Marie Antoinette (2006 film)
| Marie Antoinette | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Sofia Coppola |
| Written by | Sofia Coppola (Screenplay), Antonia Fraser (Book) |
| Produced by | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Starring | Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzmann, Asia Argento, Rip Torn, Marianne Faithfull, Judy Davis, James Dornan, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Steve Coogan |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Entertainment |
Running time | To be Determined |
Marie-Antoinette is a 2006 film written and directed by Sofia Coppola about the life of Marie Antoinette, the Austrian princess who married into the French royal family in 1770, only to be imprisoned and beheaded when the monarchy was overthrown by a revolution twenty years later.
It is currently at the post-production stage and is (as of September 2005) scheduled to be released in Autumn 2006 though this may change. It is based upon the historical biography by Lady Antonia Fraser, which is a best-selling British book first published in 2001. It is the first full-length biopic of Queen Marie-Antoinette to be made in the English language since the 1938 Oscar-winner starring Hollywood superstars Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power.
The production crew were given unprecedented filming access to the Palace of Versailles, where the real Marie-Antoinette lived from the time of her marriage in 1770 until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. The movie is expected to take the same sympathetic view of Marie-Antoinette's life as was presented in Lady Fraser's biography, Marie Antoinette: The Journey. An earlier biography of the French queen, written by the Austrian-Jewish author Stefan Zweig in 1933, was rejected by Coppola for inspiration because she believed it was too hostile and unsympathetic to Marie-Antoinette's youth and inexperience.
Although eyebrows were raised at the casting of young American actress Kirsten Dunst in the title role, Dunst has won praise for difficult roles before - including her appearance in Coppola's earlier film The Virgin Suicides and, at an early age, she did perform in a period drama - Little Women, opposite Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder. In a recent interview, Dunst revealed that she felt a powerful sense of empathy with Marie-Antoinette - who was exploited by the ambitious courtiers, who sought to use her position for their own advantage.
Cast & Crew
- Directed by Sofia Coppola
- Written by Sofia Coppola
- Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
- Jason Schwartzmann - Louis XVI
- Asia Argento - Madame du Barry
- Rip Torn - Louis XV
- Marianne Faithfull - Empress Maria Theresa
- Judy Davis - The Comtesse de Noailles
- James Dornan - Count Axel von Fersen
- Molly Shannon - Princess Sophie
- Shirley Henderson - Princess Adelaide
- Steve Coogan - Count Mercy d'Argenteau
External links
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