Sofia Coppola has shed light on her cancelled Apple TV adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Custom Of The Country, which would’ve starred Florence Pugh.
READ MORE: Sofia Coppola on baring Elvis’ ugly side in ‘Priscilla’: “I never wanted him to be a villain”
Speaking to The New Yorker for a recent profile, Coppola – who most recently directed the biopic Priscilla – spoke of how the production fell apart before it even began. In May 2022, it was announced that Coppola would be adapting The Custom Of The Country for Apple TV with Pugh starring in the lead role of Undine Spragg.
However, the project was cancelled by the end of the following year before it had even begun production. Coppola said to The New Yorker: “Apple just pulled out. They pulled our funding. It’s a real drag. I thought they had endless resources.”
Coppola went on to explain that during the series’ development, she kept butting heads with Apple executives, whom she described as a group of “mostly dudes” that did not understand the character of Undine Spragg.
“They didn’t get the character of Undine,” she recalled to The New Yorker. “She’s so ‘unlikable.’ But so is Tony Soprano!” She added: “It was like a relationship that you know you probably should’ve gotten out of a while ago.”
Undine Spragg, who comes from a wealthy Midwestern family, moves to New York, where she hopes to enter the inner circles of the rich and famous,
Additionally, Coppola revealed that her adaptation of The Custom Of The Country would’ve come with a hefty price tag. While Coppola’s most expensive film to date is the 2006 historical drama Marie Antoinette (USD$45million), Coppola estimated that the Apple TV series would’ve cost “five Marie Antoinettes”.
After the project fell apart, Coppola focused her attention on Priscilla, which premiered in December in the UK to critical acclaim. In a four-star review of the biopic, NME wrote: “It’s fascinating to watch the story unfold from Priscilla’s perspective, since Elvis has largely been portrayed in a positive light on screen until now, and there are aspects of their relationship that are likely to surprise anyone not previously familiar with her life story.”
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