Thirteen director Catherine Hardwicke was paid $3 to direct the film, and the reason will make you fume

Thirteen is a highly acclaimed film that made its debut in theaters on August 20, 2003, exactly 20 years ago. The movie is considered groundbreaking in the world of teen movies as it brilliantly showcased the vulnerable side of being a teenager. Catherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed served as writers of the movie, while the former also helmed the project.

As Thirteen completed 20 years since its release, the movie's director Catherine Hardwicke opened up about her experience making the film in a recent interview with Yahoo! Entertainment. She went on to reveal how unwelcoming Hollywood was at the time when it came to making an R-rated teenage movie. She further revealed that while the total budget for the movie was $2 million, she was paid only $3.

During the interview, she said:

"We made it by hook or crook, you know? And for no money. I got paid three bucks the whole time. But when we finally made it, people were like, 'Oh, it's powerful. It's moving.' It's relevant in a way to what people are going through."

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Thirteen director Catherine Hardwicke got paid $3 as no production company wanted to make an R-rated teen drama

During the interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, on the occasion of the 20-year anniversary of the critically acclaimed movie Thirteen, director Catherine Hardwicke explained why she wanted to make the film in the first place. She also disclosed the fact that she and Nikki Reed, who was 14 years of age at the time, wrote the script for the movie in only six days.

"I like elevating things,...I wanted you to feel how the hormones are raging and what it feels like to be a kid when everything matters....We really tried to [show] what it felt like to be a teenager, and just going through all the crazy pressures from the outside world," she said.

In the interview, Hardwicke also spoke about the hardships they had to face while trying to find producers for the film. She mentioned that she got paid $3 for her work on the project as no production company wanted to produce an R-rated teen drama with a 13-year-old newcomer as the protagonist.

The director said:

"I mean, every studio and every financier said, 'No, we can't make it. How could we make a movie that’s gonna be R-rated with an unknown 13-year-old girl in the lead?' Everybody said no."

However, after the teen drama premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2003, it received praise from critics and Hardwicke won an award for her work in the movie. Thereafter, the film was acquired by Fox Searchlight and it released in theaters on August 20, 2003. It became a hit and earned a total of $10 million at the box office.

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More details about the 2003 film Thirteen

A still from the sets of Thirteen (Image via IMDb)

Thirteen centered around a mild-mannered and smart 13-year-old girl named Tracy Freeland and her complex relationship with her mother Melanie, who was a recovering alcoholic. The film witnessed her being introduced to a whole new world of drugs, s*x, and more by her new friend in middle school named Evie Zamora.

The lead cast list of the movie included:

• Evan Rachel Wood as Tracy Freeland
• Holly Hunter as Melanie Freeland
• Nikki Reed as Evie Zamora
• Jeremy Sisto as Brady
• Deborah Kara Unger as Brooke LaLaine
• Brady Corbet as Mason Freeland
• Vanessa Anne Hudgens as Noel
• Sarah Clarke as Birdie

Michael London and Jeff Levy-Hinte were the producers of the movie. Elliot Davis acted as the cinematographer, while the music for the movie was given by Mark Mothersbaugh.

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Thirteen is currently streaming on Apple TV.