Rosalind Wiseman, the author who wrote New York bestseller Queen Bees and Wannabes which inspired the story for Mean Girls, stated that writer and producer Tina Fey did not step forward to help her receive what she was financially owed by the franchise. Mean Girls will be celebrating its 17th anniversary this year, with its legacy extending to the Broadway stage and beyond, yet Wiseman hasn't seen a penny (after her initial payment) for a concept that was originally hers.
Mean Girls broke the box office when released in 2004 along with making a huge impact on all teens of that era and the generations to come. The story follows a geeky Cady Heron (Lindsey Lohan) as she attends public school for the first time to be bombarded with peer pressure, social conformity, and the imperishable reign of The Plastics (Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert). Fey starred as lovable, no-nonsense teacher Ms Norbury as well as writing the screenplay and producing the film alongside other cast members. The screenplay was based upon Wiseman's Queen Bees and Wannabes who, unfortunately, got less than her fair share regarding the franchise's financial success, with no support from Fey.
Wiseman finally came forward on Aarti Shahani's podcast Art of Power about Fey's sly behavior, which resulted in her ghosting the author after Wiseman requested that she used her power in the industry to redeem the financial injustice. OK Magazine expanded on the story and noted that the franchise has grossed over $250 million, while Wiseman has only received an initial payment $440,000 and no money since (despite being "promised more money to come"). Wiseman proceeds:
"The movie has made a tremendous amount of money and I have received nothing... Not a dime since my initial advance ...this is the way Hollywood and entertainment goes, which is like sort of squirrels gathering as much nuts as possible in your mouth and not wanting to share anything."
The production of the Broadway musical only served to rub salt in the wound for Wiseman, as she stresses "there is no way for me to know that a musical was in the future. There's no way to know that. So I was signing away rights I didn't know that I had or was even up for." Not only was Fey continuing to benefit off Wiseman's original concept but she also recruited Wiseman t0 review drafts and coach the young cast members on anti-bullying education (similarly to Fey's character in the original movie). According to Wiseman, she was not compensated for this work or any of her travel expenses. More recently, Fey agreed to speaking up on behalf of Wiseman to get her the money she deserves, but since making this promise has disappeared. Wiseman, disappointed with Fey's behavior, explains:
"You certainly don't want to admit it out loud because you don't want the world to look at this and then create some meme about like mean women and mean girls and, you know, and dismissing and superficializing the work because there is this inconsistency in real life."
While it's undeniable that Wiseman deserved a larger reward than she received for Mean Girls, Hollywood is ultimately a business so it's certainly debatable how much responsibility falls on Wiseman's hasty signing of the contract in 2004. However, it is disappointing to learn Fey wasn't willing to stick her neck out for another woman without enough influence to demand what is rightly hers.
Source: Art of Power, OK Magazine
