How much truth is there that Mirandas based on Vogues Anna Wintour?
FRANKEL: Meryl based Miranda on a composite of people. We wanted to make Miranda well rounded. Yes, I want to see her warts, and yes, I want to see her be mean. But I also want to see her work ethic, what drives her and makes her excellent, and the sacrifices she makes and how she charms people. How’d you get attached to Prada? [Producer] Wendy Finerman sent me the script. She’d been working on it for two years with four writers by that point. I’d never read the book. The script was funny, but it was a movie I didn’t want to makea bit disrespectful, campier in tone, straining for comedy. I felt comedy should come out of the characters. The movie shouldn’t be jokey. We had to treat the characters seriously, make a funny movie without making fun of the characters. Did you reference Altman’s Prêt-A-Porter or other fashion-oriented films? I saw Prêt-A-Porter when it came out but didn’t reference it. It seemed to highlight the fashion world’s silliness and what’s pointless about it. I feel
