Valentine (2001)

Interesting facts

Valentine is a 2001 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks. The film's ensemble cast stars David Boreanaz, Denise Richards, Marley Shelton, and Katherine Heigl. A loose adaptation of the 1997 novel by Tom Savage, the plot follows a group of female childhood friends in San Francisco who are stalked by a killer wearing a Cupid mask in the days leading up to Valentine's Day.

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures had acquired the rights to Tom Savage's book Valentine: A Novel in May 1998—which were transferred to Artisan Entertainment before reverting back to Warner Bros.—attaching writers Wayne and Donna Powers, with the latter of the two initially attached to direct

The original script had a different tone from the book and was set on a college campus. The project was rewritten by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts, while Wayne Powers stepped down as director for the studio to find a suitable new director to take the helm for the film. In Berg and Harbert's early rewrites of the screenplay, the killer's identity was revealed to be Dorothy, not Adam.

The plot point of the killer's nose bleeding each time he commits a murder was an addition made by Blanks as a reference to Alone in the Dark (1982), one of his favorite slasher films.

Hedy Burress auditioned for the role of Dorothy Wheeler, and Tara Reid was considered for the role, but it was given to Jessica Capshaw instead. However, Blanks wanted Burress to star in the film and cast her as Ruthie Walker. Jessica Cauffiel originally auditioned for Denise Richards's role of Paige. In the original cast, Jennifer Love Hewitt was to play Paige Prescott.

A June 2000 press announcement of Boreanaz's casting in the film featured a major plot spoiler revealing his character as the film's villain.

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