Reality Bites is a 1994 film written by Helen Chilress and featuring the directorial debut of Ben Stiller. It stars Stiller, Winona Ryder, and Ethan Hawke, with major supporting roles played by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film was shot on location in Austin (where Childress' high school is located), and Houston, Texas in 42 days. The plot is centered on Lelaina (Ryder), an aspiring videographer working on a documentary called Reality Bites about the disenfranchised lives of her friends and roommates (Hawke, Garofalo, and Zahn), and to a certain degree, about Lelaina herself. Their challenges, both documented and not, exemplify some of the career and lifestyle choices faced by Generation X.