Marie Antoinette

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Acord: Sofia’s style of filming is to create an environment that’s fun to be in. When there’s music playing or the cast was eating and drinking with one another, I would essentially be a fly on the wall. It was all about creating a mood and then capturing it. A lot of moments that feel so natural are because the people on camera are having fun in the moment. The Duchess de Polignac replaced the Princess de Lamballe as Marie Antoinette’s favorite. Contemporaries praised her jubilant spirit and “utter naturalness.” Photo: Courtesy of Sony Coppola: Marie’s real bedroom was decorated with bright gold and turquoise fabric, so it wasn’t complete artistic license on my part. You never see those pops of color in period films, but I wanted to depict her world the way she saw it.

Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna on 2 November 1755, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. Her marriage with the future Louis XVI, celebrated in the Royal Chapel at Versailles on 16 May 1770, was partly the work of the Duke de Choiseul, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and one of the principal architects of the reconciliation between France and Austria. The marriage nonetheless met with a lukewarm reception from the French public, who had not forgotten their country’s long-standing enmity towards the House of Austria. A highlight of the lavish festivities to mark the royal wedding was the inauguration of the Royal Opera. Nighy: I was finishing my second year of literature studies at the time, so during shooting I was also preparing for a six-hour Chaucer exam. I got to stay in a very nice hotel and wear these gorgeous costumes everyday and then go home to read Chaucer every night. What a loser, right? Upon her arrival in Versailles, Marie Antoinette lived in the Queen’s State Apartment and was bound by the official rituals of her royal position: the waking-up ceremony, the elaborate preparations, royal audiences, public meals, etc. Having grown up with the less elaborate ceremonial routine of Austria’s royal palaces, she had a hard time adapting to Versailles’ complex etiquette and tried to seek out a more private life. Surrounded by a circle of friends whom she had chosen herself (although not always wisely), she preferred to remain in her Private Chambers, located behind her State Apartments and which she hoped to extend into the floor above, and in the Petit Trianon, built by Louis XV and given to her as a gift by Louis XVI on his accession. Following the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the Assembly passed the August Decrees, which dismantled the system of feudalism, and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. As the National Assembly dismembered the Ancien Régime one decree at a time, Louis XVI stubbornly fought to retain his kingly authority. Marie Antoinette, hardened against the Revolution and described by the Count of Mirabeau (1749-1791) as "the only man" on which the king could depend, stayed steadfast by his side (Schama, 533). Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted.Katz: I was pissed off. I told our publicist, “You’ve gotta get a hold on this, nothing happened the way it’s being reported.” We had people jump to their feet and give us a standing ovation at the premiere, so I was upset that it got lost because of something so petty as a few boos at a press screening. Coppola: I made reference boards that had a lot of New Romantic visuals and John Galliano’s work at Dior. He designed some dresses inspired by Marie Antoinette and I loved that mix of 18th-century fashion and couture. Milena is a genius and completely understood what I was going for. She interpreted the era with such a fresh feeling and palette. Marie was into fashion so we wanted the film to feel fashionable.

Reitzell: Sofia would Xerox photographs of artists that she liked or fashion photography that caught her imagination. One of the photos was Bow Wow Wow recreating a [Édouard] Manet painting [ Le Déjeuner Sur L’Herbe]. That whole New Romantic sensibility was the spirit of the film from the get-go. It wasn’t there yet musically, but visually Sofia steered me towards that music. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. Mary Nighy, Princess de Lamballe: I was very aware of all the differing accents. Jamie is Irish, Al [Weaver] and Sebastian [Armesto] are English, Clémentine [Poidatz] is French, Rose [Bryne] is Australian, and Kirsten and Jason are American. Every day my English ear was just like, “What the hell is going on here?” Shannon: There was a very “work hard, play hard” mentality. The studio got my family an apartment in the 15th arrondissement and I only had to work a couple scattered days over a month, so it kinda felt like having my maternity leave in Paris. Everybody lived in different neighborhoods so we’d compare notes on the best restaurants and supermarkets.

