spin on Emma, as they knew they wanted to write a teen comedy with a twist on a classic story. With a title already set from McCullah's high school diary, the duo picked Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew to modernize and outlined their plans while sitting on a beach in Mexico, though as McCullah said, “We definitely knew [the title character] would not be tamed at the end." McCullah and Smith had already started adapting Legally Blonde (the novel) for film by the time 10 Things went to theaters. Of writing the main character, McCullah said: "It was fun to play with that dynamic with [the rich, pretty, popular girl] being the underdog, having to prove herself to other people even when she was completely capable." They spent two days on Stanford's campus in the spring of 2000 doing research for the screenplay. They were actively involved during filming, sometimes rewriting in the middle of the night and suggesting Luke Wilson as the love interest during casting. Originally, the "bend and snap" scene — where main character Elle explains to her new, older friend Paulette how to get her crush's attention — almost didn't make it into the movie. At first, the writers spent a week or two trying to figure out what the plot for Paulette should be, pitching "scene after scene" of crime plots that "all felt very tonally weird." Later, while brainstorming at a bar in Los Angeles, McCullah came up with a solution: "What if Elle shows [Paulette] a move so she can get the UPS guy?" On the spur of the moment, Smith invented a move, standing up and demonstrating what would become the bend and snap. Smith explains, "It was a spontaneous invention. It was a completely drunken moment in a bar." The film originally ended with Elle winning the movie's pivotal case and sharing a victory kiss with Emmett, then starting a Blonde Legal Defense Club at law school in the future. After test audiences revealed they didn't like this ending, McCullah and Smith consulted with the production team and they all agreed a new conclusion was necessary. "It was just kind of a weak ending," explained McCullah. "The kiss didn't feel right because it's not a rom-com — it wasn't about their relationship. So test audiences were saying, 'We want to see what happens — we want to see her succeed.'