Working Girl - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Working Girl or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Working Girl

[caroline]

Olympia Dukakis, who has a small role in this movie, is the subject of an article in a newspaper, about herself, and her cousin Michael Dukakis, the then Governor of Massachusetts. It can be seen when Tess rips out a page of the newspaper while on the ferry.

[steve]

Features Melanie Griffith's only Oscar nominated performance.

[ella]

Mike Nichols worked with Carly Simon twice; on this movie and Heartburn.

[terry]

Melanie Griffith won the Miss Golden Globes contest as a teenager. Later she won a competitive Golden Globe for her acting work in Working Girl. She's the only actress who has ever done that.

[jeffrey]

Katherine Parker says she is turning 30 in about a week, making her almost the same age as Tess. Her age is reinforced by her fundraising letter to her fellow Wellesley alumna, which contains the information that they graduated eight years prior; people commonly graduate at 22, making Katherine now 30. The significance of her age is that although she and Tess are virtually the same age, Katherine's career is far more advanced.

[tom]

Director Mike Nichols and composer Carly Simon re-team their partnership from Heartburn (1986).

[kyle]

"Working Girl" contains two subtle nods to Martin Scorsese, a director with whom Michael Ballhaus, "Working Girl"'s cinematographer, worked frequently. Early on, one of the firms mentioned for an office party is Raging Bull Catering, which takes its name from Raging Bull (1980), one of Scorsese's best films. And in a mirror in Sigourney Weaver's apartment, part of a pool table is clearly visible, a reference to The Color of Money (1986), which Scorsese directed and Ballhaus shot.

[clayton]

Mike Nichols originally intended to use the Eagles song Witchy Woman over the opening credits.

[frederick]

In the original script Tess's new assistant is a man. This was possibly changed to show how Tess would treat another woman when her role was reversed.

[harry]

Coincidentally, actress Melanie Griffith (who plays Tess) and singer Carly Simon (who performs the movie's theme song, "Let the River Run") had both dated Warren Beatty in real life.

[jesse]

According to casting director Juliet Taylor, "Mike and I had already kind of fallen for Alec Baldwin and wanted him to play Jack, but the studio was catatonic about that. They did not want two unknowns in the leads." Producer Douglas Wick recalls, "So, Mike had to call Alec and say, 'Look, I'm really sorry. The circumstances have changed. Would you do this other part?' Alec understood and was so lovely about it. He came in and really nailed that character. It was an awkward adjustment."

[manuel]

After Jack and Tess get together following the meeting at Trask Industries, Jack returns to the bedroom whistling "If I Only Had A Brain" from "The Wizard of Oz". The song's three verses reflect elements about Tess. She needed a brain to come up with the suggestion of the Trask purchase of a radio network, and the nerve to carry the idea through. She also found that - unlike Katherine - she really does have a heart.

[duane]

Katherine rifles through Tess's notebook at the end just like Tess rifles through Katherine's stuff at the beginning.

[miriam]

Demi Moore was linked to the project in its early stages.

[jim]

Though receiving top billing, Harrison Ford does not appear until 35 minutes into the film.

[lynn]

Was #10 on Gene Siskel 's list of the "Best Films of 1988."

[mathew]

Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin have all played the role of the President of the United States in Air Force One (1997), House of Cards (2013) and Saturday Night Live (1975) as Donald Trump, respectively, while Sigourney Weaver played the role of the First Lady in Dave (1993).

[jim]

David Duchovny's film debut. He was one of the guests hiding in the bathroom at Tess's surprise birthday party. He can also been seen at the engagement party later in the film.

[camila]

At the end of the film, when Jack shows Tess the lunchbox that he purchased for her, he includes "milk money." In 1994, Melanie Griffith starred as V in the movie Milk Money (1994). Phillip Bosco (Orrin Trask) also appears in Milk Money.