The “completely destroyed” 1996 movie Winona Ryder made under duress: “They said they’d sue”
Winona Ryder said she felt trapped into starring in the 1996 film *Boys* after it changed substantially from the small script she had agreed to do. She believes the production tried to turn it into a bigger commercial film because she was a well-known actor, damaging the original story and contributing to its poor reception.
Ryder said she tried to withdraw when a new draft arrived, but was told the filmmakers would sue. The film stars Lukas Haas as a boarding-school student who finds Ryder’s character unconscious and becomes involved with her; Ryder later said she wished she had secured approval over script changes, while also wanting to avoid taking control from a director.
- Ryder says *Boys* changed after she agreed to star.
- She tried to leave but was threatened with a lawsuit.
- She blamed the changes for undermining the film.
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Winona Ryder is an American actor who became well known in the 1990s through films such as Heathers and Edward Scissorhands. In Boys, released in 1996, she plays a young woman found unconscious by a boarding-school student, played by Lukas Haas.
The film began as a smaller story, but its script changed during production. Ryder later said she had agreed to the original version and felt unable to leave after being warned the filmmakers would sue; she also said she wished she had negotiated the right to approve changes.
The account raises questions about how a film’s story can shift during production and how much influence an actor has over that process. It also helps explain why Ryder later described the finished film as far from the project she had accepted.