Trivia / But I'm a Cheerleader

• Actor-Inspired Element: Clea DuVall was the first actor to come on board, and was able to recommend several other cast members for their roles - including Natasha Lyonne and Melanie Lynskey.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Natasha Lyonne pushed to be cast because she was a bit fan of Jamie Babbit's short film Sleeping Beauties.
• Breakthrough Hit: Jamie Babbit said her career was "nowhere", and she was doing shorts or "other people's movies". The film helped get her started as a director and producer.
• Channel Hop: The film was first released by Universal on DVD. Lionsgate, the film's producers, reissued it on DVD themselves four years later after purchasing Artisan Entertainment and their home video business.
• Completely Different Title:
  • Finland: I Am a Decent Girl
  • Hungary: Save the Pom-Pom Girl!
  • Italy: Girls at the Crossroads
  • Poland: Cheerleader
  • Taiwan: Model Student
• The Danza: Joel Michaely as Joel.
• Deleted Role: The girl in the video described below got her own place in the casting clips at the end of the movie, but of course was cut from the main movie.
• Deleted Scene: One of Megan watching a Scare 'Em Straight video of a girl tearfully reciting what lesbianism drove her to, and a shorter one of Megan playing the song she wrote for the others in front of a campfire. They were added back in for the Director's Cut.
• Executive Meddling: Jamie Babbit had to cut "any mention of a woman going down on another woman" to avoid an NC-17 rating. She also had to cut a shot that depicted Megan masturbating.
• No Budget: Initially just given $500,000, but was increased to $1 million by production.
• Playing Against Type:
  • The world's most famous drag queen, RuPaul, appears not only as a man, but also as an ex-gay counselor.
  • Richard Moll, who normally plays very scary dudes, is a gruff-but-lovable burly bear.
  • Natasha Lyonne, queen of deadpan snark, plays a sunny and naive cheerleader.
• Queer Character, Queer Actor:
  • Ru Paul plays Mike, a repressed "ex-gay" camp coach. He's openly gay in real life.
  • Clea Duvall came out as a lesbian in real life, though she stated that at the time I'm A Cheerleader was filmed, she was still deeply closeted.
  • Douglas Spain (Andre) came out as gay in 2012.
• Queer Show Ghetto: Remains a downplayed Acclaimed Flop; queer viewers love it, but many critics didn't, and it bombed when it first came out. It's still an obscure film today.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Before Natasha Lyonne was cast, an unnamed actress turned down the role of Megan because of "religious beliefs". Rosario Dawson was also considered but never asked because the executive producer suggested a Latina actress would be wrong for an "All-American character".
  • Arsenio Hall was approached for the role of Mike, but he turned it down because he was uncomfortable with a gay-themed character.

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