Here are the magicians
responsible for the spellThe
Craft cast on the culture
Robin Tunney
AGE 45
Sarah Bailey
Tunney’s angsty
turn inEmpire
Records made
her the perfect outsider
to star inThe Craft.UP
NEXT TheMentalist alum
costars with Nicolas
Cage inLooking Glass.Fairuza Balk
AGE 43
Nancy Downs
Balk started act-
ing at a young
age, starring in
Return to Oz andVal-
mont.UP NEXT The home-
invasion thrillerHell Is
Where the Home Isand
an independent film
titledIn Camera.Rachel True
AGE 50
Rochelle
After a short
stint on HBO’s
comedyDream
On, True decided to try
her hand at magic.UP
NEXT She will play the tit-
ular 19th-century practi-
tioner of New Orleans
voodoo inLaveau.Christine Taylor
AGE 46
Laura Lizzie
Taylor earned
raves for her
perfect mimicry
of Marcia Brady inThe
Brady Bunch Movie.UP
NEXT She’ll reprise recur-
ring roles on TBS’Search
Party and in season 5 of
Arrested Development.WITCH’S
CREW
1995, audiences fell in love with the bubblegum world ofClueless, where Alicia
Silverstone reigned supreme over high school with perfect outfits, perfect
catchphrases, and perfect hair. But in the mid-’90s,Clueless was one of the few
teen movies to break big. “There had been this article about how there was a
John Hughes moment that had passed, and teenagers were going to see mov-
ies with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sly Stallone,” says co-writer/director
Andrew Fleming, who had made the 1994 college comedy-dramaThreesome.
“They weren’t seeing stories about themselves.” And when they were, they were
wish-fulfillment films likeClueless, as opposed to, say, a movie about four high
school loners who wear all black and avoid extracurricular activities so they can
practice incantations. ¶ But that didn’t stop The Craft from casting a spell over
audiences and winning its opening weekend at the box office in 1996. More than
20 years later, the story of four young women who, through the use of witchcraft,
discover what it really means to have strength has resonated with audiences as
a tale of female empowerment. By breaking the mold and giving viewers female
leads who weren’t “perfect,” “cool,” or even “good,” a film about magic ironically
delivered one of that decade’s most relatable portrayals of high school.