Eva Amurri is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Saved!, an indie film that marked a significant turning point in her acting career. The 39-year-old actress recently shared her memories of the film on Instagram, alongside never-before-seen photos from the set.
Amurri, who portrayed Cassandra Edelstein, reminisced about the role she secured at just 16 years old, reflecting on her transition from high school to the acting world. In her post, she expressed gratitude for the opportunity, saying, “The Muffin Shop Is Closed, but she kept receipts! 😜😇🙏🏼🤘🏼📷🎞️ Forgotten film from when we made Saved 20+ years ago is on the blog…plus a little love letter I wrote to the whole experience.”
In a detailed blog post on her website, Happily Eva After, Amurri recounted the journey of landing her role in a film that has since become iconic. Interestingly, she revealed that Anne Hathaway was initially cast as Hilary Faye Stockard before Mandy Moore took on the role. “This is so strange for me to think about now because in my mind Mandy Moore IS that role, and made it iconic,” she wrote. “People don’t realize that so many movies you know and love are like this! There are often entirely different casts attached when a movie is first being put together, which then changes based on funding or schedule availability of the actors!”
Saved! follows Mary (played by Jena Malone), who attempts to “save” her boyfriend from being gay, only to find herself pregnant. The film also stars Mary-Louise Parker, Patrick Fugit, Macaulay Culkin, and Heather Matarazzo. Although the original filming location was set for Miami, the cast ultimately reconvened in Vancouver months later.
Amurri, who emancipated herself to take on the project, faced unique challenges during production. “Not only would I be working adult hours, but I also had to complete all of my high school assignments and my college applications in my free time while in Vancouver filming the movie,” she explained. “I told my parents I could totally do this, no big deal. In reality, I look back on the experience and have NO idea how I pulled it off.”
She attributed her success to the boundless energy of youth and the excitement of being involved in filmmaking. “I guess it’s a good thing that teenagers have endless energy, or else I probably wouldn’t have survived it!” she shared. “I would say that the experience of managing work responsibilities, school responsibilities, my own food, money, and health, and then also having fun and being a teenager was ultimately one of the most formative experiences of my entire life.”
Amurri also fondly remembered her co-star Macaulay Culkin, who played her love interest. “He is such a bundle of joy and light; he was so kind to me, funny, and a total homebody. He just had zero pretense at all. Our scenes together were so fun to shoot,” she recalled.
Now a mother of three—daughter Marlowe Mae, 9, and sons Major James, 7, and Mateo Antoni, 4—Amurri is contemplating introducing her children to the film. “It has a great message, and I love that so much of who I actually was at that time, and what I was experiencing, come through in the film,” she said. “In lots of ways, it’s like a time capsule of my teen years.”
As she reflects on her early career, Amurri admits that Saved! holds a special place in her heart. “I think I hoped for the entire rest of my career that I would have an acting experience that would match it, but only a couple of projects ever came close. I’m so lucky that I got that little slice of time that I can keep with me forever,” she concluded.
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