Studio:
Miramax Films.
Production Company:
Dimension Films.
Project Phase: In The Can.
Who's In It:
Helen Mirren (Mrs. Tingle); Katie Holmes (Jo Lynn); Marisa Coughlan (Leigh Ann Prescott);
Liz Stauber (Mary Beth Carter); Barry Watson (Luke Churner); Lesley Ann Warren; Jeffrey Tambor;
Molly Ringwald; Michael McKean; Vivica A. Fox.
Who's Making It:
Kevin Williamson (Director, Screenwriter); Bob Weinstein (Executive Producer); Paul
Hellerman (Co-Producer); Jerzy Zielinski (Director of Photography); Naomi Shohan (Production
Designer); David Lazan (Art Director); Daniel May (Set Designer); Susie Desanto (Costume
Designer); Loni Spall (Production Coordinator); Nick Mastandrea (Assistant Director); Jim Stuebe
(Sound); Paul Hellerman (Unit Production Manager); Lisa Beach (Casting).
Premise: Just as young, pretty and popular Jo Lynn is preparing to graduate from high school, her future seems bright and wide-open to possibilities. But when another classmate sets Jo Lynn up in her History class she receives a failing mark from that classroom's teacher, the much-feared and despised Mrs. Tingle. Because of that one black mark Jo Lynn loses the opportunity to be her school's validictorian, an opening that Mary Beth, the rival student who framed Jo Lynn, is quick to seize. With her post-graduation dreams swiftly eroding away, Jo Lynn comes up with the only option avaliable to her.
Before school lets out for the summer, Mrs. Tingle's History class is going to need a substitute teacher.
Release Date: Spring 1999.
Comments: Here it is -- the big screen team-up of Dawson's Creek series creator Kevin Williamson (scribe of the Scream franchise) and DC female lead Katie (Joey) Holmes (Disturbing Behavior). The final product might result in big screen success for first time director Williamson. With this picture Miss Holmes might join the ranks of Jennifer Love-Hewitt and Neve Campbell as another young TV actress who's been able to make the leap into a feature Scream Queen of the 90's.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
[Page draft submitted by 'Deadpool', Who wouldn't mind killing anybody for Miss Holmes.]
August 31, 1998... While answering questions at the San Diego Comic Convention's Halloween: H20 panel, screenwriter Kevin Williamson showed his audience some stills from his debut as a director. Williamson also related that Killing Mrs. Tingle is hard to classify into a genre; it's not an outright black comedy, nor is it entirely a thriller or should it be lumped under horror. Williamson also revealed that the film holds much more of a personal stake for him than his earlier credits, and not just because he directed it. At an earlier period of his life while he was still in high school, Williamson had his own fearsome 'Mrs. Tingle' who, after he had presented one of his stories in English class, was told by the teacher that he was worthless, had no talent as a writer and society would be better off if he never committed another word to paper. That one episode had a devastating effect on the young Williamson: he claims he never had the courage to write another word until ten years later. [Reported by Patrick Sauriol.]
December 21, 1998... Our first advance test audience review of Killing Mrs. Tingle is in...but you're warned about the EXTREME SPOILER WARNING -- the body count is revealed along with a summary of the film up to and including its conclusion -- although it's not revealed which of the main characters live or die.
