All Access with Linsey Davis: The Cast of The Devil Wears Prada 2

[0:05] Hello everyone and welcome to a very special edition of All Access. I'm Lindsay Davis. The runway is set, the stakes are as high as the stilettos, and yes, you may just want to go ahead and gird your loins. The highly anticipated sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, is just days away from hitting the big screen. And like a perfectly cut blazer, the buzz is precise, persistent, and impossible to ignore. We pulled up a chair where the whispers turned into headlines, sitting down with the cast to hear in their own words how this next chapter comes together. [0:35] The moment has come. Don't be ridiculous, Andrea. Everybody wants this. It's been 20 years since these characters first click-clacked their way into our lives, with the well-heeled fashionistas echoing through hallways and straight into pop culture history, all while coining sayings that have lived in mainstream lexicon ever since. [0:58] The Devil Wears Prada didn't just dress a generation, it defined an era. [1:08] Can you please spell Gabbana? [1:10] And now the original power players from the iconic 2006 movie are back. [1:15] Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci return in full glamour. [1:21] Only this time, the world around them has changed. [1:23] You know what's funny is you've changed, you have, you're much more confident. [1:28] The glossy pages are fading. The once untouchable print industry now faces its own final edit. [1:34] I just love my job. [1:37] But between the hemlines and headlines, the drama is still impeccably tailored. The fashion, still a character of its own. [1:45] Fendi, we need that. The Brunello Cuccinelli pants, love those. [1:50] And the humor, as cutting as ever. [1:53] Who gives away Chanel? [1:55] That's not what you're wearing to the dinner. [1:57] That's all. [1:58] We sat down with the cast here in New York City, where the sidewalks double as runways, to talk about legacy, reinvention, and whether after all this time, the Devil still wears Prada. [2:10] Anyway, come along. [2:11] In the original version, Miranda teaches us that power never has to raise its voice. [2:17] But what do we think that the current climate and political correctness and the new generation and HR has taught Miranda this time around? [2:26] I don't think she's teachable. [2:31] She's unbreakable. [2:34] I think that her strength in the first one and the second one was being able to see around the corner. [2:40] It was being able to strategize long-term in a fast-moving world. [2:50] Fashion is so fast. [2:52] And keeping on top of trends and where things bubble up from and how to identify real talent and how to elevate it and keep the business going. [3:07] All those things, I think. [3:08] In this one, it's her superpower is to be able to, and you think, you know, that she's losing it. [3:20] And I think she thinks she's losing it in moments. [3:24] But that reflects where we are in the business world and in everything. [3:30] The original movie, more than entertain, it really seemed to define ambition for a generation. [3:37] This time around, how do you feel that power has been redefined? [3:44] I think that's the big difference is technology. [3:47] Technology has completely changed since the first film was made, right? [3:51] So technology has certainly changed the fashion world, without a doubt. [3:56] And people are, you know, AI, knowing what can happen with AI. [4:02] Everybody's even on less steady ground. [4:06] So there are so many different factors, the corporatization of everything and then the technology. [4:14] And the young people's, how they have to acclimate, you know, all your characters. [4:21] Yeah, and I think that also the trends are, you know, it always was quick in fashion. [4:28] But now it's wildly quick. [4:29] But now it's like, it's that fast. [4:30] You have to be able to move. [4:31] How do you know what's right and what's wrong? [4:34] How do you know what sells, what doesn't sell? [4:36] How do you know what's good and what isn't good? [4:39] What's in good conscience to do and what isn't. [4:42] Something our director, David Frankel, said is this movie is about confronting the