The Devil Wears Prada
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
David Frankel
Meryl Streep
Anne Hathaway
Emily Blunt
Stanley Tucci
Simon Baker
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Northwestern University graduate Andrea "Andy" Sachs, now living in New York with her boyfriend, aspiring chef Nate, nervously prepares for a job interview at Runway , the top American fashion magazine. When Emily, the model-thin, English first assistant to Runway 's editor, Miranda Priestly, surveys Andy's slightly frumpy appearance, she assumes that the human resources department has made a joke. Just as Emily is talking to Andy, she receives an urgent text message on her cellphone alerting her to Miranda's imminent arrival, catapulting the entire magazine staff into a panicked frenzy to arrange things precisely as the exacting Miranda wants them. While Miranda is admired as the premier American fashion editor, she also is known for her demanding, often capricious and petty requests to those around her, coupled with a lack of praise or acknowledgment of their work. Despite Miranda's complete disdain for Andy's unfashionable appearance, her interest is piqued and she decides to look at her résumé. She then dismisses Andy with her softly spoken, curt signature phrase, "that's all," but is impressed enough by Andy's self-assured statement that she is smart and hard working that she hires her as her second assistant. Each morning thereafter, as Miranda comes into the office, she throws her coat and handbag onto Andy's desk while spewing orders, usually without adequate explanation, and refers to her as "Emily." Although Andy's goal is to work as a journalist for a serious news magazine, she studies hard to learn about fashion and works tirelessly for a small salary, hoping that a year with Miranda will open doors for her elsewhere. Emily and others at Runway make fun of Andy's clothes and unfashionable size six figure, and her only confidante is Nigel, Miranda's pragmatic second-in-command. At first Andy resists changing her image to blend in with the others at Runway , but after Miranda reprimands her for being unable to arrange the impossible, a flight from Florida during a hurricane, Andy tearfully runs to Nigel. Rather than offer solace, Nigel tells her of the real importance of fashion and advises her to "grow up," prompting Andy to ask for his help. The next day, after a designer makeover orchestrated by Nigel, Andy shocks Emily by arriving at the office with perfect hair and makeup and wearing designer clothes. As first assistant, Emily eagerly anticipates accompanying Miranda to Paris for autumn fashion week, during which she will be given a designer wardrobe. However, with Andy's new image and her own observation that Miranda is starting to rely more on Andy, she becomes increasingly stressed. Some time later, Miranda obliquely acknowledges Andy's value by calling her Andrea for the first time and asks her to deliver "the book" to her home that night. Later, at the office, Emily tells Andy that the book, the daily mock-up of the magazine's layout, must be delivered, along with Miranda's dry cleaning, to her townhouse. Although Emily sternly warns that the instructions must be followed silently and to the letter, once inside Miranda's house that night, Andy is confused about where to put the dry cleaning. Miranda's young twin daughters, Caroline and Cassidy, help her out, then puckishly tell her to bring the book upstairs. As Andy climbs the stairs, she is embarrassed to hear Miranda's husband Stephen lashing out at her, drops the book and backs down the stairs as Miranda turns and glares at her. As the months go by, Andy's long hours of work and erratic schedule causes problems in her relationship with Nate and her closest friend, art gallery manager Lily, who feel that Andy is changing. One day, Miranda tells Andy that her daughters need to have a copy of the next Harry Potter book, which has not yet been published, in time to take a train trip to see their grandmother that afternoon. Panicked at the impossible task, and knowing that a failure will cost her her job, Andy calls well-connected writer Christian Thompson, whom she met and flirted with at a party for trendy designer James Holt. With Christian's help, Andy is able to obtain the manuscript, startling the almost speechless Miranda. Some time later, on the evening of a large reception that Emily is scheduled to attend with Miranda, Andy is about to leave the office early for Nate's birthday party when Miranda says that she wants both assistants to accompany her. With three notebooks of faces and names to memorize to prompt Miranda at the reception line, Andy calls to assure the skeptical Lily that she will be a bit late. Arriving at the reception in a Valentino gown that impresses Emily as well as Nigel, Andy outshines Emily by whispering the name of an approaching ambassador into Miranda's ear when Emily cannot recall his name. Despite Andy's