Benjamin Bratt on Sandra Bullock, Miss Congeniality Experience on Set

20. The Classic “Perfect Date” Line Has Special Significance

Every year on April 25, memes pop up to celebrate the film’s beloved quote from Miss Rhode Island about the “perfect date,” which she mistakenly interprets as her favorite day on the calendar rather than her ideal romantic outing. As it turns out, screenwriter Marc Lawrence wrote the line, but Donald tweaked it by changing the date to his own wife’s birthday. 

“I just said, ‘Could it be April 25th? That’s my wife’s birthday,'” the director revealed. “So I’m very happy that each year on her birthday, there are all these memes going about.”

21. Getting the Last Laugh

Donald said he intentionally includes extra scenes in early cuts of his films, just in case anything pops with audiences that he wasn’t expecting, so critics are never invited to those screenings. But, the director remembered, film blogger Harry Knowles snuck into a test screening and “gave it the most scathing, worst review of any movie ever, including calling me out for having personally ruined Sandy Bullock’s career.”

Luckily, the studio appeared to be unfazed by the early negative buzz, and ultimately the film was still a hit, grossing $212 million worldwide from a budget of $45 million. “The only thing I can say,” Donald said, “is that I’m sure glad the movie went on to be a huge success and kind of a classic comedy, earning big bucks, so that I can kind of gently flip my finger at that review and go, ‘Heh, heh!'”