world as it is, not as you would have it be. [4:48] And learning to navigate that. [4:50] 20 years later, did you all feel that you were revisiting the old character or you were meeting who they've become? [5:00] I mean, I think a bit of both, you know. [5:03] Rather worryingly, this lunatic feels like the glove that fits for me. [5:07] It sort of slips too easily back into play. [5:10] Am I having a hallucination? [5:12] Hi, Emily. [5:13] You also know her? [5:15] We were at Runway at the same time, Miranda. [5:17] Really? [5:19] How was I? [5:20] Yeah. [5:22] Funny. [5:22] But now she has power, so she's really terrifying. [5:29] But, yeah, I think you see how all of them have been contorted by the times and, you know, where the ambition has got the best of them, particularly with my character. [5:43] That hunger, that thirst for power. [5:48] Someone who really, really defines themselves by their job, you know, and the pitfalls of that. [5:55] So I think that you see these characters, I think, under more duress, more unstable ground. [6:04] And I think it's how they acclimatize to that. [6:09] Do you think that your character and Miranda are cut from the same cloth or are you complete opposites? [6:13] I think she'd like to think that she's cut from the same cloth. [6:17] You know, Miranda's like the mummy that she desperately wants to love her. [6:22] And I think Emily would like to think that she's as iconic as Miranda. [6:26] And I don't think she is. [6:31] But there's a different aspiration because some people want power. [6:35] I don't think Miranda, that was her aim or is her aim in business. [6:40] And her responsibility, she feels the responsibility of all the people that work for her and in the company. [6:48] But I think that she also has a dedication to quality and real beauty and design and certain elements that she feels are under siege in the current world. [7:06] And she works to defend that. [7:11] And she's also, you know, this is 20 years later. [7:15] I'm 76. [7:16] I was 56. [7:16] I thought I was washed up then. [7:18] And now, you know, 20 years, they drag me back. [7:24] What is that, Pacino? [7:26] Not my best Pacino. [7:27] No, it was pretty good. [7:28] I thought it was good. [7:29] You had to grow. [7:30] Yeah, I think it's just a different world. [7:35] And she's trying to stay afloat. [7:38] And Andy, 20 years ago, seemed to be at the crossroads of authenticity and ambition. [7:44] Where is she standing today? [7:47] Well, I think she's still there. [7:51] I think the world has changed dramatically. [7:54] And I think that the specific vision of her future that she had 20 years ago, I'm not entirely sure that exists anymore. [8:03] You know, what Stanley was saying about technology is so true. [8:05] It's just kind of upended everything. [8:07] And so I think Andy's trying to navigate the waters just like everybody else and trying to keep her integrity intact. [8:15] But also is dealing with the fact that she's at a stage in her life where she's also hungry for more, which is a very, very natural thing to feel like you've paid your dues. [8:25] You put in your time. [8:26] You know, Andy was this nomadic journalist for 15 years. [8:28] She traveled the world. [8:30] And that really fed her. [8:31] She had a wonderful time doing that. [8:33] Now she would like something else. [8:35] And she has to grapple with the fact that what she wants might not actually exist. [8:41] And then when you were talking before about how they changed, was it like stepping back into the character? [8:46] One of the things that we had to really pay attention to was the fact that we couldn't make Andy so wide-eyed anymore. [8:53] You know, in the first film, there was so much she didn't know. [8:56] And so much of the comedy in the film is mine from her being a fish out of water who kind of, you know, learns her the ropes. [9:04] Did I just mix too many metaphors? [9:06] Keep going. [9:06] I'm following you. [9:07] Okay. [9:07] It's fine. [9:08] Everybody knows. [9:11] And this time around, we had to figure out how to make her. [9:15] Still curious. [9:17] Still not know everything. [9:18] But, you know, but she is somebody. [9:20] She has had a life. [9:20] She does have a point of