success, missing Nate's party widens the rift between them. Just before the trip to Paris for fashion week, Miranda, who increasingly relies on Andy as her first assistant, tells her that she needs the best team with her to Paris and that no longer includes Emily. Andy protests, but Miranda lets Andy known that her own future depends on taking Emily's place. The next morning, when Andy tells Miranda that she has accepted the offer, Miranda throws her coat and bag on Emily's desk, then quietly tells her to call Emily and "tell her now." However, as the jaywalking, overwrought Emily answers her cellphone, she is hit by a taxi and seriously breaks her leg. At the hospital, Andy tells her about the Paris trip and tries to downplay her own complicity, but Emily orders her to leave. At an opening reception in Lily's gallery that night, Andy again meets Christian, who asks if she will be going to Paris and suggests that they have dinner there. She declines because of Nate, but when Christian kisses her on the cheek, Lily is watching and misinterprets, then lashes out at her for changing. When Nate overhears them talking about Andy's trip to Paris, he leaves the gallery. Outside he accuses Andy of starting to become like Miranda and they argue, after which she says that the trip is probably good because they need a break. In Paris, Andy is awed by the glamour of fashion week, and when Christian asks her to join him for dinner that night, she agrees. Andy then goes to Miranda's suite and is shocked to find her in a robe, with no makeup and uncombed hair. Miranda wants to go over the seating charts for the following day's reception for James and reveals that her husband is divorcing her. She also talks about the damage the gossip will do to her little girls, but ignores Andy's expression of sympathy. Later, Andy is visited by Nigel, who applauds her newly acquired sense of style and opens a bottle of champagne to celebrate the fact that he is going to be James's business partner in a venture that will be announced at lunch the following day. He relishes the fact that all of his years of hard work will finally reap rewards and says that Miranda has gotten him the job. Later, at dinner with Christian, he tells her that she is far too nice to be with Miranda, and after sightseeing on the left bank of Paris, the couple start to kiss and go back to his hotel. The next morning, when Andy oversleeps, her haste to get dressed causes her to knock over some things in Christian's room and uncover a mockup of a new Runway cover. When she confronts him, he reveals that it is a sample of what the magazine will look like when Jacqueline Follet, Miranda's rival and counterpart at the French edition of Runway , is the new American editor. He also says that he will be in charge of editorial and that Irv Ravitz, who heads Elias-Clarke, the publisher of Runway , will tell Miranda after lunch. Andy angrily leaves him and tries to speak with Miranda, but Miranda will not listen to her until they are walking into the lunch for James. After hearing Andy's story, Miranda acts as if she has said nothing of interest, and when Miranda comes to the podium to announce James's new business, she tells the audience that Jacqueline will be his partner. Though shattered, Nigel maintains his composure and wistfully tells Andy that Miranda will repay him someday, when the time is right. Riding in their limo after lunch, Miranda informs Andy that she knew all along about the attempt to push her out of Runway but had been negotiating with powerful designers who had threatened to withdraw all advertising from Runway if she left. She also reveals that she had confronted Irv and arranged for Jacqueline to become James's partner. Grateful for Andy's loyalty, though, she tells Andy that she reminds her of herself. Andy retorts that she could not have hurt a friend as she hurt Nigel, but Miranda assures her that she already has: Emily. Realizing that Miranda is right, as the limo stops, Andy says that she does not want this kind of life, but Miranda asserts that everyone does. As Miranda approaches a crowd of reporters, Andy walks away and throws her cellphone into a fountain. Some time later, wearing her own clothes, Andy meets Nate at Starbucks to tell him she has quit and is interviewing for another job. Nate reveals that he has taken a sous chef position in Boston, but the two agree that they will work something out. At her interview, Andy is told by the editor that when he asked for a recommendation from Runway , he received a fax from Miranda stating that Andy was her greatest disappointment but he would be crazy not to hire her. Later, Andy calls Emily and offers to give her the clothes from the Paris trip, prompting Emily to tell Andy's replacement that she has some big shoes to fill. Moments later, Andy sees Miranda getting into her limo and Andy waves. Unknown to Andy, as she walks away, Miranda smiles warmly for a brief moment, then barks at her driver "Go!"
