

In March 2016, it was announced that Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, and Kirsten Dunst were in talks to appear in the film, and had been signed by July, when Colin Farrell entered talks. Coppola has cited Gone with the Wind as her inspiration for creating a film that was relatable despite its position within a different era. Coppola has said that she "wanted the film to represent an exaggerated version of all the ways women were traditionally raised there just to be lovely and cater to men-the manners of that whole world, and how they change when the men go away". Coppola cited her fascination with the South as part of the story's attraction. The material came to Coppola at a time when she wanted to make a more optimistic film than 2013's The Bling Ring, stating that she wanted to "cleanse myself" from what she terms was "such a tacky, ugly world". Specifically, she became interested in showing the story from the women's point of view, as opposed to the man's.
ELLE DRIVER COSTUME UPDATE
Ĭoppola had initially expressed an aversion to a remake, but after watching the 1971 version at the urging of production designer Anne Rose, she was left contemplating ways she could update the film. The film exhibited elements of the thriller genre, a departure for Coppola. Cullinan about a wounded Union soldier in a Mississippi seminary during the American Civil War, and was made for under $10 million. The film is based on the 1966 book of the same name by author Thomas P.

He then breaks out, steals a gun, and loudly threatens the women before storming off. He is locked up in his room but threatens Alicia, who gets him the room key. When he awakes the next day and realizes he has lost his leg, McBurney is devastated and furious, accusing the women (and especially Miss Farnsworth) of having punished him for choosing Alicia's room instead of theirs. Miss Farnsworth decides that the only way to save his life is to amputate the leg. McBurney tries to calm the angry Miss Morrow down, but she pushes him away, causing him to fall down the stairs, badly break his already injured leg and fall unconscious.

When he does not appear and she hears strange noises, she investigates and finds him in bed with Alicia, a teenage pupil. One night, he tells Miss Morrow to await him in her room. When Miss Farnsworth indicates that McBurney is healthy enough and will have to leave the school in a few days, he tries to convince her to let him stay as a gardener, and tells Miss Morrow that he has fallen in love with her. It becomes clear that he fears returning to battle. When he is able to move again, he begins to help in the garden. He returns the affection, concentrating especially on Miss Morrow and Miss Farnsworth. While McBurney is recovering, the women and girls subtly vie for his affection by giving him presents, wearing jewelry, and preparing a lavish dinner for him. When Confederate soldiers arrive at the school, Miss Farnsworth does not tell them that a Union soldier is on the premises. Initially, some of the school's residents want McBurney to be delivered as a prisoner of war to the Confederate Army, but Miss Farnsworth decides that they will let his leg heal before they decide what they will do with him. All the women and girls in the school are immediately fascinated by the handsome man. The women lock McBurney in one of the rooms while Miss Farnsworth tends to his wounds. Amy brings McBurney to the school where he falls unconscious. While out in the woods searching for mushrooms, Amy, a pupil, comes across John McBurney, a corporal in the Union Army who was wounded in the leg during battle, and has since deserted. In addition to Farnsworth herself, only five students and one teacher, Edwina Morrow, remain. By 1864, almost all of the students, teachers, and enslaved persons have left. Martha Farnsworth runs a girls school in Virginia during the Civil War.
