With a screenwriter hero named Gil who strolls the lanes of Paris with his head in the clouds and walks right into his own best fantasy. Gil is there with his materialistic fiancée and her unpleasant parents, taking a break from his financially rewarding but spiritually unfulfilling Hollywood career–and he can’t stop thinking that all he wants to do is quit the movies, move to Paris, and write that novel he’s been meaning to finish. You know, be like his heroes in the bohemian Paris of the 1920s. Sure enough, a midnight encounter draws him into the jazzy world of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Picasso and Dali, and an intense Ernest Hemingway, who promises to bring Gil’s manuscript to Gertrude Stein for review. Gil wakes up every morning back in the real world, but returning to his enchanted Paris proves fairly easy.
Information
| Rachel as: | Inez |
| Other cast: | Owen Wilson (Gil), Kathy Bates (Gertrude Stein), Marion Cotillard (Adriana), Tom Hiddleston (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Michael Sheen (Paul), Kurt Fuller (John), Mimi Kennedy (Helen), Nina Arianda (Carol), Carla Bruni (Museum Guide) |
| Alternative Title: | WASP 10, Woody Allen Summer Project 2010 |
| Directed by: | Woody Allen |
| Written by: | Woody Allen |
| Production Status: | Available on DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital HD |
| World Premiere: | May 11, 2011 in Cannes at the World premiere |
| Theatrical Release: | May 20, 2011 (US) | October 7, 2011 (UK) |
| Genre: | Comedy/Fantasy/Romance |
| Rated: | Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking. |
| Distributor: | Sony Pictures Classics |
| Run time: | 100 min |
| Production budget: | $17.000.000 (Estimated) |
| Box office: | $56,817,045 (US) | $151,119,219 (Worldwide) |
| Producers: | Letty Aronson, Raphaël Benoliel, Javier Méndez, Helen Robin, Jack Rollins, Jaume Roures, Stephen Tenenbaum |
| Original Music by: | Not yet available |
| Cinematography by: | Darius Khondji |
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Production Notes
Rachel McAdams joins the cast as Gil’s fiancée, Inez. “Inez is used to having her way,” says McAdams. “She’s very sure of what she wants. She’s in love with Gil or she thinks she is and is maybe not too inquisitive about the state of their relationship or the health of their relationship. She thinks Gil’s a good guy, a good catch and he’s stable, provided that he keeps writing screenplays and they can have a comfortable life in the States. She’s supportive of his dabbling with a novel, provided that it’s a slight preoccupation, but I don’t think she’s encouraging it as a life-long dream, something he should spend too much of his time on.” Says Allen: “Inez just wants Gil to make enough money so they can go to parties and raise children. There’s nothing wrong with her aspirations; they’re just not Gil’s.”
Allen has high praise for McAdams’s work on the film. “Rachel just gets it,” he says. “She’s funny when she has to be funny; she’s serious when she has to be serious. She’s unfailingly real, she doesn’t do anything too big or too under-acted, and she’s totally alive on the screen.” Says Wilson: “What I saw even more from Rachel’s performance was how Inez is kind of funny in the way she uses her sexuality to manipulate Gil. Rachel has a very good sense of humor and knew exactly how to play those scenes.”
Midnight In Paris is the second occasion when McAdams and Wilson co-starred as a couple, after Wedding Crashers in 2005. “I was so excited to work with Owen again because we had so much fun when we worked together a few years ago,” says McAdams. “As this was a much more antagonistic relationship than the one we had in the other film, I was curious about how that would play out. So our characters aren’t getting along this time around— but we did again.” Says Wilson: “I loved working with Rachel again. She came in during the second half of filming, and I think she brought this burst of energy and got everybody renewed, got us charged up for the final push.”
The story of Midnight In Paris is about unusual journey that Gil takes. He makes a lot of mistakes and missteps along the way, and his behavior isn’t always admirable, but in the bigger picture he’s making progress. “Gil is a character who is digging himself out rather than digging himself in,” says McAdams. “He’s upsetting the balance, he’s pulling himself up by his bootstraps, and he’s making changes.” Through his relationship with Adriana, Gil rethinks his idea that he’d be better off somewhere else, and recognizes that being somewhere else carries with it its own issues and problems. “I think he has to find a way to be happy just where he is,” says Wilson. Allen adds: “If he’s going to take himself seriously, not just as an artist, but as a human being, he’s better off facing reality and recognizing that the contentment and happiness and spiritual peace that is required to get through life is something that’s inside you. So the movie is hopeful in that Gil comes to that conclusion that it’s better not to delude yourself—even though it’s more pleasant and less painful, it’s still better not to.”
Production Process
Late March 2010 it was reported that Rachel and Marion Cotillard were in final negotiations to star in “Midnight In Paris”, with filming expected to start in July 2010. Rachel was seen August 2010 filming this project in Paris. Everything was shot in the city, except two days outside town. One day they filmed in Monet’s garden, which is about 100km from Paris. The production visited 40 locations in 34 days of Paris.
Trivia & Facts
The other actors only received pages of the script with their own scenes
Quotes from Rachel
“Inez is used to having her way. She’s very sure of what she wants. She’s in love with Gil or she thinks she is and is maybe not too inquisitive about the state of their relationship or the health of their relationship. She thinks Gil’s a good guy, a good catch, and he’s stable provided that he keeps writing screenplays and they can have a comfortable life in the States. She’s supportive of his dabbling with a novel, provided that it’s a slight preoccupation, but I don’t think she’s encouraging it as a life-long dream, something he should spend too much of his time on.”
–On her character Inez (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
“It was such a treat to spend time in these places which are usually swarming with tourists and be completely alone, with a really small camera crew, and a few actors wandering around as though it belonged to us. It was really magical.”
