January 04, 2022
'The Devil Wears Prada'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Juliet Litman, and Amanda Dobbins head to the New York City fashion scene for 2006's 'The Devil Wears Prada,' starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Stanley Tucci, and directed by David Frankel.
Cast
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly
Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs
Emily Blunt as Emily
Stanley Tucci as Nigel
Adrian Grenier as Nate
Simon Baker as Christian Thompson
Directed by: David Frankel
Notes
- Box office: over $300 million worldwide – the most successful 'normal' (non-musical) Meryl Streep movie ever.
- Based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger, a former Anna Wintour assistant. Four screenwriters worked on the adaptation; they had to throw out half the book.
- Anna Wintour reportedly liked the movie; enjoyed Meryl Streep's 'decisive nature.' But she warned fashion designers that appearing in the film would get them 'banished from the magazine's pages.'
- Meryl Streep took Miranda's soft-speaking style from Clint Eastwood – 'he never speaks above a whisper and you have to lean in.'
- Meryl Streep changed the final line from 'Everybody wants to be me' to 'Everybody wants to be us' – thought the original was too self-involved.
- A deleted scene where Miranda says 'thank you' to Andy was cut to keep Miranda less likable; it went viral years later.
- Meryl Streep initially salty about salary: 'The offer was, to my mind, slightly if not insulting, then not perhaps reflective of my actual value to the project.'
- Emily Blunt's first movie role – discovered in a parking lot during auditions for Eragon.
- Rachel McAdams turned down the Andy lead multiple times. Juliette Lewis and Claire Danes also auditioned.
- Anne Hathaway aggressively pursued the role – dressed like the character, wrote 'Hire me' in a casting person's Zen sand garden.
- Stanley Tucci married Felicity Blunt (Emily Blunt's sister) six years after filming. Tucci previously dated Edie Falco.
- Gisele Bundchen agreed to be in the movie only if she didn't have to play a model.
- Costuming cost over $1 million despite designer loans; costume designer Patricia Field got an Oscar nomination.
- John Krasinski has watched 'The Devil Wears Prada' 75 times.
- The Washington Post credited Miranda Priestly as the originator of the female anti-heroine trope that led to Olivia Pope, Cersei, etc.
- This film marks Streep's pivot from prestige dramas to more commercially appealing roles (Julia Child, Margaret Thatcher, Mamma Mia).
Categories
Most re-watchable scene
- Juliet's pick (tiebreaker): the Harry Potter book scene – 'I like seeing her be industrious.'
- The cerulean blue sweater speech – 'lives outside the movie' and has become its own cultural buzzword.
- Andy's makeover scene, 'bummed out Miranda without makeup' (the Oscar reel moment), and the Stanley Tucci 'Wake up, sweetheart' speech.
What aged the best?
- The boss-being-mean-to-an-assistant plot – Bill's pick: 'the best version of that I've seen.'
- Meryl Streep's performance and her hair – 'stylish and cool and probably her best look.'
- Emily Blunt's breakout role.
- The millennial/work ethic theme – prescient about generational workplace dynamics before 'millennials' was a cultural concept.
- Anne Hathaway's pre-makeover clothes (the sweaters, the Steve Madden gloafers).
What aged the worst?
- Adrian Grenier's performance – 'not just a poorly written part, but he's bad in it'; no chemistry with Hathaway.
- The soundtrack – Juliet's pick: 'movies targeted to women always have the most garbage generic top 40 soundtrack.'
- The friend group (Rich Sommer, Tracie Thoms) – they would never be friends in real life.
- Simon Baker as the hot-shot journalist character – unrealistic.
Casting what-ifs
- Meryl Streep was the ONLY choice for Miranda – they would not have made the movie without her.
- Rachel McAdams turned down the Andy lead multiple times.
- Juliette Lewis and Claire Danes auditioned for Andy.
- Thomas Lennon turned down Nigel due to Reno 911 scheduling conflicts.
Best "heat check" performance
- Winner: Gisele Bundchen – approximately 6 minutes of screen time; 'left me wanting more'; 'she's never been unlikable ever in anything.'
- Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci noted as ineligible because they're too integral.
Apex Mountain
- Anne Hathaway: this movie – 'she becomes an A-list star, her whole career's in front of her.'
- Emily Blunt: happening right now (A Quiet Place into Mary Poppins Returns).
- Meryl Streep: debated extensively – Sophie's Choice for film history, but Miranda Priestly for mainstream cultural impact. Consensus: she's the best movie actor ever.
- Stanley Tucci: 'Absolutely has Apex' – but Bill jokes his real apex is The Tucci Table cookbook.
- Adrian Grenier: this + Entourage Season 2-3 simultaneously.
Picking nits
- Did Andy have to sleep with Christian Thompson? Could have just made out.
- The 'list' at the end – is that enforceable in real life?
- Andy's friend group doesn't make sense.
Who won the movie?
- Meryl Streep – 'Nothing to discuss.'
- Number 2 debated: Bill says Hathaway, Amanda/Juliet argue Emily Blunt. They tie Hathaway and Blunt.