Taglines: High fashion, low cunning – and the boss from hell.
Based on the best-selling novel, “The Devil Wears Prada” stars two-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep as high-powered fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, and Anne Hathaway, as Miranda’s new assistant – a small-town girl trying to survive her impossibly demanding new boss.
In the dizzying world of New York fashion, where size zero is the new 2, six is the new 8, and a bad hair day can end a career, Runway Magazine is the Holy Grail. Overseen with a finely manicured fist by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) – the most powerful woman in fashion – Runway is a fearsome gauntlet for anyone who wants to make it in the industry. To make Runway the fashion bible of New York and therefore the world, Miranda has let nothing stand in her way… including assistants that didn’t make the cut. It’s a job no self-respecting person can survive, yet it’s an opportunity a million young women in New York would kill for.
A stint as Miranda’s assistant could blast-open the doors for recent college graduate Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway). More college drab than haute couture, she stands alone among the small army of “Clackers” on staff at Runway – superslim fashion divas clacking their stilettos down the halls of the magazine’s Manhattan headquarters. But when Andy comes in for the job, it dawns on her that making it in this industry will take more than drive and determination. And her ultimate test stands before her in head-to-toe Prada.
Miranda can spin the fashion world like a basketball but has a devil of a time finding and keeping a good assistant. Andy is completely wrong for the job. But she has something the rest of them don’t: she refuses to fail. To become the perfect assistant, Andy will need to make herself over in Miranda’s image.
Soon, much to her boyfriend’s (Adrian Grenier) dismay, she can talk the talk, walk the walk (in flawless Manolo’s) and never again confuse Dolce with Gabbana. But the more of life she sees through Miranda’s eyes, the more she begins to grasp that Miranda’s world is a fabulous but lonely one – and that sometimes great success depends on great sacrifice … but at what cost?
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 American comedy-drama film based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name. This screen adaptation stars Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, a powerful fashion magazine editor, and Anne Hathaway as Andrea (“Andy”) Sachs, a college graduate who goes to New York City and lands a job as Priestly’s co-assistant. Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci co-star as co-assistant Emily Charlton and art director Nigel, respectively.
Adrian Grenier, Simon Baker, and Tracie Thoms play key supporting roles. Wendy Finerman produced and David Frankel directed the film, which was distributed by 20th Century Fox. Streep’s performance drew critical acclaim and earned her many award nominations, including her record-setting 14th Oscar bid, as well as the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Blunt also drew favorable reviews and nominations for her performance, as did many of those involved in the film’s production.
The film was well received by both film critics and the public and became a surprise summer box-office hit following its June 30 North American release. The commercial success and critical praise for Streep’s performance continued in foreign markets with the film leading the international box office for most of October. Likewise, the U.S. DVD release was the top rental during December. The film finished in 2006’s Top 20 both in the U.S. and overseas and grossed over $300 million, mostly from its international run.
Although the movie is set in the fashion world, most designers and other fashion notables avoided appearing as themselves for fear of displeasing U.S. Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is widely believed to have been the inspiration for Priestly. Still, many allowed their clothes and accessories to be used in the film, making it one of the most expensively costumed films in history. Wintour later overcame her initial skepticism, saying she liked the film and Streep in particular.
About the Production
In the dizzying world of New York fashion, where size zero is the new 2, six is the new 8, and a bad hair day can end a career, Runway Magazine is the Holy Grail. Overseen with a finely manicured fist by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) — the most powerful woman in fashion — Runway is a fearsome gauntlet for anyone who wants to make it in the industry. To make Runway the fashion bible of New York and therefore the world, Miranda has let nothing stand in her way… including a long line of assistants that didn’t make the cut. It’s a job no self-respecting person can survive, yet it’s an opportunity a million young women in New York would kill for.
A stint as Miranda’s assistant could blast-open the doors for recent college graduate Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway). More college drab than haute couture, she stands alone among the small army of “Clackers” on staff at Runway — superslim fashion divas clacking their stilettos down the halls of the magazine’s Manhattan headquarters. But when Andy comes in for the job, it dawns on her that making it in this industry will take more than drive and determination. And her ultimate test stands before her in head-to-toe Prada.
Miranda can spin the fashion world like a basketball but has a devil of a time finding and keeping a good assistant. Andy is completely wrong for the job. But she has something the rest of them don’t: she refuses to fail To become the perfect assistant, Andy will need to make herself over in Miranda’s image. Soon, much to her boyfriend’s (Adrian Grenier) dismay, she can talk the talk, walk the walk (in flawless Manolo’s) and never again confuse Dolce with Gabbana. But the more of life she sees through Miranda’s eyes, the more she begins to grasp that Miranda’s world is a fabulous but lonely one — and that sometimes great success depends on great sacrifice… but at what cost?
The Devil Wears Prada is based on the internationally best-selling novel by Lauren Weisberger, which spent six months on The New York Times bestseller list and was translated into 27 languages. In the film, two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep is Miranda Priestly, the reigning queen of fashion whose whims can start and end careers.
Director David Frankel, who explored the vagaries of fashion and celebrity in the landmark series “Sex in the City” and “Entourage,” says that instead of making the choice to demonize Miranda, he preferred “to explore Miranda’s relentless pursuit of excellence in a serious way,” he says. “And how many sacrifices she must make to excel.
“There are lots of famous women who are successful on the level of Miranda Priestly, and it is very easy to criticize them because they put their work first,” Frankel continues. “Men are rarely criticized for that.”
Miranda has made hard sacrifices to make it to the top and stay there. Love her or hate her (with most underlings falling into the “hate” category), no one can deny she is the primary architect of a formidable empire. “Miranda has an incredible amount of power in the marketplace,” says Meryl Streep. “She’s a taste- and trend-maker and therefore a market-setter. She functions with a lot of pressure, and she runs a very tight ship.”
Streep’s Miranda, Frankel points out, skates the edge between the comically mean and the genuinely sad. “A key part of Meryl’s incredible talent is the ability to blend comedy and drama,” he says. “She can find what’s funny in the real so that it never feels forced.”
Streep plunged headlong into all the accoutrements that surround Miranda. “When we first met her I gave her a huge three-ringed binder full of research regarding the movie and fashion,” recalls producer Wendy Finerman. “It included fashion industry facts, figures, and photos, and I thought, `Oh God, she’s going to laugh at me.’ But instead she said, `That’s fantastic! Do you have any more?’ She read everything she could get her hands on. It was just amazing.”
Finding a good assistant who can live up to Miranda’s high expectations is a near impossible task. That changes when the smart, unfashionable Andy Sachs walks into her office.
Anne Hathaway, the breakout star of “The Princess Diaries,” and who had a key role in “Brokeback Mountain,” portrays Andy, a journalism student who believes she can change the world after leaving the comforts of Northwestern University and landing in the big city.
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Directed by: David Frankel
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Adrian Grenier, Tracie Thoms, Simon Baker, Emily Blunt, Rebecca Mader, Stanley Tucci, Rich Sommer, Rebecca Mader, Gisele Bündchen, Jimena Hoyos
Screenplay by: Aline Brosh McKenna
Production Design by: Jess Gonchor
Cinematography by: Florian Ballhaus
Film Editing by: Mark Livolsi
Costume Design by: Patricia Field
Set Decoration by: Lydia Marks
Music by: Theodore Shapiro
Art Direction by: Tom Warren
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sensuality.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 30, 2006
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