Director
David Frankel
Cast
Meryl Streep
Anne Hathaway
Emily Blunt
Stanley Tucci
Simon Baker
Adrian Grenier
Tracie Thoms
Rich Sommer
Daniel Sunjata
David Marshall Grant
James Naughton
Tibor Feldman
Rebecca Mader
Jimena Hoyos
Gisele Bündchen
George C. Wolfe
John Rothman
Stephanie Szostak
Colleen Dengel
Suzanne Dengel
Heidi Klum
Valentino Garavani
Bridget Hall
Ines Rivero
Alyssa Sutherland
Robert Verdi
Paul Keany
Davide Callegati
Rori Cannon
Stan Newman
James Cronin
Eric Seltzer
Lindsay Brice
Steve Benisty
John Graham
Wells Dixon
Simon Brooking
Bertrand Buchin
David Coburn
Kate Dawson
Richard Feiner
Jennifer A. Flynn
Mitchell Greenberg
Hari Leigh
Jason Harris
Jonathan Hova
Sondra James
Kristin Johansen
Phyllis Johnson
Natasia Many
Greta Martin
Marcus Maurice
Christie Moreau
Sean Oliver
Jennifer Perito
Dennis T. Pressey
Julian Dean
Peter Pamela Rose
Christina Wright
Crew
Joseph Abbatecola
George Aguilar
Danny Aiello Iii
Sola Akingbola
Angel Alanis
Jerome Albertini
Fabian Andre
Michael Anthony
Pete Anthony
Pete Anthony
Jonathan Arkin
Beth Avery
Florian Ballhaus
Dave Baney
Kate Barker
Bobby Beckles
Sasha Bell
John Bernard
Dave Bilhdorf
Gregg Bissonette
Bono
Wayne Brackett
Steven Brennan
Kelly J. Britt
Aline Brosh Mckenna
Jill Brown
Christopher Buddy
Kate Butler
Gregory C. Cahill
Isobel Campbell
Joe Caracciolo Jr.
Xavier Cardriche
Bryan Carrigan
Gilles Castera
Robert Cavalluzzo
Monica Celis Barraza
Ali Cerkaoui
Al Cerullo
Victor Chan
Bob Chefalas
Rick Chefalas
Robert Chiu
Richard Cohn
Richard Colburn
Patricia Colin
Bob Colletti
Michael Cooke
Blaise Corrigan
Marko Costanzo
Tracy L. Cox
Olivier Crespin
Ralph F. S. Crowley
Nicholas Cupkovic
Gavin Curran
Tony Cypres
Stuart David
Stephen Lee Davis
Andrew Day
Angel Deangelis
Sandy Decrescent
Joby Deluca
Antonin Depardieu
Frank Di Dio
Patricia Dicerto
George Doering
Adam Dornblum
Paddy Douglas
Aaron Downing
Jean Francois Drigeard
Christopher Elly
Ukeme Emem
Hughes Espinasse
Alec Farbman
Laura Fearon
Patricia Field
Wendy Finerman
Orenda Fink
Michael Fisher
Tom Fleischman
Chris Fogel
James Fogel
Bellamy Forrest
Jamie Gallagher
Ellen Gannon
Megan Gargagliano
Joe Gawler
Christopher Geddes
Laurie Gershon
Jennifer Getzinger
Jess Gonchor
Alex Gorodetsky
Daniel Grasso
Jill Graves Power
Charles Grubbs
Vincent Guarriello
David Gulick
Richard Melville Hall
Shana Halligan
Maya Hardinge
Rob Harris
Timothy Healy
J. Roy Helland
Rebecca Heller
Jay Hendrickx
Joe Henry
Larry Herman
Gregory Hill
Joel Holland
Barrett Hong
Dana S. Hook
Amanda Hudson
Michael Hunold
Frank Itri
Diana T. Jackson
Stephen Jackson
Kenton Jakub
Sondra James
Matthew Johnson
Nina Johnston
Gus Kahn
Heather D. Kane
Karen Kates
Jason Kay
Tamra Keenan
Michel Kharat
Nathan Khyber
Joyce R. Korbin
Cyril Kuhnholtz
Jon Kull
Ray Lamontagne
Tom Lappin
George Lara
Tim Lauber
Anita Lee-bitton
Michael Leo
Eric Lewin
Ellen Lewis
Chris Liscinsky
Mark Livolsi
Jason Lloyd
Peter Lombardi
Fionnuala M. Lynch
Heather Macdonald Norton
William Macghee
John A. Machione
Madonna
Scott Maher
Kim H. Maitland
Brian Mannain
Colette Marino
Lydia Marks
C. G. Markunas
Charlie Marroquin
Natalie Mathes
Gary Mcfarland
Thomas R. Mcgoldrick
Derrick Mckenzie
Barbara Mcnamara
Paloma Mele
Vanessa Merrill
Ramona Messina
Nick Meyers
Julia Michels
Nikolay Mikushkin
Soren Miltich
Nicholas Mongelli Jr.
