The Devil Wears Prada
Short description
The Devil Wears Prada follows Andy Sachs, a recent college graduate who moves to New York hoping to build a career in journalism. She lands a job as the second assistant to Miranda Priestly, the formidable editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Runway. The position is one many would envy, but Andy has little interest in fashion and struggles to keep up with Miranda's demands and the hostility of her colleagues. To survive, she gradually changes how she looks and behaves, a shift that puts pressure on her relationships with the people close to her.
David Frankel directs from a screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna, with Wendy Finerman producing. The film came second in Frankel's directing career, following Miami Rhapsody and preceding Marley & Me; Frankel later returned to this story with The Devil Wears Prada 2. Meryl Streep plays Miranda, Anne Hathaway plays Andy, and Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci appear as Emily and Nigel, among a credited cast of 59.
Released in June 2006, the film was made for about 35 million US dollars and took roughly 327 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 527,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4 out of 10 from about 14,250 votes. A critics' rating stands at 7 out of 10 from 192 reviews, close to both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Many of the dresses were borrowed from famous designers, but even so, costume designer Patricia Field spent over $1 million on the costumes. Thus, 'The Devil Wears Prada' became the film on which the largest sum was spent on costumes in the history of cinema.
- On the very first day of filming, Meryl Streep told Anne Hathaway that she was perfectly suited for the role and that she was very happy to be working with her, and after a short pause she added that these were the last pleasant words Hathaway would hear from her during the making of the film. And that turned out to be true.
- The image of Miranda Priestly was based on Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.
- Initially, Anne Hathaway was not wanted for the role of Andy (studio executives were concerned that the actress had previously starred mainly in films aimed at a teenage audience, and they wanted to see a well-known dramatic actress in the role). Hathaway actively promoted her candidacy, even going to the offices of responsible employees of the film company and explaining why she wanted to get the role and how she saw herself in various scenes. Eventually, Meryl Streep intervened, who had seen Hathaway's performance in Ang Lee's melodramatic Western "Brokeback Mountain" (2005) and called the studio to give the role to Hathaway.
- During the filming process, there was a constant sense of fear on set regarding the legendary Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine. The filmmakers approached numerous designers, but they all declined the offer to appear on screen. Only Valentino Garavani agreed, and in a black dress by him, Meryl Streep's character appears at a charity event at the museum. Additionally, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen made a brief appearance on screen.
- After filming was completed, all the costumes shown in the film were sold at auction as part of a fundraising campaign for women suffering from breast cancer. Anne Hathaway bought herself a green dress. Meryl Streep bought sunglasses, which she later wore on screen as Donna in Phyllida Lloyd's musical 'Mamma Mia!' (2008).
- Filming in Paris lasted only two days. Given that flying Meryl Streep to Europe would have cost a fortune, all of her scenes were filmed in the USA.
- Emily Blunt auditioned for a role in another 20th Century Fox project, Stephen Fangmeier's fantasy action film "Eragon" (2006), but did not pass the audition when someone from the producers of "The Devil Wears Prada" suggested she try out. By that point, she had already returned to the United Kingdom.
- According to the script, Emily, played by Emily Blunt, was not English. In some scenes, she is shown being busy with something in the background, although this wasn't in the script either (she simply felt that her character should constantly be occupied with something). A significant part of her wardrobe consists of clothing by Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022).
- Stanley Tucci joined the film's cast a couple of days before filming his first scene. 150 other actors were considered for the role.
- In addition to Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren and Kim Basinger also auditioned for the role of Miranda Priestly.
- To prepare for the role, Anne Hathaway worked as an assistant at an auction house for a week.
- During filming, Anne Hathaway actually lost weight, going from a size 12 to a size 10.
- Artist Jess Gonchor infiltrated the offices of “Vogue” to sneak a peek at the office of editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. It is claimed that after the film was released, Wintour demanded renovations to her office.
- The filmmakers struggled for a long time to obtain permission to film at many locations because those in charge believed it might somehow conflict with Anna Wintour’s wishes. This applied to filming at the Metropolitan Museum, Bryant Park in New York City, and the homes where Meryl Streep’s character’s residence was to be filmed.
- In the Russian dub, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is voiced by the editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine "L`Officiel-Russia" – Evelina Khromchenko.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
