American Beauty (1999 film) inserted later on to show the low point that Carolyn and Lester's relationship had reached. Spacey and Bening worked to create a sense of the love that Lester and Carolyn once had for one another; for example, the scene in which Lester almost seduces Carolyn after the pair argues over Lester's buying a car was originally "strictly contentious". Principal photography lasted about 50 days from December 14, 1998, to February 1999. "American Beauty" was filmed on soundstages at the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, and at Hancock Park and Brentwood in Los Angeles. The aerial shots at the beginning
American Beauty (1999 film) Carolyn begins an affair with her married business rival, Buddy Kane. When Lester's boss and efficiency expert, Brad, tells him that he is to be laid off, Lester instead blackmails him for $60,000 and quits his job. However, Lester continues his liberation by taking a minimum-wage job at a fast-food restaurant, trading his Toyota Camry for his dream car, a 1970 Pontiac Firebird, and starts working out after he overhears Angela tell Jane that she would find him sexually attractive if he got in shape. He begins smoking marijuana supplied by Ricky. The girls' friendship wanes after Jane starts a