Screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith spent two days on Stanford's campus in the spring of 2000 doing research for their screenplay based on Brown's novel. Director Robert Luketic, an Australian newcomer who came to Hollywood on the success of his quirky debut short film "Titsiana Booberini," was drawn to the project while looking for a breakthrough film. "I had been reading scripts for two years, not finding anything I could put my own personal mark on, until "Legally Blonde" came around," Luketic said.