"Ugh, why do I feel like New York winters are even colder than London's?"
Because of work, Isabella got up early on November 20.
She washed up and got dressed.
Standing by the window, she gazed out at a gray-white world.
That lifeless yet vibrant scene made her feel a bit emotional.
"Lifeless" referred to the forest of steel and concrete, a city lacking natural green.
"Vibrant" referred to the endless streams of traffic, carrying countless souls within them.
Maybe she thought those busy figures symbolized struggle and ambition.
Or maybe Isabella's body was awake, but her soul was still half asleep.
In any case, after seeing the ceaseless flow of people below, Isabella immediately opened the hotel window, wanting to breathe in the air that belonged exclusively to early-morning commuters. Then..
The icy wind hit her straight in the face and instantly blew her into a complete idiot.
She shuddered, angrily slammed the window shut, and just as she was painfully re-embracing warmth, Catherine, who was tidying things up nearby, suddenly spoke and called out to their mom.
"Mom."
"Hm?"
Vivian, who was washing her face in the bathroom, responded lightly. "What is it?"
"Isabella needs remedial lessons!" Catherine said loudly.
"What?" Vivian didn't understand what her eldest daughter meant.
With her face still covered in white cleanser, she poked her head out of the bathroom.
Isabella frowned slightly too, having no idea what her sister was plotting.
Catherine continued, "Isabella doesn't even know basic geography anymore. She just said New York's winter is colder than London's winter. Oh— isn't that something that doesn't even need emotional reflection?"
"Although London is at a higher latitude than New York, London has a temperate maritime climate and is influenced by the North Atlantic Current, so winter temperatures are usually above 32°F. New York, despite being at a lower latitude, has a temperate continental climate, so its average winter temperature is generally below 32°F. Therefore, London's winter is warmer than New York's."
"This is middle-school geography. She doesn't even know this. How is she supposed to take exams next year?"
The sudden barrage of words left Isabella with black lines all over her forehead.
Realizing what her sister was getting at, she twitched the corner of her mouth. "Keisha, I wasn't the one pushing you to go to university. Why are you targeting me?"
"Hmph."
Catherine shrugged lightly. She didn't say anything, but her attitude was clear: blessings are shared, hardships too.
That expressive nasal hum made Vivian laugh as she retreated back into the bathroom, not bothering with them anymore. Ever since Catherine turned eighteen, Vivian had been bringing up university nonstop.
On this matter, Catherine was willing.
She just wasn't in a hurry, because she didn't yet know what major she liked or what she wanted to study.
Vivian's view, on the other hand, was to get into university first, pick a major, and switch later if she didn't like it.
Either way, this was all very easy for them.
Because Catherine hated this kind of boring hassle, the two ended up with a small disagreement over a small difference in opinion.
At first, this had nothing to do with Isabella.
No one was asking whether she was going to university anymore. Or rather, even if she wanted further education, no matter which school in the world she went to, the "gilding" would matter more than actual learning.
But after Isabella helped Catherine choose a major once— and, well, suggested law—
Catherine, who didn't like law, latched onto her.
Whenever she found her little sister's "knowledge" lacking, she'd steer the conversation toward studying.
And make their mom pay more attention to her.
If one really had to describe it, Catherine's behavior could even be called "using a raccoon to save oneself."
"Keisha."
"…?"
"If you don't want to study law, then don't. Why do you always drag me in to block Mom's mouth? Besides, law is something you study at the master's level anyway. My suggestion doesn't affect your undergraduate major."
Seeing that their mom had gone back into the bathroom to continue washing up, Isabella immediately darted over to her sister and gave her a smack.
Being a shield for her own sister wasn't a big deal, but when it came to studying—
She really didn't want to be that shield.
Because Vivian was very old-fashioned in her thinking.
Like mothers in traditional families, she wanted her children to excel both academically and morally.
Even though Isabella had already earned a lot of money.
So, to avoid their mom's disappointed nagging, and to buy herself some peace—
It was better to bring up fewer things that made Mom unhappy.
"Oh~ that's because I don't really want to go to Oxbridge."
"Or rather, after you bought Royal Island, I suddenly found architecture pretty interesting."
Catherine blinked at her little sister.
As soon as those words came out, Isabella immediately puckered her lips.
