Synopsis

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, 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 the world, Miranda has let nothing stand in her way, including a long line of assistants who 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 her assistant could blast-open the doors for recent college graduate Andy Sachs. More college drab than haute couture, she stands alone among the small army of 'Clackers' on staff at "Runway" Magazine. 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.

What The Critics Say

"The Devil Wears Prada is a tour de force for Streep, who gives her character an unexpected measure of depth, and vindication for Anna Wintour, she who cannot be represented unless it's by Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." J Hoberman VILLAGE VOICE "The dishy new comedy "The Devil Wears Prada" is dressed to kill. Killer cast, killer clothes, killer laughs. And best of all, you don't have to know the difference between Donna Karan and Donna Summer to delight in the film's wicked workplace politics. Based on Lauren Weisberger's best-selling roman à clef about her adventures in the perfect-skin trade as a lowly assistant to Vogue magazine's Anna Wintour, David Frankel's ("Entourage," "Sex and the City" ) movie is as crisp as a starched white shirt, as clever as the perfect pair of Jimmy Choos, and as self-confident as a supermodel." Eleanor Ringel Gillespie ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION "Give this devil her due. One of this year's classiest, wittiest, and most refreshing films." Bruce Bennett SPECTRUM "The intersection of career and personal life is explored in The Devil Wears Prada, a slick yet refreshingly mature take on the boss-from-hell premise." Jeffrey Chen WINDOW ON THE MOVIES "Not as scathing as the book but Meryl does turn in a performance worthy of making interns and assistants everywhere shudder. Plus, she gets to be mean and look fabulous at the same time." Cherryl and Leigh Ann THEMOVIECHICKS.COM

"...what delicious fun Meryl Streep and her conspirators -- co-star Anne Hathaway, director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna -- have with that world and with a woman who would be considered its god except for the fact that Miranda Priestly would probably consider that a demotion." Kirk Honeycutt THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "Sophisticated comedies are rarely Oscar contenders but this may be the funniest chick-flick you're likely to see all summer." Susan Granger MODAMAG.COM "Move over, Julia Roberts ---- here comes Anne Hathaway. In a role that Roberts could have played in her younger days, Hathaway creates the kind of film character that movie fans will long remember. Contrary to what might seem like the classic chick-flick (as Jeanne mentioned), I am here to tell the guys that this is a very entertaining film." David Kaplan KAPLAN V KAPLAN "The actor who nearly steals the film away... is Stanley Tucci... Early handicappers for next year's Oscar race take note." Daniel M Kimmel WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE "For the life of me, I can't understand anyone not liking this movie! It has it all; humor, pathos, fabulous clothes, gorgeous shots of Paris, good acting and writing, a satisfying ending; need I say more? This isn't just a chick flick and for crying out loud, it's got Meryl Streep, who's in top form! Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN V KAPLAN