view. [9:21] She does have confidence now. [9:23] And so we had to adapt to this place that she's at in her life. [9:28] Stanley? [9:28] You were described 20 years ago in this movie as the secret weapon known for a lot of improv. [9:36] When Miranda's coming into the room, all right, everyone, gird your loins. [9:40] Did you come with a different approach 20 years later? [9:44] No. [9:45] No. [9:45] It came in the same way. [9:47] I was a little nervous that I wasn't sure I could do it again. [9:52] I wanted to be true to what we had done before. [9:58] So I was a bit nervous suddenly the first day. [10:00] I thought, Jesus, how am I going to do this? [10:02] And then it just happened. [10:05] Oh. [10:05] Because it was well written. [10:09] And once you put those clothes on, you don't really have to do too much. [10:14] I think that really for me, you know, as Emily was just talking before, that, you know, in this one, Nigel's just a little, he's a little world weary. [10:25] And he can see where things are going. [10:28] And you get to a certain age. [10:30] I'm 65. [10:32] So he's 65. [10:34] And at the age of 65, you have a very different outlook than you do at the age of 45. [10:40] And things wash over you pretty quickly. [10:45] Because, you know, there's no point in putting out that energy to try to correct them. [10:51] You pick your battles. [10:52] You pick your battles. [10:53] And I think it's evident in the film that that's the way he is. [10:57] If the original movie whispered, that's all, what does the sequel say? [11:03] May the bridges I burn light my way. [11:07] May the bridges I burn light my way. [11:11] Oh, that is a good one. [11:13] That's a great one. [11:14] And another thing. [11:15] May the bridges I burn light my way. [11:16] Aileen, let me do that on the day. [11:18] I know. [11:19] I'm just, you brought it, baby. [11:21] I was trying to think of, like, the worst affirmation you could tell yourself. [11:26] The worst, most negative affirmation that could lead you through the day. [11:32] That could bring you back to your sense of self. [11:34] It's so, Emily. [11:36] It's such a vile thing to say. [11:39] But, Aileen, let me keep it. [11:41] Yeah. [11:42] Coming up, more with The Devil Wears Prada 2 cast. [11:45] What makes this iconic film so timeless? [11:48] And who really was the inspiration for our favorite characters? [11:52] I heard you say recently that Anna Wintour wasn't really your inspiration. [11:57] It was actually two men. [12:08] There's one line that really struck me. [12:11] Humans are at once glorious and fallible. [12:15] How do you feel that that encompasses Miranda or the movie in general? [12:23] Yes, I think that you could interpret Miranda, I don't, of course, as mean or... [12:31] Harsh. [12:34] Harsh. [12:35] Harsh. [12:35] Harsh. [12:36] Harsh. [12:36] Harsh. [12:37] Harsh. [12:37] Harsh. [12:38] It's a great word. [12:38] Yeah, it is a great word. [12:39] Harsh. [12:40] But, I think, or you could interpret her as directed, focused, determined, and all those [12:52] are good attributes. [12:54] So, I don't know. [12:55] I think everybody's a mix of everything, and that's sort of why I like this. [13:02] There's forgiveness in it. [13:03] There's forgiveness of each other in this one. [13:07] And there's detente, even without forgiveness. [13:13] There's all the things that make good resolution. [13:19] So, whatever the ending is, even though it's fantastical and would never happen, it also is [13:28] sort of triumphal and great and very, very satisfying. [13:33] But you have the feeling that it's not going to last. [13:35] What do you think it is that makes Devil Wears Prada so timeless? [13:55] Fun. [13:56] It's fun, Hal. [13:57] It's really fun. [13:58] It's a movie for everybody. [13:59] Yeah. [14:00] And I don't think that anybody knew when it was made originally. [14:03] You know, we were just saying before that, you know, it covers every demographic. [14:09] Men love it. [14:09] Yeah. [14:11] Women love it. [14:12] Men who are sort of dragged along unwillingly. [14:14] Yeah. [14:14] Unwillingly. [14:15] And then they'll say, oh, and my wife. [14:16] I get guys coming up to me all the time. [14:18] They go, hey, I just want