She understood now. Her sister had gotten addicted to building things.
Although the design of Royal Island was outsourced to an external team, the overall direction and obsessive attention to detail were still decided by Catherine. So when Catherine's mouth moved and a building rose from the ground—
The Earth online version of Cities: Skylines really was tempting.
She shook her head, choosing not to comment on her sister's idea.
After their mom finished washing up, the family went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
Since the VIP floor had been booked entirely by the film crew, Isabella also spotted Chris Columbus, Maggie Smith, and Bryce Howard arriving to check things over—
They smiled and nodded at each other, a casual greeting.
Once breakfast was over, the group headed together to the conference room.
As he motioned for Michael Barnathan to close the door, Chris Columbus glanced at his watch and smiled. "Just nine o'clock. In that case, shall we officially get started?"
"Mhm."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Hearing the consensus, Columbus clapped his hands. "Okay, then let's move on to today's first task."
"The first task today is— before we officially start filming, we'll do a complete final confirmation of the script."
The word "Action" is not shouted casually.
Because once filming officially begins, every second is burning money.
So before the director officially calls "Action," the core creative team usually gathers to make a final confirmation that the project's creative direction has no problems. If there aren't any, great. But if there are?
Emergency fixes are far better than discovering issues after filming has started.
Imagine getting halfway through a movie and suddenly someone discovers a massive plot hole.
When that happens, even the most capable producer-director would break out in a cold sweat.
Except for Wong Kar-wai, who has no shame.
As for The Devil Wears Prada—
Honestly, there was far more to confirm than with most projects.
Because compared to the original novel, the current script could hardly be called similar. It wasn't "a little different," it was basically unrelated.
After distributing the temporarily finalized script, Chris Columbus said, "I believe everyone here has read the original novel."
"So I think you can all tell that The Devil Wears Prada is not an easy novel to adapt into a film."
"Therefore, after communicating with Isabella, I made major revisions to the entire story, and it became what you see now—"
The values of the original The Devil Wears Prada novel are, frankly, hard to look at.
The story roughly goes like this:
Andy is a top graduate from Brown University. She moves to New York with her best friend Lily, a graduate student at Columbia University. Because her biggest dream is to become part of The New Yorker, she only applies to publishing jobs, firmly believing that you have to get into the industry before you can climb to the top.
Her strategy succeeds. She becomes the assistant to Miranda, editor-in-chief of Runway magazine.
And everyone tells her that as long as she works for Miranda for one year, every position in the magazine industry will be open to her.
Her success makes her best friend and her boyfriend happy for her. Then comes the key point—
In the original novel, while working at Runway, Andy meets, at a celebrity party, a Yale graduate who is handsome, charming, and widely acknowledged as the most outstanding rising star among the new generation of writers.
After just one encounter, Andy is drawn to him.
Although nothing happens immediately, Andy begins to neglect her boyfriend.
Because this new guy is very, very outstanding.
And the things he's good at are exactly what Andy likes.
He's good at writing. Andy likes writing.
Meanwhile, Andy's boyfriend is just a teacher at a public elementary school in the Bronx.
Being neglected makes the boyfriend very unhappy.
The two get into many arguments.
In the end, Andy's boyfriend becomes her ex.
After becoming single again, Andy suddenly finds that her life undergoes a huge change. Miranda's first assistant, Emily, falls ill and has to be hospitalized.
So Andy steps in and becomes Miranda's first assistant.
Her career takes off.
Then, while accompanying Miranda on a business trip to Paris, Andy once again meets that Yale-graduate writer.
And since Andy is now single—
Those who understand, understand.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
The satire of fashion. The satire of Anna Wintour. Those are just the most superficial layers of The Devil Wears Prada.
The true core of the novel— or rather, its biggest selling point— is actually this:
The first sword after "making it" is to cut down the one you loved most.
Sisters, you must date one person while searching for the next. As long as you cast enough hooks, you'll definitely land something better.
In the novel, the female lead Andy is actually the biggest, biggest, biggest jerk of them all.
Compared to her, the "devil" Miranda is practically a model of loving her career.
And Emily, who "constantly makes things difficult" for the heroine, is really just one of the ordinary masses who longs to earn a better life with her own hands.
However—
This was actually a very normal thing.
Because the original author was a jerk.
