While most people assume that Meryl Streep was channeling Anna Wintour The devil wears Prada The Oscar winner says she was actually “imitating” two of Hollywood’s top filmmakers.
The actress — who first played cynical fashion editor Miranda Priestly in the 2006 film and later reprized her role in the upcoming sequel — recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen ColbertShe revealed that she was inspired for this role by Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood.
“I was imitating Mike Nichols all the time,” Streep told the host. “If Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood had a baby, it would be Miranda Priestly.”
This may come as a surprise to some fans, as many have since compared Priestley to Pointor The devil wears Prada The film was based on Loren Weisberger’s novel of the same name, which was inspired by her own experiences working as an assistant to the former editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine (Wintour now serves as chief content officer at Condé Nast and global editorial director of the magazine Vogue magazine).
Streep explained that Nichols’s directing style, mixed with sly humor, helped shape the tone of her character.
“It’s on the set. And Mike did it with a sly sense of humor.” Mamma mia! The star said. “And Miranda, she knows what she’s saying is kind of rude, but she also knows it’s funny. And this simple way of doing things, people think it’s mean, but it’s funny. I think it’s funny.”
As for Eastwood, Streep was impressed by the director’s calm and, at the same time, his authority. “Clint would never raise his voice,” she said. “He was directing and people had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. … He would often film the rehearsal and then move on. So his crew was like they were on their feet. No one was sitting but me.”
When asked by Stephen Colbert, Streep added that she never told Eastwood about his influence on her character, but she told Nichols. “I told Mike, and he was so happy,” she joked.
the Out of Africa The actress has previously collaborated with Nichols in his films Silkwood, heartburn and the HBO miniseries Angels in America. She also worked with Eastwood on his film Madison County Bridges.
Although Streep did not list Wintour as one of her inspirations for the role, she did Vogue magazine The editor revealed her true thoughts last year about the longstanding comparisons between her and Priestley.
“I went to the premiere wearing Prada, and I had absolutely no idea what the movie was going to be like,” Wintour said. The New Yorker Editor David Remnick during an episode of the program New Yorker Radio Hour Podcast. “And I think the fashion industry was very interested in me about the movie, and that it would paint me in a kind of difficult light.”
However, the fashion icon said that once she watched the Oscar-nominated film, her reaction was completely different than what she expected.
“In the beginning it was Meryl Streep, amazing,” Wintour said. “And then I went to see the movie, and I found it very interesting. It was very funny. Miuccia. It was very funny.” [Prada] And I talk about that a lot, and I say to her: Well, that was really helpful for you.
She added that the movie “had a lot of humor. It had a lot of wit. And it had Meryl Streep in it. I mean, it was Emily Blunt, [and] They were all amazing. In the end I think it was a fair shot.”
The devil wears prada 2 It hits theaters May 1.