to tell you. [14:21] And they do it sort of surreptitically. [14:23] They go, like, I just want to tell you one thing. [14:25] And they kind of look around and go, you know that movie, The Devil's Wear Prada. [14:30] The Devil's Wear Prada. [14:34] You know, you were really good. [14:36] I didn't want to go to it. [14:37] My wife, my wife dragged me. [14:39] And I was like, all right. [14:41] And then I was like, I loved it. [14:43] I watched it again last night. [14:44] It makes you so happy. [14:46] It's so cool. [14:47] One of the things people I've been hearing for 20 years is people say, when I turn on the TV and The Devil's Prada is on, you can watch it from any point. [14:54] And you can't not watch it. [14:56] Like, if it's on, you sit down and you watch it to the end. [15:00] And I just think the movie, something about David Frankel's direction, something about, you know, these geniuses, Patricia Field, it just casts a spell. [15:09] And it's just sort of an evergreen film where every time you watch it, it just, it brings you back to a feeling of, I don't know, possibility. [15:21] But I think you're right. [15:21] I think it's fun. [15:22] I think people like to laugh and people love to look at beautiful clothes. [15:26] And I think people love to feel emotions. [15:28] It's the perfect Hollywood movie. [15:31] It's perfect. [15:32] And it has this one. [15:33] It's not just us, you know, slogging through once again. [15:36] And it's a lot of new people that are really funny, right? [15:40] Justin Theroux. [15:41] Justin Theroux. [15:42] Yeah. [15:42] And Caleb Heron. [15:44] So wonderful. [15:44] Oh, Helen. [15:45] Helen J. Shen was just great, too. [15:47] Oh, I love her. [15:48] And Simone Ashley. [15:49] I thought it was fabulous. [15:51] It seems like it was different this time around because notoriously, I guess, fashion houses did not want to really participate or be too involved or helpful the first go-round. [16:00] And now, yeah, yeah, I think on the first one, it was, I think Valentino might have been the first person to come in and offer to dress us for the garland. [16:13] Is that right? [16:13] He was the only one. [16:14] He was the only one. [16:15] Yeah. [16:16] And what do you think changed that? [16:18] The success of the movie. [16:20] No, Anna was not unhappy. [16:22] Yeah. [16:23] She, she, she's talked about it. [16:25] I think people were nervous, too, because there's such reverence and love for her. [16:30] They didn't want to upset Anna. [16:31] They just didn't want it to be a sort of upset or a disrespectful portrayal of the world. [16:37] I was going to say, and to be fair, they didn't know the movie we were making. [16:40] Yeah. [16:40] So I think people didn't want to be a part of something if it was going to be an exercise in humiliation, which, of course, it wasn't. [16:47] And I think when the movie came out and everybody saw that Patricia Field loves fashion and style so much and actually. [16:53] The spectacle of it. [16:54] Yeah. [16:54] So wonderful. [16:55] But also this one has no, absolutely no connection to anything. [17:01] That first one was based on a book that a woman who had worked at Vogue wrote and what relation it had to reality. [17:12] I don't know. [17:13] But this one is just full blown from Aline Brosh McKenna's head. [17:18] She, it's all made up and, but it's true to the spirit of the first one. [17:24] And I heard you say recently that Anna Wintour wasn't really your inspiration. [17:29] It was actually two men. [17:30] Yeah, because my bosses mostly, I don't know about you, my bosses have mostly been men. [17:36] So that's where I go for my, you know, who am I going to steal from when you're picking a character and how to approach it. [17:46] And, yeah, I just saw the most effective charismatic chieftains of, that I'd worked with were, yeah, men. [18:00] Mike Nichols. [18:01] Mike Nichols. [18:01] Clint Eastwood. [18:02] Clint Eastwood. [18:02] Clint Eastwood. [18:03] But both men didn't, they were very different, very different approaches, but both didn't raise their voices. [18:10] Did you tell Mike? [18:11] Mike could be, I told Mike. [18:12] Was he thrilled? [18:13] He was thrilled. [18:15] He's delighted. [18:19] Beyond. [18:20] That's