About The Author Author Lauren Weisberger was born on March 28th 1977 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She spent her early youth in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, a small town outside Scranton. At age 11, her parents divorced and she and her younger sister, Dana, moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state, with their mother. In 1995, she graduated from Allentown's Parkland High School, and, in 1999, she graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she was an English major and a sorority member of Alpha Epsilon Phi. In 2003, Weisberger authored her first book, "The Devil Wears Prada", which spent six months on the New York Times Best Seller List. The book provides a semi-fictional but highly critical view of the Manhattan elite's empty obsession with materialism and fashion. It has been translated into 27 languages. Weisberger's second novel, "Everyone Worth Knowing", was published in autumn 2005, and is based upon the trials and tribulations of the New York City public relations world. In June 2006, 20th Century Fox released the film "The Devil Wears Prada", based on Weisberger's book. Starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, it took $US30 million at the box-office in its opening weekend. So far "The Devil Wears Prada" has grossed a tidy $US123,588,615 million making it one of the top grossing films of summer (USA) 2006. In all-time USA sales "The Devil Wears Prada" is ranked 226th, well ahead of films such as "Collateral", "Million Dollar Baby", "Fun with Dick and Jane" and "Walk the Line". The Inside Story After seeing "The Devil Wears Prada" it's easy to conclude there are three M's which will immediately spring to mind. Meryl! Miranda! Magnificent! And two time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep is awesome in her latest role as Miranda Priestly, the much feared, very powerful editor of the highly successful fashion magazine, "Runway". Love her or hate her, you have to give Miranda her dues. She remains focussed on 'the vision' no matter what may come her way. She has obviously made some tough very tough descisions to get where she has and no doubt these have had an impact on her image and her private life. "Sex and the City" director David Frankel, who helms "The Devil Wears Prada" revealed that, "instead of making the obvious choice to demonize Miranda, I preferred to explore Miranda’s relentless pursuit of excellence in a serious way. 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," says Frankel. "Men are rarely criticized for that." Choosing Streep for the role of Miranda was a masterstoke. This role demanded someone special and her ability to blend comedy and drama in a role is just what the production team wanted from their leading lady. Frankel pointed out that Miranda "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. She can find what’s funny in the real so that it never feels forced." It could also be because Streep did her homework when it came to researching the role she was asked to play. "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." Asked how she would describe Miranda Priestly, Streep said, "Miranda has an incredible amount of power in the marketplace. 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." In running that ship she needs to be surrounded by competent staff. When it comes to a finding a good assistant who can live up to her high expectations, it's a near impossible task. Until Miranda meets Andy Sachs. Anne Hathaway, who had a key role in "Brokeback Mountain" (as Lureen Newsome), 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. Even though she has no knowledge of the fashion industry, Miranda or Runway Magazine and absolutely no fashion sense, Miranda hires her as a second assistant. "Andy," says Frankel, "is on a journey that we all take when we get our first jobs and discover what the real world is like. We’re faced with ethical and moral choices that we never considered, and we learn about ourselves." But Andy does have her good points. In the distorted aesthetics of the New York fashion scene, a size 6 like Andy stands out and she has an innocence Miranda can exploit. "When Miranda first meets Andy," says Streep, "it's at the end of a series of disappointments she’s had with other assistants. Andy comes in with an amazing resume, and Miranda takes a chance on her because she doesn’t fit the mold of the typical Runway employee." Hathaway is exceptional in this role, and even though she is playing opposite a two time Academy Award winner, the performance she gives is career defining. "Hathaway embodied Andy with grace and humor," says Frankel. "Anne is funny and will do things in a way that not a lot of actors could do," Finerman adds, "and every time she does so, it is fresh and new. She finds the funny and never holds back." Of her character, Hathaway says, "Andy begins as a strong, grounded character, and as the story progresses, she becomes more and more preoccupied with success. "All she can see is her job and doing it well. When you’ve imagined that you’re going to save the world, and you find that the world isn’t always willing to be saved, you need to rethink who you are." And Andy's first impressions of Miranda? "Andy sees her boss as a career-obsessed dragon lady," says Hathaway. "Miranda is cold, has no feelings and only focuses on one thing: her job." But that's an attitude that changes, doesn't it? "Andy learns from Miranda the relentless pursuit of journalism excellence," Hathaway says. "She teaches her what it takes to be the best." It's here that I must point out that Andy is a second assistant in the office pecking order. The first assistant is Emily, played by rising talent Emily Blunt. Emily is so far on the edge of fashion that she’s practically falling off," Blunt says. "She has no friends and thinks of nothing else but Miranda." Except, giving Andy Sachs a hard time! "Emily doesn’t want to be anything other than what she is and how she functions, but she wants to be the very best at her job that she can possibly be, and so she’s very very disapproving of Andy. Emily is smacked around by Miranda, and she likes to punish Andy in kind," says Streep. But Andy does have a friendly face willing to advise her, Nigel played by that talented scallywag Stanley Tucci. Nigel can be a little snobby. "To say he is a snob would be quite the understatement," Tucci says. "This very bitchy fellow turns out to be a softy in the end." "Nigel is very funny," adds Streep, "and just one of those people who can say anything to Miranda. So they are friends, but Miranda is always his boss, and that makes their relationship really tricky." Luckily, Nigel is a wakeup to Miranda. "She one tough cookie," Tucci says. "She’s a workaholic and someone who wields a tremendous amount of power and knows it. Everyone who works for her is at her beck and call so she’s not the kind of person you’d want to come on the wrong side of." Nigel helps Andy to becomes the best assistant Miranda ever had. "How do you know you’re doing well working for Miranda?" Nigel asks. "Your personal life falls apart. When your whole life goes up in smoke, that’s when it’s time for a promotion." Under the spell of her new job, Andy changes. Like her boss Miranda, the job has an effect on her personal life. Her down to earth boyfriend notice the effect of the job on her, even if she doesn't. "He is not seduced by fashion and style and money and power," says Adriaen Grenier who plays Andy’s boyfriend Nate. "As Andy becomes seduced by Miranda’s world, Nate is there to remind her where she came from," Frankel adds. "Nate doesn’t find it difficult to hold on to his integrity." In the end, it is up all up to Andy. Only she can, like all of us, find her way in the world. "What happens to Andy is very character forming," Hathaway says. "As she changes, she realizes it’s important to commit not necessarily to success, but to succeed on your own terms." The Verdict "This film has class written all over it in great big capital letters. Meryl Streep puts in a blinder as Runway Magazine editor and powerplayer Miranda Priestly. While many will be in awe of Ms Streeps performance, the co-stars do pretty well for themselves too. Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt are terrific, but the real winner in "The Devil Wears Prada" is Anne Hathaway. I have to agree with David Kaplan on his assessment of her performance when he says, "Move over, Julia Roberts ---- here comes Anne Hathaway." Most critics and cinemagoers alike recognized Hathaway has star quality. Her performance as Andy Sach in "The Devil Wears Prada" is seminal and one so appealing it is sure to send her stocks rocketing skyhigh. It's not all about the 'girls' and as such, you guys out there should not write this film off as a 'chick flick'. Adrian Grenier puts in a substantial contribution as Andy's down to earth boyfriend Nate and, while Australia's Simon Baker only appears in a minor role, it is noticeable. Very recommended. 4 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA" stars .......
Two time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep ["The Deer Hunter", "The French Lieutenant’s Woman", "The Bridges Of Madison County", "Adaptation" and "The Ant Bully"]; Anne Hathaway ["The Princess Diaries", "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Brokeback Mountain"]; Golden Globe and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award winner Stanley Tucci ["Sidewalks Of New York", "Road To Perdition", "The Terminal" and "Shall We Dance"]; Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer British Film Award winner Emily Blunt ["My Summer of Love"], Simon Baker ["Book Of Love", "Ring 2" and "Land of the Dead"] and Adrian Grenier ["Hart's War", "Drive Me Crazy", "Shot in the Dark" and "Love In The Time Of Money"] as Nate.
"THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA" was .......
directed by EMMY Award winner David Frankel ["Miami Rhapsody", "Dear Diary", "Just Like You Imagined" and TV'S "Sex and the City"]; screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna ["Laws of Attraction"]; adapted from the novel by Lauren Weisberger ["The Devil Wears Prada"]; production design by Jess Gonchor ["Capote" and "Five Minutes, Mr Welles"]; original music by Theodore Shapiro ["Along Came Polly", "Starsky & Hutch", "Fun with Dick and Jane" and "You, Me and Dupree"] costume design by Patricia Field ["Lady Beware", "Miami Rhapsody" and "Big City Blues"] and produced by Academy Award winner Wendy Finerman ["Forrest Gump", "The Fan", "Stepmom" and "Drumline"]. Run Time 109 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - 20th Century Fox - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages- All Rights Reserved