don’t want to mess up something people love so much. So it just didn’t even occur to me.
But when they called, I’d just done [the ad] and felt really good about it. At first I was scared to play Cher again because I didn’t want to mess it up. But then I stepped into her shoes for those two days, and just loved it. It was so fun. I thought, “Wow, I wish this wasn’t ending.”
So when they called, I thought, “Well, I did just have a really good time doing it. Let’s just not mess this up, that’s all.” That’s the goal. Don’t mess it up. [laughs]
[laughs] Good rule of thumb. So, who’s coming back? What’s the take on it? You’re playing Cher, who’s now the mother.
I am. But I don’t want to tell too much because we’re still developing; we’re going to start shooting in January. But it’s exciting. I’m executive producing it with Josh, Stephanie, and Jordan. Amy has been involved. There will be some fun appearances by our beloved cast. We want to make it fresh and new, but retain what people love — the feeling, the energy, the world. So it’s a fine line.
So going back: Your first acting role was on “The Wonder Years,” opposite Fred Savage. I love that show. What was that like?
Oh, I remember I was so excited. I was 14. I had auditioned for a bigger part and was up against Lisa Gerber — it was down to us. I think we went back and forth five times to casting. Finally, she got the role, and they were like, “Here, you can do this role instead.”
I remember the scene, but I don’t really remember the rest of the day or how I felt. What I do remember is Josh Saviano [Paul] and Lisa Gerber and I becoming friends after that. Fred Savage and I had this cute thing where he’d asked for my phone number. But at the time, we didn’t have cell phones, and my house-line was also my dad’s fax machine work-line. So when he called, it went to fax and I guess he thought I gave him a wrong number.
[laughs] Classic.
Probably 20 years later, I saw him on a studio lot and ran over and gave him a big hug. I was like, “I didn’t mean it!”
[laughs] I love that. And you were also in a few Aerosmith videos. How did that happen? They’re from Boston.
Oh, that’s true! So [12-time Emmy-nominated director/producer] Marty Callner — who became one of my closest friends and passed away almost two years ago [at 78] — and John Kalodner from Geffen saw me in “The Crush” — the first film I did — and just decided they wanted me in their video.
Marty and I met, and he pinky-swore with me: “I’m going to be in your life forever. We’re going to be friends forever.” And we were. He was a sweetheart. I was part of his family. I just went to his wife’s 75th birthday.
That’s so sweet.
Marty was a sweetheart. He did all the Aerosmith videos — any video you love, he did. He was so talented. I watched a video of him directing — you could see him going “That shot!” “That shot!,” calling the shots live. He had a brilliant eye. We ended up doing three of them.
Was Steven Tyler on set? Did you meet the band?
Oh no. They didn’t have much to do with it, I don’t think. I don’t know what kind of approvals they had. I’ve actually only met Steven a few times. But they have a concert coming in LA soon, so maybe I’ll see him there. [laughs]
[laughs] Nice. So what drew you to acting as a young kid? You told me your parents came here from England and loved theater.
They’d take me to see all these plays in the West End because we went to England all the time. You know “Fawlty Towers”?
The old BBC comedy.
So I grew up on English comedy because that’s what my mom and dad watched. That and “The Thorn Birds” [about a forbidden love affair between an Australian woman and a Catholic priest] — which is not appropriate for a young person at all.
[Laughs] True.
But that’s what I grew up on — “Dallas,” “Falcon Crest.” My parents were not [worrying about what] their children should be watching. [laughs]
And I was always doing shows for my parents. Their friend saw me doing one and told my dad, “She has something.” I was in drama class at school. When I was around 12, my dad said, “I think she needs to take a real acting class.”
He found me an acting class with Judi O’Neil. Judi invited me to stay with an acting troupe in LA. That’s when everything started to kick in. I was 13 or 14.
So the question you asked is what made me want to act. I was the youngest one in that class. Watching these older kids, I felt something forbidden — some expression that other kids my age didn’t have, a depth, an intensity.
I didn’t fit in at school because I was a drama nerd. I was intense, a critical thinker, always trying to find depth in everything. That was too intense, I think, for the average 12- or 13-year-old girl. [laughs] I don’t know.
[laughs] I feel you. That was me, but with writing.
So when I found this group of people — these actors crying about their parents, expressing things, going through so much—it was therapeutic. Before knowing anything about therapy, it was a form of therapy.
I can see that.
I think that’s the case for viewers, too, when people see great art.
Absolutely. There’s magic at work there.
Art can make you think about things deeply, feel things deeply, process loss, process grief. Just process. Good art makes that happen. It happens for us as the artists, and happens for the viewer, I think, as well.
That’s a beautiful way to put it. And now I’m thinking of your dramas. I loved “Reptile.” People clearly love the comedy in “Clueless,” but your drama choices are so interesting — “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “Bugonia.” What draws you to a script?
I really appreciate that. I love being asked to do dramas. I think all of the films I did until “Clueless” were dramas. I remember saying to my agent about “Clueless,” “Are you sure I can do this? I’m not funny.” She was like, “You are hilarious because you take everything so seriously.”
[laughs] Right.
[laughs] I love drama, and I love working with [director/writer/producer] Yorgos Lanthimos. He’s asked me to do two films of his [“Sacred Deer” and “Bugonia”]. And I got to just work with Benny Safdie, in a part-drama, part … I don’t know what genre you call it. But it’s beautiful.
That’s “Lizard Music,” based on the ’76 book by Daniel Pinkwater. When does that come out? The cast is stacked. [Rachel McAdams, Dwayne Johnson, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Regina Hall.]
I don’t know. We just finished. [laughs] But “Irish Blood” — our second season comes out in January [on Acorn TV], and that’s also a drama.
I have to ask: What was it like working with Jesse Plemons in “Bugonia”? I think he’s brilliant.
Oh, he’s a dream. Oh my God. He’s brilliant. Probably like many others, I thought I discovered him when I saw him in “Friday Night Lights” forever ago. I was just going: “That kid is amazing.” That was all I’d seen.
We were at a screening of “Poor Things,” and he said to me, “I just want to tell you how good you are in ‘Reptile.’” That was so cool. I’m obsessed with him. [laughs] I think he’s brilliant.
Alicia Silverstone will host a screening of “Clueless” at the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
Interview has been edited and condensed. Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1 and Instagrams at @laurendaley1.
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