Drew Barrymore Says ‘Never Been Kissed’ Studio Pushed Back on Her Going “Too Far” With Character

Drew Barrymore is reflecting back on 20th Century Fox’s initial reaction to Never Been Kissed.

The actress-producer and talk-show host was joined by Hey, Dude…The ’90s Called! hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher on Friday’s Drew Barrymore Show, where she recalled how the rom-com marked a big milestone for the actress, as it was the first project made under her own production company, Flower Films.

With her venture behind the camera while also being the film’s star, there was a lot of pressure on Barrymore for the film to succeed. 

“Never Been Kissed was very interesting because it was our first official film for Flower Films. And at that time, people were very weary of actors being producers,” she explained. “A lot of it wasn’t necessarily working and it didn’t mean because you’re an actor, you knew how to produce a film and it was about the economics. So if you didn’t make the film work and you produced it as an actor, you were likely to not be able to do it again. And I was very stressed throughout the movie.”

Barrymore, who said this was the “first time” she has admitted so publicly, told Hey, Dude hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher that she was “so scared” during the production process because she knew that if it didn’t work out, Flower Films wasn’t “going to get another chance.” 

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She said that while making the movie was “the best time ever,” she had to “clench [her] stomach the whole time” because of 20th Century Fox’s reactions to Josie. “I would get these calls from the studio and they were like, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re just looking too unattractive.’ And I was like, ‘good.’ And they were like, ‘no, no, no, no, no, no.’ They were like, ‘it’s, it’s too far,'” recalled Barrymore.

The Drew Barrymore Show host explained that she was “forced to even tone it down a little bit because I had gone even farther than they were.” According to the actress, the studio advised her to not “lose the heart because you’re going so far for the comedy.” Barrymore, who felt that comment “appealed to [her] sensibilities rather than [her] ego,” decided to tone down the character a bit. 

Thankfully it all worked out for the best. “What you see [in Never Been Kissed] is me dialed back and it came out and it worked and we got really lucky,” she said. 

Never Been Kissed, which was released in the spring of 1999, grossed nearly $85 million, more than triple its budget of $25 million. The film, directed by Raja Gosnell, has since become one of Barrymore’s most beloved rom-coms. 

After the film’s release, Flower Films went on to produce other major films, including Donnie Darko, 50 First Dates and Charlie’s Angels as well as its sequels.