David Morales
Jesse Morrow
Branka Mrkic-tana
Melissa Mugavero
Rob Muia
Stuart Murdoch
Kenji Nakamura
Ed Nessen
Quang Nguyen
Igor Nikolic
Tjamal K. Noni
Evelyne Noraz
Kyle O'brien
Sean O'brien
Edward O'donnell
Elaine O'donnell
T. J. O'mara
Murphy Occhino
Talia Olsteen
Joel Ossenfort
Daniel Paikin
Joseph S. Patire
Marcia Patten
Christopher Penny
K. Perazzo
Ronald Petagna
Ronnie Petagna
Shep Pettibone
Dominique Piat
M. Pinate
Michael Pitt
Amanda Pollack
Amanda Pollack
Stephen A. Pope
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Actress
Best Costume Design
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
As the opening credits roll, there is a montage of Anne Hathaway as "Andy Sachs" dressing and preparing for her job interview, juxtaposed with scenes of several fashionable young women preparing for their respective jobs. In the end credits, there is a statement from the producers thanking a number of individuals and companies, including many prominent designers such as Badgley Mischka, Donna Karan Collections, Hermes of Paris, Inc., Prada, Valentino [Garavani] and Dennis Basso. Acknowledgments are also given to VAGA and others for permission to use several art works, including works by Maxfield Parrish and Adolph Gottlieb. Celebrity models Heidi Klum and Bridget Hall and designer Valentino briefly appear as themselves. Model Gisele Bündchen also appears in the film, as "Serena," a friend of "Emily." At the end of the film, when Meryl Streep as "Miranda Priestly" relates the back story of how she saved her position at the magazine, there is a brief montage to illustrate what she is saying.
The title of the film and Lauren Weisberger's novel on which it was based is a reference to the Italian designer Prada, one of the most exclusive, expensive design houses in the world. The Prada logo, with the company name inside an inverted triangle, is displayed prominently on a handbag worn by Streep when Miranda exits her limousine in her first appearance in the film.
Weisberger's novel, a roman à clef about the world of a high fashion magazine, was on the New York Times bestseller list for over thirty weeks in 2003 and 2004 and returned to the paperback bestseller list after the release of the movie. According to news items, Fox 2000 paid $600,000 for the screen rights. As noted in reviews and news items for both the novel and the film, critics and readers alike saw the tyrannical Miranda as a thinly veiled version of longtime Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour, the British-born doyenne of fashion editors often mentioned in gossip columns such as The New York Post's "Page Six," frequently in the context of being an excessively demanding person. Despite the fact that Weisberger had been Wintour's assistant at Vogue for a time, the author has always maintained in interviews that Miranda was not based on Wintour, but was a fictionalized composite. In interviews, Streep has said that she did not base her portrayal on Wintour. The short white hairdo selected by Streep and J. Roy Helland differs greatly from Wintour's signature pageboy cut (once dark brown, but more recently medium brown with blond streaks), accentuated by the large dark glasses she characteristically wears, both indoors and out.
The film follows the basic storyline and premise of the novel, while some minor incidents involving demands made by Miranda or Andy's travails are similar to, but slightly different from the novel to the film. The novel's recurring joke about Miranda's constant need to have a fresh white Hermés scarf is not carried over, although the scarves are mentioned at one point in the film. In the novel, Andy is from Connecticut rather than Ohio and is a recent graduate of Brown University, not Northwestern. Andy's boyfriend in the novel is named Alex, rather than "Nate." "Lily," Andy's best friend, who is featured more prominently in the novel, is an alcoholic doctoral student. In the novel, Lily's lapse into a coma after a severe automobile accident while Andy is in Paris is a precipitating factor in Andy's final break with Miranda.
Other significant differences between the novel and the film center on the characterization of Miranda, especially near the end of the film, and Andy's life after leaving Runway. In the novel, Miranda is English [like Wintour], and her husband, Mr. Tomlinson, nicknamed "B-DAD" [for being blind, deaf and dumb to Miranda's tyrannical nature] is a more prominent character. He is effusively kind and friendly with Andy and is blindly devoted to Miranda, as she is to him; they are not estranged.
There is little sympathy for Miranda in the book, while Streep's characterization in the film does evoke some audience sympathy. Unlike the film, in the novel, Andy quits her job when Miranda is on the verge of firing her for screaming profanities at her at a party in Paris. Following the news of Lily's grave condition, Andy realizes that Miranda's impossible demand to arrange to have her twin daughters fly to Paris the next day, even though their passports have expired, is no longer important. The cursing incident is reported in the popular "Page Six" gossip column in The New York Post, making Andy a minor celebrity. At the end of the novel, Andy sells her complementary designer wardrobe and luggage from Runway for $38,000 and is able to live comfortably on the profits, while freelancing for an editor who is the antithesis of Miranda. Andy's romantic relationship with her boyfriend has ended, but they remain friends. Additionally, Andy's trip to Paris is unavoidably necessitated by Emily contracting mononucleosis and not by Miranda's desire to have Andy take her place.