For money, the original author trampled Anna Wintour, the person who had once given her a helping hand, straight into the dirt.
Of course, at this point, people who've read the novel might argue that everything above is only the beginning and middle of the story. At the end of the novel, the heroine is punished. She loses her love, nearly loses her friendship, realizes she was wrong, decisively leaves the fashion industry, and embraces a new but ordinary life.
About that—
That kind of ending is called "artistic processing" in novels.
Or, to put it bluntly, whitewashing.
In Lauren Weisberger's writing, Andy does indeed realize in the end that her life has become a complete mess, but she never thinks that the mess is the result of her own actions. Instead, she dumps all the blame on the fashion industry.
She believes that if Miranda hadn't chosen her, she wouldn't have entered the fashion world;
if she hadn't entered the fashion world, she wouldn't have seen a flashy, superficial world;
if she hadn't seen that flashy world, she wouldn't have been tempted by luxury and excess;
and if she hadn't been tempted by luxury and excess, how could she possibly have lost love, friendship, and a peaceful life?
Mm.
Andy's character in the novel is extremely, extremely dark.
In her world, she never makes mistakes. Everyone else is always wrong.
So much so that at the end of the novel, when Andy revisits the magazine office, what she sees is Miranda's new assistant.
She sees that assistant worn down, exhausted, thin and fragile under Miranda's oppression.
And Andy herself is radiant and full of sunshine.
Because she escaped from hell.
Which is—
Pretty disgusting.
Honestly, in her previous life, Isabella had always been curious about what kind of person Lauren Weisberger actually was. How could someone write such a neurotic novel? And how could a novel that neurotic sell so well?
Back when she read it in her past life, around 2006 or 2008, information didn't circulate easily, so she never really understood why the book became popular. But after rereading it in this life—
She suddenly realized that Lauren Weisberger was a very smart person.
Smart how?
It's hard to describe her abstraction with simple words, so here's an example:
In the internet era, on the simplified-Chinese internet, there's a very famous stand-up comedian. When she's on stage, she throws punches nonstop. But once she's off stage, she tells her younger relatives to live properly, have kids early, and not believe what's online.
Exactly.
The Devil Wears Prada became popular because Lauren Weisberger knew exactly what "the sisters" liked to see.
She knew they liked making wishes.
She knew they liked dreaming.
She knew they never admit fault.
She knew their hopes could only be satisfied by liars.
She knew that waking someone who pretends to be asleep is a thankless task.
She knew that selling people the stories they want to hear would make her filthy rich.
So—
She became a liar.
And then she succeeded.
And just like that stand-up comedian—or maybe that comedian learned from her—
Because she, too, only sells, never buys.
In real life, after she became famous, the first thing she did was cash in. She published a bunch of books, accepted a ton of interviews. Even though the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada was widely considered trash, she still raked in over a hundred million dollars within two years.
Then she retired, got married, and had kids.
Since The Devil Wears Prada was basically a North America–exclusive bowl of toxic chicken soup, Isabella had no intention of respecting the original when adapting it. It didn't align with universal values. And she—
Only losers need to throw punches.
She eats from the universal table.
So after discussing it with Columbus, they stripped all the dark elements out of the story.
Forget "the first sword after making it cuts down the one you love." They outright banned the boyfriend character and all romantic subplots.
The parts representing light and dreams were transferred to the best friend.
Correspondingly, Miranda, the editor-in-chief of Runway, was reworked. She represents the glamorous upper world. Whether you like it or not, it exists. To embrace it or reject it is entirely up to you—
"I think your ideas are fantastic."
Because she had already read the script earlier, Maggie Smith casually flipped through it as Columbus finished speaking and said with a smile, "After your revisions, The Devil Wears Prada has become a story full of hope."
"The new story feels like a girl who grew up in the countryside coming to the big city to chase her dreams."
"Then she's dazzled by all the glamour."
"Just as she's about to sink into it, she and her best friend fall into disagreement and conflict."
"In the end, she wakes up, realizes the value of life."
"Then she starts cherishing the people around her, gives up her job at Runway, and embraces her original dream."
"She likes drawing, so in the end she joins an animation studio as an artist, and then—"
"Wow, Beaver Animation makes an appearance."