–On filming in Paris (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
“It was very relaxed, and I love that he knows what he wants—that really gives me a sense of confidence and direction. And yet he’s so open and collaborative at the same time, which I think is the ideal combination for an actor.”
–On working with director Woody Allen (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
“I was so excited to work with Owen again because we had so much fun when we worked together a few years ago.”
–On working with Owen Wilson for the second time (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
Quotes from Cast & Crew
“I’d seen Rachel in a film with Owen years ago and I thought she was sensational. She was beautiful and sexy and funny and a wonderful actress, and I wanted to work with her. And the opportunity came up. I didn’t like the fact that they had worked together before. That was a negative to me. I figured people will think, ‘Oh, it’s Owen and Rachel again.’ But I felt there’s nothing I could do about it. They’re both great and I want them both. I wanted to get Rachel at any cost, and I was very lucky to get Owen.”
–Woody Allen, director (MacLeans – Cannes Press Conference)
“I was certain I wanted Rachel McAdams. I knew that. She had always been what I conceived of for her part.”
–Woody Allen, director (The Hollywood Reporter)
“I knew she was going to be good — I went out of my way to hire her — but I didn’t realize how good she’d be. God, she’s going to make a fortune in this business, because there aren’t a lot of girls out there with that much sex appeal and beauty who can also be comic.”
–Woody Allen, director (New York Times)
“Rachel just gets it. She’s funny when she has to be funny; she’s serious when she has to be serious. She’s unfailingly real, she doesn’t do anything too big or too under-acted, and she’s totally alive on the screen.”
–Woody Allen, director (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
“What I saw even more from Rachel’s performance was how Inez is kind of funny in the way she uses her sexuality to manipulate Gil. Rachel has a very good sense of humor and knew exactly how to play those scenes.”
–Owen Wilson, co-star (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
“As this was a much more antagonistic relationship than the one we had in the other film, I was curious about how that would play out. So our characters aren’t getting along this time around—but we did again. I loved working with Rachel again. She came in during the second half of filming, and I think she brought this burst of energy and got everybody renewed, got us charged up for the final push.”
–Owen Wilson, co-star (MidnightinParisFilm.com)
“Rachel sparkles, mentally and physically. The great pleasure in working with wonderful actors is that they make the scenes seem real. That’s what you need, for comedy or tragedy.”
–Mimi Kennedy, co-star (A Distinctive Style)
“Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses. And unfortunately we didn’t really work together because we are in the same movie but we don’t have any scenes together. I really hope I will have the opportunity and the great chance one day to work with her. I think she’s amazing.”
–Marion Cotillard, co-star (CTV)
“All my scenes were with Rachel. Yeah, we had a great time in Paris. She’s a genuinely lovely lady as well as being stunningly beautiful and very talented so, you know, she’s got it all going on there.”
–Michael Sheen, co-star (ET Canada)
“She’s smart, funny and sexy, like a cross between Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda.”
–Michael Sheen, co-star (Instyle)
Critical Reception
“His [Woody Allen] new film is simple and fable-like, with a definite “when you wish upon a star” quality, but, bolstered by appealing performers like Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard and Rachel McAdams, it is his warmest, mellowest and funniest venture in far too long. […] and McAdams, who deftly handles a part that is less amiable than usual for her.”
–Kenneth Turan (LA Times)
“Rachel McAdams is equally impressive as Inez simply because she’s not so goddamn likable for a change. Adorability has long been the actress’s stock in trade (and it is admittedly irresistible), but here she gamely lets it go. McAdams might not be the obvious first choice for the bad guy, but she runs with it and it works. Stepping out of what might be her zone of comfort and trying something new, this is yet another facet to McAdams and it adds versatility to her already engaging screen presence.”
–Craig Kennedy (Living in Cinema)
“The Sheen-McAdams-Wilson dynamic is fantastic. Sweet, sentimental, and vibrant, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris rightfully points out that yesterday’s frolicking bar might be today’s laundry mat … but we can always visit the good times in our memories.”
–Laremy Legel (Film.com)
“The cast is a perfect match for the high-spirited film. While the leads are left to carry the story the supporting actors offer those little touches that give the film its character. A magical romantic comedy that brings Allen back to form.”
–Brad Brevet (Rope Of Silicon)
“[…] while the ever-excellent Rachel McAdams (who starred alongside Wilson in The Wedding Crashers) gets some of the best lines and adds a contemporary sex-appeal.”
–Mark Adams (Rope Of Silicon)
“McAdams, who has a habit of being consistently better than her material, shines in an unsympathetic role as his nagging fiancé.”
–Brian D. Johnson (MacLeans)
“Gil’s aforementioned superficial, materialistic and easily-dazzled-by-the-wrong-thing fiancée and her uptight conservative parents, the actors in those roles — Rachel McAdams and Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy, respectively — do their level best to imbue them with some genuine life, and they get there. ”
–Glenn Kenny (MSN)
Awards & Nominations
Individual Awards
☆ 2011 Satellite Awards as Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Ensemble Awards
☆ 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards as Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
☆ 2012 Gold Derby Awards as Ensemble Cast
☆ 2011 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards as Best Ensemble Acting
Best Picture
★ 2012 AFI Awards for Movie of the Year
☆ 2012 Academy Awards for Best Motion Picture of the Year
☆ 2012 Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
Promotional Tour
| May 4th | 2011 Los Angeles Press Junket | Images Videos |
| May 11th | 2011 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference | Images Videos |
| May 11th | 2011 Cannes Film Festival Photocall | Images Videos |
| May 11th | 2011 Cannes Film Festival Premiere | Arrivals | Dinner | After Party Videos |
| May 13rd | 2011 Cannes Film Festival Press Junket | Images Videos |
| May 17th | 2011 New York Premiere | Outside | Arrivals | After Party Videos |