Both the film and the novel contain recurring scenes of Andy being sent to or returning from Starbucks with coffee for Miranda, who sometimes drinks them and other times does not, but always demands that four tall cups be at her disposal. Another carry-over from the novel to the film concerns Miranda's demand for a copy of the latest, as-yet unpublished "Harry Potter" book, which Andy manages to acquire. "Clackers," a term used throughout the book and the film, is a name given to the lean, fashionable women who wear very high heels to work, thus making "clacking" sounds on the hard floors of office buildings.
As noted in the onscreen credits and reviews, the film was shot on location in New York City, with the exception of the Parisian scenes, which were shot in Paris. According to Daily Variety news items, Peter Hedges was set to direct the picture before David Frankel was hired by producer Wendy Finerman. Frankel previously had directed several shorts and one feature film, Miami Rhapsody in 1995, and had directed six episodes of the popular HBO television series Sex in the City, which also was set in New York and featured extensive, high-fashion wardrobes for the main characters. The cinematographer on The Devil Wears Prada, Florian Ballhaus, had also worked on Sex and the City, as did costume designer Patricia Field. Frankel directed two episodes of another HBO ensemble series, Entourage, in which Adrian Grenier, who portrayed Nate in The Devil Wears Prada, was one of the featured players.
When the film was released, reviews and many feature articles discussed the fashions in the film. Some fashion writers expressed the feeling that the clothes in the film were too conservative and not truly representative of what real fashion editors, such as Wintour, would wear.
The Devil Wears Prada was the opening night film at the Los Angeles International Film Festival. After its release in the U.S. and Canada, the picture was shown out of competition at the Venice Film Festival as well as the Deauville and San Sebastian Film Festivals. Critics generally praised the film, typified by Peter Travers' review in Rolling Stone, which labeled it "a chick flick even guys can love." Streep and British actress Emily Blunt were also singled out for their roles. According to a July 27, 2006 Hollywood Reporter news item, the film's budget was a relatively modest $35,000,000. Contemporary sources note that the film grossed approximately $125,000,000 in North America and, as reported in a studio ad in Daily Variety on October 31, 2006, the picture had grossed $250,000,000 worldwide to that date.
In addition to being selected as one of AFI's Movies of the Year, The Devil Wears Prada received Academy Award nominations for Streep as Best Actress and Field for Achievement in Costume Design. The picture also received the following awards and nominations: Streep received the Golden Globe for Best Actress-Musical or Comedy, and the film received two additional Golden Globe nominations: for Best Picture-Musical or Comedy and for Blunt as Best Supporting Actress. Streep received a Best Actress nomination from the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BAFTA), as well as the Best Supporting Actress award from the National Society of Film Critics. Blunt received a BAFTA nomination in the category of Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Aline Brosh McKenna received a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In October 2006, Fox TV Studios announced that it had acquired television rights to the novel and was developing it as a series for the Fox network, with Robin Schiff set to write and executive produce the series. According to a October 12, 2006 Daily Variety article, neither Frankel nor writer Weisberger were to be involved in the project.
Miscellaneous Notes
Voted one of the 10 best films of 2006 by the American Film Institute (AFI).
Winner of the 2006 award for Best Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep) by the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC).
Winner of two 2006 awards including Best Actress of the Year (Meryl Streep) and Best British Supporting Actress of the Year (Emily Blunt) by the London Critics' Circle.
Winner of two 2006 Satellite Awards including Best Actress - Comedy or Musical (Meryl Streep) and Best Costume Design by the International Press Academy (IPA).
Released in United States 2006
Released in United States on Video December 12, 2006
Released in United States September 2006
Released in United States Summer June 30, 2006
Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema (Premiere) September 1-10, 2006.
Shown at San Sebastian Film Festival (Zabaltegi/Pearls/Closing Film) September 21-30, 2006.
Shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival (Opening Night) June 22-July 2, 2006.
Shown at Venice International Film Festival (Out of Competition) August 30-September 9, 2006.
Based on the novel "The Devil Wears Prada" written by Lauren Weisberger; published by Doubleday April 15, 2003.
Peter Hedges was previously attached to direct.
Fox 2000 paid a reported $600,000 for the rights to Weisberger's novel.
Released in United States 2006 (Shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival (Opening Night) June 22-July 2, 2006.)
Released in United States 2006 (Shown at Venice International Film Festival (Out of Competition) August 30-September 9, 2006.)
Released in United States Summer June 30, 2006
Released in United States September 2006 (Shown at Deauville Festival of American Cinema (Premiere) September 1-10, 2006.)
Released in United States September 2006 (Shown at San Sebastian Film Festival (Zabaltegi/Pearls/Closing Film) September 21-30, 2006.)
Released in United States on Video December 12, 2006
Julia Roberts had mentioned to star.