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A little over a month later, the stunning victory of the French Revolutionary army over Prussia at the Battle of Valmy emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy and declare the First French Republic. Now known as simply Citizen Louis Capet, Marie Antoinette's husband was charged with treason against the Republic and put on trial in December. He was condemned to death and guillotined on 21 January 1793. Execution & Legacy Dunst: Hair took a very long time. Each morning was an event because Sofia liked my hairline and didn’t want me to wear a wig. Odile would put these spongy rings in my hair to form a base, and then apply pieces on top. She used full cans of this dry shampoo called Klorane so my hair wouldn’t break. Makeup, thankfully, was very fast because it was just rosy cheeks and pale skin. I didn’t even wear mascara. Amy Pascal, then-Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman: I’m obsessed with Sofia. I worship her. After I saw Lost in Translation I was so blown away that I followed her around like a groupie. I basically stalked her until she agreed to make a movie with me, and Marie Antoinette was her passion project. A second consideration is that there were no actual famines during the reign of Louis XVI and only two incidents of serious bread shortages, the first in April–May 1775, a few weeks before the king's coronation on 11 June 1775, and the second in 1788, the year before the French Revolution. The 1775 shortages led to a series of riots that took place in northern, eastern and western France, known at the time as the Flour War ( guerre des farines). Letters from Marie Antoinette to her family in Austria at this time reveal an attitude largely contrary to the spirit of Let them eat brioche: [13] Thierry Boutemy, Marie Antoinette florist: I was quite anxious. Filming took place in winter so even the simplest flowers became exotic. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to meet the demands of the production. At the end of the first day of shooting Sofia asked for me: “Who is Thierry? Who made the flowers?” She told me she liked them a lot, and that gave me a lot of courage to continue. It was difficult, but I knew that I was participating in a project that would remain in time. Flowers are ephemeral and on film they become eternal.

Desmarest: Anyone who did anything on that film was there that night. I tried to stay responsible, but it was difficult because I drank copious amounts of alcohol. Everyone was so relaxed that we ended up having a proper party with lots of drinking and dancing. It was very informal and there was no hierarchy. We all took photos of each other on the steps of Versailles. I think I finally left around six in the morning. Another problem with the dates surrounding the attribution is that when the phrase first appeared, Marie Antoinette was not only too young to have said it, but living outside France as well. Although published in 1782, Rousseau's Confessions were finished thirteen years prior in 1769. Marie Antoinette, only fourteen years old at the time, would not arrive at Versailles from Austria until 1770. Since she was completely unknown to him at the time of writing, she could not have possibly been the "great princess" he mentioned. [14] Other attributions [ edit ] Coppola: I kept one of the ships from the play battle scenes at my dad’s winery. I also saved one of Marie’s bedrooms in a storage crate in Napa because I always wanted to rebuild it somewhere. I couldn’t have it destroyed. “Their Expressions Can Say a Lot”

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The Flight to Varennes, an attempted escape by the French royal family from Paris, is foiled; public disdain for the monarchy increases. Coppola: I asked the Phoenix guys to do a really small cameo and they ended up in fittings for six hours. They were such a small part, but she still wanted to make sure they looked perfect.

lively and imaginative examination of the public personae of the French Queen."— London Review of Books

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Rousseau does not name the "great princess", and he may have invented the anecdote altogether, as the Confessions is not considered entirely factual. [6] Attribution to Marie Antoinette [ edit ] Argento: Madame du Barry was a kind of mythological figure. She was a courtesan who became the king’s lover, and even though he made her a Comtesse, she was not aristocratic. I could relate to du Barry feeling like she never belonged. She endured a rough life to get where she did and become the king’s favorite. The spoiled brats at Versailles despised her because she wasn’t like them, so she created this glamorous façade to protect herself. “We Wanted the Film to Feel Fashionable” With production over, some of the film’s more high-end contributions were returned to their owners, such as Blahnik’s eye-popping footwear. Sony and a private collector bought a bulk of the costumes while Canonero kept “a few.” Otherwise, the art department assembled a “fire sale” to sell off all the other luxury items used in Marie Antoinette. After a proxy marriage & a renunciation of all claims to Habsburg lands, Maria Antonia set off for France to meet the future Louis XVI.