cool. [18:21] Yeah. [18:22] Emily, you've talked about your inspiration for your character being a number of people you would never associate with. [18:29] Yeah, I mean, I feel she's sort of a concoction of many acerbic, outraged British people. [18:38] I'm not sure anyone does outrage better than the Brits. [18:41] It just makes me laugh every time someone's having a rant and they're from where I'm from. [18:46] Other than Stanley Tucci, I do rejoice in a Tucci rant as well. [18:50] It just makes me laugh so much. [18:51] You might see one now. [18:52] You might see one today. [18:53] There's any noise outside. [18:54] It's just the best, actually my sister and I and John will all just stand around the kitchen watching Stan have a rant about something and it's just heaven. [19:02] But mostly I do like to see British people just have a good meltdown, you know. [19:08] So, I mean, it really stemmed honestly because I did the audition for the first one kind of on the fly and in a rush and I didn't want to butcher an American accent. [19:15] So, I told them I had made a distinctive choice, truly because I'd never done an American accent. [19:23] I was like, let's not do that. [19:26] What I thought watching the sequel was interesting is there are so many things that are really on the nose. [19:31] One, we're in the journalism industry and is purportedly dying and the crunch and squeeze that we're feeling from that. [19:40] But also just it seems that success and how we treat people and everyone gets a trophy and work-life balance really kind of hits you in the face in this movie. [19:54] And what you're willing to do to get ahead and how that, how you negotiate with your conscience about how far to go and how maybe you don't want to do that. [20:08] It's, yeah. [20:09] And also the era of, that we're in, of immediate success and not wanting to graft or climb the ladder of just wanting an immediate power, I think is. [20:22] An immediate failure, cancellation. [20:25] What constitutes success today is very different than what constituted success 20 years ago. [20:31] What constitutes success today, especially for a lot of younger people, is look at, look how many followers I have. [20:38] But what are they following? [20:41] What are you doing? [20:42] What skills do you have and what talent do you have? [20:45] And where are you going to go with that? [20:46] Because it's, it's nothing. [20:49] It's pulp. [20:50] So, I think that is a huge issue and it's one of the reasons why journalism is disappearing. [20:59] Just the uncertainty. [21:01] Yeah. [21:01] Uncertainty undermines everything. [21:03] Yeah. [21:04] Yeah. [21:04] I mean, this begins with Andrea losing her really good, you know, she, at the end of the last movie, she tosses that phone. [21:14] Miranda says, everyone wants to be us. [21:16] And she goes, not me. [21:18] She throws that in there and she goes 20 years in another direction. [21:23] But, you know, we're having an auction of all this, the clothing in this thing. [21:27] We're going to, it's going to benefit the Committee to Protect Journalists. [21:31] Oh, that's great. [21:32] Uh-huh. [21:33] Because that world is under siege, you know, and we have to. [21:38] It's under siege from so many different, from so many different directions, right? [21:43] It's under siege from AI. [21:44] It's under siege from what I just talked about. [21:47] It's under siege by governments. [21:50] Mm-hmm. [21:51] Um, yeah. [21:52] Yeah, perfect storm. [21:54] Yeah. [21:54] Who's on the cover of Vogue magazine with Anna Wintori? [21:58] Is that Meryl or is that Miranda? [22:02] I like the one where you had your legs in the air. [22:05] Did you? [22:06] You like me that way. [22:07] Oh, I love you that way. [22:09] Who doesn't? [22:10] Who doesn't? [22:13] It's fun. [22:14] She's a good sport. [22:15] And I was going to ask her reception has been. [22:18] To it all. [22:19] She's been fab. [22:21] Has she seen it? [22:21] Oh, seen in the movie. [22:22] No, I mean in the making of the movie. [22:24] Oh, she was fabulous. [22:25] She visited us. [22:26] We saw her in Milan. [22:27] She came and visited in New York. [22:29] She's absolutely lovely. [22:31] Yeah. [22:31] Lovely.