"Isabella, I've seen plenty of films that include product placement, but I've never seen anyone make a whole movie just to place an ad. Your behavior is truly—astonishing."
As she said this, the old lady tilted her head slightly downward, her eyes looking up.
Like a teacher flipping through homework, spotting a mistake, and scrutinizing the student awaiting judgment.
Or like a university professor rereading a former student's thesis and finding the arguments unbearably awful.
In short, her eyes sparkled with indulgent affection and helplessness toward her own child.
That "what can you do about it" expression made Isabella burst out laughing, covering her face.
Waving her hand, she said, "Oh, Maggie, this is clearly a serious adaptation. How did it turn into product placement when it came out of your mouth?"
"In the novel, Andy wants to become part of The New Yorker, so in the end she gets a job as a journalist."
"In the movie, Andy likes drawing, but drawing doesn't pay, and New York is expensive, so she first finds a job to survive. Then she accidentally lands the assistant position at Runway. That's reasonable, right?"
"Yes, it's reasonable. But it would be even more reasonable if Miranda didn't say Andy looks like Isabella—and if Andy didn't discuss The Voice with people," the old lady shrugged.
Her lilting London accent made everyone in the room laugh.
That's right.
In the current version of The Devil Wears Prada, there are a large number of discussions directly tied to Isabella's personal IP.
And that—
Using your own work to advertise your own products is perfectly normal.
For example, in Isabella's past life, Fox's The Devil Wears Prada also placed ads for American Idol.
Since all the core creators had received the final script beforehand, communication flowed smoothly. After discussing a few details and confirming there were no major issues, they moved on to the second stage: costume and makeup tests.
At first, everyone thought this part would be simple.
Take Miranda, for example. Since her prototype was Anna Wintour, the idea was to just do a look-alike makeup job. Give the old lady a blonde bob and call it a day.
But after trying it, they realized it didn't work. Maggie Smith's facial proportions were too different from Anna Wintour's.
So after a long discussion, they finally settled on small curls that suited her better.
Then came Isabella's look, which was also hard to decide.
When she first appears, her character is dressed like a simple student. Plainness is her only label.
After she integrates into the fashion world, she can ditch casual wear and go as trendy as possible.
The latter was easy, because Isabella had been in the industry for years. Her fashion looks in the film could directly reference her previous red-carpet appearances. Warner and Disney had always given her top-tier wardrobe and styling.
But the former—
Isabella was just too good-looking.
Even bare-faced, anyone could recognize her at a glance as Isabella.
So—
After a brainstorming session, the stylists decided she needed a messy bun and an ugly pair of glasses to tone down the beauty.
Otherwise, the plot would develop a bug.
Because Miranda is a veteran of the fashion world. If Isabella showed up to the interview with her real face, Miranda would instantly recognize who Andy resembled. If Miranda took even one second longer, that would be unprofessional for someone in her position.
Only by hiding her face behind ugly glasses could they somewhat "fool" the audience and create a striking contrast for the later makeover. At least within the story, the conflict would make sense.
Everyone thought this arrangement was great.
As for which glasses—
"I think you could just wear Harry's glasses."
During the fitting, Maggie Smith suddenly said, "That might be more interesting."
"And should I also tuck a wand into my waistband?" Isabella said while picking out glasses. "So if you glare at me, I can pull it out and shout, 'Voldemort, get out of Professor McGonagall!'"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Once the looks were finalized, the table read with makeup began.
Honestly, when she decided to make The Devil Wears Prada, Isabella didn't think playing Andy would be difficult. The new script's Andy was written by Columbus based on Isabella's own image—young, newly entering society, clueless.
So even if Isabella acted a bit clumsy, it fit the role.
That's how simple casting compatibility is in the film industry.
It can be artificially achieved.
But just as the table read began, the old lady raised a hand to stop.
"Wait a moment, Isabella. You have a problem."
"Hm?" Isabella looked up, confused.
"Your character is American, so you can't use an Oxford accent."
"Switch to an American accent. Brown University is on the East Coast, so an East Coast accent. Can you do that?"
"Uh—East Coast accents are actually still kind of refined. If you could make it a bit more… rural, that would be even better."
"Oh, of course."
Those words made Isabella laugh as she shifted her posture.
She said bluntly, "If I say no, you'll scold me, right?"
The girl blinked at the old lady.