The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 American comedy-drama directed by David Frankel and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel. Anne Hathaway plays Andrea “Andy” Sachs, a recent Northwestern University graduate who becomes an assistant at the fictional fashion magazine Runway. Meryl Streep portrays Miranda Priestly, the magazine’s exacting editor-in-chief; Emily Blunt is Miranda’s first assistant, Emily Charlton; and Stanley Tucci plays Runway art director Nigel Kipling. The supporting cast includes Adrian Grenier as Andy’s boyfriend Nate, Simon Baker as writer Christian Thompson, and Tracie Thoms as Andy’s friend Lily in New York City. At Runway, Andy is expected to anticipate Miranda’s needs, including obtaining two unpublished Harry Potter manuscripts for Miranda’s daughters. As Andy’s competence grows, Nigel helps reshape her wardrobe and she begins earning Miranda’s approval. The job nevertheless strains her relationships with Nate and Lily and puts her in conflict with Emily, who has long expected to accompany Miranda to Paris Fashion Week. Miranda ultimately sends Andy to Paris in Emily’s place after Emily is injured. In Paris, Andy learns that Miranda protects her own position by allowing Jacqueline Follet to take the creative-director job Nigel expected instead at a new magazine. After seeing Miranda dismiss the human cost of her decisions, Andy rejects a future shaped by that ruthlessness. She leaves Runway during the Paris trip and later interviews at a New York newspaper. Miranda provides a favorable recommendation, telling the interviewer that Andy was her greatest disappointment and greatest achievement. The ending shows Andy meeting Miranda on a city street; Miranda smiles privately after Andy declines to resume her former role. The screenplay changes several elements from Weisberger’s novel, including the circumstances of Andy’s departure and the emphasis on Miranda’s professional calculation rather than a simple personal reconciliation with Andy. The film was released in the United States by 20th Century Fox on June 30, 2006. It grossed more than $326 million worldwide against a reported $35 million production budget. Streep received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Miranda, one of the film’s two Oscar nominations; Patricia Field was nominated for Best Costume Design. Field’s costume work, alongside the film’s fashion-industry setting, became central to its visual identity. Blunt’s performance earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The soundtrack prominently uses Madonna’s “Vogue,” and the film closes with U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” over the end credits.