"I just got back from a sneak preview of Killing Mrs. Tingle. I was in line with some friends to go see Psycho when this guy came over to us and asked if we wanted a sneak preview of The Faculty. He said it was free and the only thing we'd have to do is fill out some questionaires. So we went and then we were told that we were actually going to see Killing Mrs. Tingle, which we were kinda pissed because we had never even heard of it before. But we stayed anyways. The movie of course stars Katie Holmes as the main character. Well, I guess she's the brain of the school and is going to be the valedictorian until a big test comes up and she knows none of the answers so she cheats. But Mrs. Tingle catches her and gives her a failing grade. And the girl that turns Katie Holmes in gets to be valedictorian, ruining Katie's dreams or something. So Katie freaks out, wondering what she'll have to do to reclaim her valedictorian title... and she comes up with... basically the title of the film..Killing Mrs. Tingle. Katie tries and tries again, with the help of her best friend, to off Mrs. Tingle but each time she fails. Then her rival who's going to be valedictorian catches her in the act and Katie realizes she must kill her too. So Katie does succeed in killing her, and then the best friend realizes that what they're doing is wrong and goes to turn them in so Katie kills her too. They basically try to pull a Scream-ish fast one on us and a massive body count soon racks up until the finale between Katie and her teacher. I must say, I'll never think of Katie is Joey Potter from Dawson's Creek again... because in this movie she scares the hell out of you!!! She is a sick character who is obviously capable of anything, and she shows that. In the final scene, the showdown between Katie and the teacher, Katie just goes stark raving mad, enough to give you nightmares for weeks. The body count is 7 people, mainly faculty but some students. I recommend this movie to some but not for all. 3 stars out of 5."
[Reviewed by 'Turnbull'.]
December 27, 1998... As Henry Silva asked you in Amazon Women on the Moon, is it bullshit or not? That's what some people are telling us about our supposed film review we posted on the 21st:
"I stopped by your site to see what was new, and I suddenly smelled this horrible stench. I knew it could be only one thing. Bull shit. It smells much worse than dog shit, so I knew it was bullshit. I sniffed it out, until I came to the KILLING MRS. TINGLE scoop on December 21st. That's when I knew the smell was at its worst. I read the whole supposedly spoiler filled scoop on the storyline of the film. I'm sorry to say, but that is waaaaay off. Obviously, this is a person who thought Tingle was a horror film, which it isn't. They sent you a fake test screening review. I won't tell you how the film really goes, because like all dark comedies (if you can even classify it as that, it's really a genre all of its own) not knowing what will happen next is half the fun. I'm just trying to do my part to stop people from thinking they'll be seeing another teen horror movie. Sure, the title sounds like that, but it couldn't be further from it. Hopefully with the help of this site and others by sniffing out false test screenings, people will find out it isn't a horror movie. I think they'll be surprised." [Submitted by 'Uh-Non-Im-Us'.]
According to 'Uh-Nom-Im-Us' and others, there isn't a high body count at all, the film isn't a horror film (indeed, one person seems to
peg it as more of a "John Hughes/Heathers hybrid") and apparently there was only one test screening
held last October in New Jersey that received very good marks. We got an email from one of the attendees who was
also baffled by our previous entry (
"Wow! Either your scooper has no idea what he was watching or this film has really changed since I saw it. I went to a test screening in Secaucus, NJ in October. Anyway, Katie Holmes character is the one with the conscience in the version I saw. She doesn't want to kill the teacher, in fact, that is not the plan. Basically, after Ms. Tingle catches her cheating (as your scooper said), Katie Holmes and her best friend and some guy that wants Katie Holmes go to Ms. Tingles house to try to talk some sense into her. However, the guy starts some violence and Ms. Tingle ends up getting hit in the head with an arrow from a crossbow and knocked unconscious. She is taken upstairs and tied to her bedpost. When she awakens, much of the rest of the movie focuses on the psychological warfare that Tingle wages on Katie Holmes and her friends. There was very little violence. In fact the only person that ends up dying in the entire movie is..." (swipe with mouse to uncover SPOILERS)
"the rival student (the one who is going to be valedictorian instead of Katie Holmes) and she is killed by accident."
"I guess this film has changed alot since I saw it. I know that I gave it a 3 out of 5 but my friends who I went with gave it less enthusiastic reviews."
[Anonymous.]
Whether or not our next scoop comes from the same person remains a mystery, but it does provide us more info on who wrote the picture. We were faxed the cover and final pages of the script, dated December 12, 1995. The cover page listed Kevin Williamson as the primary writer, with George Huang listed as rewriter. It's got an interesting final scene that we can't reveal for sake of revealing who makes it to the end, but we will say that it takes place in a classroom -- of sorts. [Thanks to our anonymous faxers.]
The Tag Line:
"Teacher's Pet Gets it First."
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