Josie and the Pussycats, an Archie Comics creation that debuted in 1963 and was published up until 1982, inspired the creation of a Saturday morning animated television series by Hanna-Barbera. The tale of this female band was once more dramatised in 2001, but this time for the big screen. This is how the musical comedy Josie and the Pussycats, starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, and Rosario Dawson, three of the era’s most well-liked actresses, made its debut.
Josie, Melody, and Val are three teens that play the lead roles in Josie and the Pussycats. They all share the same dream: to make their band one of the most well-known at the time. The girls’ objective may have seemed out of reach, but when they stumble across Wyatt, a MegaRecords executive, things change when he offers them a deal and catapults them to almost instant popularity. The record label is using these young musicians’ music to spread subliminal messages to entice teenagers to buy various products, and as if this situation wasn’t complicated enough, the label is trying to wreak havoc between them, potentially putting an end to the band’s journey. Despite how much these young musicians enjoy their newfound fame and popularity, they find themselves in trouble.
Josie and the Pussycats, which was written and directed by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, had a successful soundtrack, but the picture itself did not fare as well; as a result of a poor box office performance, it failed to recoup its production costs. Nonetheless, despite those factors and the critics’ mixed evaluations, this comedy developed a sizable cult following over time, and its reviews significantly improved. The majority of the Josie and the Pussycats cast members are still active in the business today. Here are some of their most recent endeavours.
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming was well-known in the business by the time he played the evil promoter Wyatt Frame in Josie and the Pussycats because to his work in theatre, television, and film. Cumming made his directorial debut in the dramatic comedy The Anniversary Party, which he co-starred in, co-wrote, and co-directed with Jennifer Jason Leigh, the same year that this musical comedy was released. The popular projects the actor and director worked on throughout the years included My Father’s Dragon and Marlowe, to name just a couple of his more recent ones.
The Good Fight, a spin-off of The Good Wife, had him reprising his role as Eli Gold. He also joined the cast of Abominable and the Invisible City, a series that followed the main characters of the animated film Abominable. His most recent endeavour, the reality TV programme The Traitors, for which he serves as presenter, debuted this past January.
Breckin Meyer
Breckin Meyer completes this list since he portrays Marco, another member of the boy band DuJour, in Josie and the Pussycats. Meyer, like Faison, was reasonably well-known at the time for his part in Clueless, and he later went on to star in other projects in a variety of genres.
Meyer wasn’t as involved in the industry recently, but he did work on a few noteworthy projects. Among these, Changeland and Unpregnant by Seth Green, as well as The Fix and Good Girls on television, should be mentioned. After Josie and the Pussycats, Meyer continued to collaborate with Green on projects like Changeland and Robot Chicken, writing and providing the voices for various characters.
Donald Faison
Having appeared in films like Clueless and Trippin’, Donald Faison was already somewhat well-known by the time he played the role of D.J. in this musical comedy. However, the same year that Josie and the Pussycats was released, he would become even more well-known for starring in the TV series Scrubs, a production that ran until 2010.
Faison has been less involved in the industry lately than he usually is, but he has worked on certain TV shows including Legends of Tomorrow and The L Word: Generation Q. Although not much is known about this project yet, he is anticipated to play Professor Utonium in the live-action version of the children’s television programme The Powerpuff Girls.
Gabriel Mann
Alan M., a young guitarist played by Gabriel Mann, is in love with Josie but is slow to confess it. Following his appearance in Josie and the Pussycats, the actor went on to star in a number of motion picture projects up until the 2014 movie Cesar Chavez, which is currently the most recent in his discography. As the years passed, Mann made the decision to concentrate his energies mostly on TV productions because by that time he was already well-known for his portrayal of Nolan Ross in the TV series Revenge.
His most recent significant works include the superhero TV series Batwoman and the Netflix thriller miniseries What/If, in which he played the recurrent character Tommy Elliot/Hush. Early in the year 2022, after three seasons on the air, Batwoman was cancelled.
Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle is a well-known name in the movie business who has worked on hit films including Gone Girl, The Artist, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She has participated in projects of various genres over the years and performed in both film and television. The 2019 horror film Ma, starring Octavia Spencer, and the Rachael Leigh Cook-starring A Tourist’s Guide to Love are two of the most noteworthy examples.
Pyle has had a busy year in television, scoring parts in shows including Y: The Last Man and A Tale Dark & Grimm. In the movie Josie and the Pussycats, Pyle plays Alexandra, the manager’s twin sister who insisted on accompanying the band wherever they went despite having nothing of value to provide in return.
Parker Posey
Fiona, played by Parker Posey, is the CEO of MegaRecords and the brains behind the company’s subliminal music marketing campaign to manipulate youngsters. Posey had been a part of a number of independent films from the era by the time this musical comedy was produced, so she had been working in the business for a while. She stayed active in the business throughout time, taking on parts that eventually led to nominations for awards like the Independent Spirit Awards and the Golden Globes, among others.
The actress has recently had roles in a number of hugely successful films, such as the HBO Max miniseries The Staircase and the eagerly awaited Beau Is Afraid, which came out last April. The horror-comedy The Parents and the TV series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which is based on the 2005 blockbuster starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, are the two future projects on which Posey is now working. There is no set date for the completion of any of these projects.
Rachael Leigh Cook
Josie, the lead singer and guitarist of the band and, at the same time, the one who appears most dubious about the label’s proposal, is played by Rachael Leigh Cook in Josie and the Pussycats. By the time She’s All That, a 1999 movie in which she co-starred with Freddie Prinze Jr., was released, Cook had gained considerable notoriety among teenage audiences.
The actress continued to work throughout the years, primarily in TV shows and major motion pictures. She made an appearance in Mark Waters’ version of the movie that made her famous, He’s All That, which starred Addison Rae and Tanner Buchanan, in 2021. She also appeared in David Poag’s first film as a director, Spirit Halloween: The Movie, alongside Marla Gibbs and Christopher Lloyd. A Tourist’s Guide to Love, a Netflix rom-com that debuted last April, is her most recent endeavour.
Rosario Dawson
The Pussycats are completed by Rosario Dawson as Val, the bassist of the group and a young woman who demonstrates that she is not to be trifled with. She had already begun her career at that point with films like Kids and He Got Game, and as the years went on, she took on roles in ever-larger productions like Men in Black II, Sin City, and Zookeeper, to name a few.
Dawson maintained a hectic schedule over the years by working in both film and television. She joined the cast of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, portraying the role of Ahsoka Tano, who will have her own Disney+ series this August. She has also been involved in the film industry, acting in films like Clerks III and Space Jam: A New Legacy. She will reportedly co-star in Justin Simien’s horror comedy Haunted Mansion this year with LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, and Danny DeVito, among others.
Seth Green
Seth Green plays Travis, one of the four members of the boy band DuJour, in Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan’s film. At the time, Green was already well-known for his role as Scott Evil in the Austin Powers films, among other roles. He primarily worked in television projects throughout his career, making appearances in shows including Crossing Swords and the three-season superhero series Stargirl. However, he was also given roles in a number of films and provided the voice of Howard the Duck in several MCU productions.
Green is also a co-creator, co-producer, writer, and director of the critically acclaimed animated television series Robot Chicken. In 2019, he starred in the comedy-drama Changeland, which he also wrote, directed, and co-produced.
Tara Reid
The Pussycats’ drummer Melody Valentine, played by Tara Reid, is a very absent-minded animal lover. Reid, like Leigh Cook, rose to fame a few years before the musical comedy’s debut thanks to her portrayal of Vicky in the film American Pie, which she later returned for two of the film’s sequels. She gained even more notoriety in 2013 when she and Ian Ziering co-starred in the Sharknado movie series.
Reid primarily appeared in films in recent years, including Attraction to Paris and Sally Floss: Digital Detective. She took to the director’s chair for the horror movie Air Force Z this year.
