Factory Girl (2006 film)

Last updated

Factory Girl
Factory girl.jpg
Directed by George Hickenlooper
Screenplay byCaptain Mauzner
Story byCaptain Mauzner
Aaron Richard Golub
Produced byAaron Richard Golub
Holly Wiersma
Starring
CinematographyMichael Grady
Edited by Dana E. Glauberman
Music by Edward Shearmur
Production
company
Lift Productions [1]
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Weinstein Company [1]
Release date
  • December 29, 2006 (2006-12-29)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
Budget$7 million [2]
Box office$3.6 million

Factory Girl is a 2006 American biographical film directed by George Hickenlooper. It is based on the rapid rise and fall of 1960s underground film star and socialite Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller), known for her association with the artist Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce).

Contents

The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 29, 2006, to largely negative reviews from critics, who nonetheless praised Miller's performance as Sedgwick.

Plot

The film is framed by Edie Sedgwick being interviewed in a hospital several years after her time as an Andy Warhol superstar.

In the mid 1960s, Edie is a young heiress studying art in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She moves to New York City with her friend, Chuck Wein. She is introduced to pop art painter and film-maker Andy Warhol, who is intrigued by the beautiful, clearly troubled socialite. He asks her to perform in one of his underground experimental films. She agrees and goes on to star in several of Andy's projects, becoming his muse.

She and Chuck become part of the tightly knit bohemian social scene at Andy's art studio, the Silver Factory. Edie's status as a Warhol superstar and rising youthquake fashion model earn her fame and international attention. The success fails to ease her psychological issues. Although descended from a prestigious family lineage and raised on an idyllic California ranch, Edie was sexually abused by her father during childhood. She has been further shaken by the fairly recent death of her favorite brother, Minty. Her trauma manifests itself in uncontrolled spending, poor money management and a burgeoning drug habit.

Edie's Cambridge friend, Syd visits her in New York City and introduces her to folk singer Billy Quinn, a character based on Bob Dylan. [3] Edie and Billy begin a relationship, which causes Andy to become jealous. Edie attempts to make peace between the two men by arranging a screen test for Billy at Andy's Factory. When Billy and his posse arrive, they act disrespectfully towards Andy. Billy and Edie fight and he tells her that Andy is a "bloodsucker" who will "kill" her. She tearfully responds that she "can't hate him." Realizing that she has chosen Andy over him, Billy leaves her.

Edie's worsening drug addiction begins taking its toll. Her relationship with Andy deteriorates and she becomes a pariah among the Factory crowd. One night, while in a drug-induced stupor, she falls asleep with a lit cigarette and nearly dies in the ensuing apartment fire. Vogue , which once championed her as the newest "it" girl, now refuses to hire her; editor Diana Vreeland explains that Edie is considered "vulgar" due to her current lifestyle.

When Syd visits Edie again, she is barely conscious and is being filmed naked by three strangers in her apartment. Syd kicks the men out and looks after Edie. He gets them a taxi and shows her a photo of herself back in Cambridge. He says she inspired him back then and she can be an artist once more. Edie, deeply upset at how far she's fallen, gets out of their cab and runs frantically down the street.

The scene transitions to the film's opening framing device of the hospital interview several years later. Edie tells the interviewer that to "stay off the drugs" is going to be a battle every day, that she is pursuing art again and is glad to be home in Santa Barbara, California. The closing captions explain that in her last few years Edie continued in her struggle with dependency. Her short marriage to a fellow patient ended when she died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 28.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Andy is interviewed the day after Edie died in 1971. When the interviewer asks about her and Andy's "breakup," Andy becomes visibly uncomfortable but manages to complete his thought that it was just so long ago and he hardly knew her at all.

Cast

Controversy

Lou Reed, singer-songwriter of the Velvet Underground and one of the Factory people who knew Sedgwick, hated the film. He told the New York Daily News , "I read that script. It's one of the most disgusting, foul things I've seen – by any illiterate retard – in a long time. There's no limit to how low some people will go to write something to make money." [4]

Bob Dylan threatened to sue, saying through his lawyers that the script insinuated his responsibility in Sedgwick's drug abuse and death. [5] Although the name of the character in question was changed to Billy Quinn, Dylan still attempted to halt the film's release. Sienna Miller defended the film against Dylan's allegations, saying in an interview with the Guardian, "It blames Warhol more than anyone, because he did abandon her...there was a friendship there, she needed help and no one helped her. It's not that Dylan drove her to heroin addiction." [3]

Production

The film was set back by numerous delays, including a lawsuit by Sony Pictures, as well as the schedules of Miller and Pearce, so additional shooting was delayed until mid November 2006. [6] Consequently, producer Harvey Weinstein had to postpone the release date. Additionally, according to director George Hickenlooper, the budget was once expected to be $8 million, but ended up being less than $7 million. [2]

Hickenlooper helmed the additional shoots and mixed the final cut of the film in New York City, where he worked in close collaboration with Weinstein. [7] Weinstein released the picture on December 29, 2006, in Los Angeles. Because the post production schedule was so delayed, Hickenlooper continued to sound edit the film after its initial release. [7] The film received a nationwide release on February 2, 2007.

During the fall of 2008, Hickenlooper uploaded a rough director's cut of the film to YouTube now referred to as "The Unseen Director's Cut". Due to the Weinstein Company's ownership of the footage and the material not being authorized for release, it was removed from the website. [8]

Casting

Katie Holmes was set to star as Sedgwick, but it was reported Tom Cruise convinced Holmes not to do it because it would be bad for her image. Regarding the rumors, Holmes said, "I declined the role in Factory Girl based on my own decisions about the movie." [9] The role then went back to Miller. However, Holmes had also stated that even if she did take the part, she would have had to drop out because she was pregnant when the movie was set to begin filming.

Filming locations

New York City, Toronto, Stamford, Connecticut, and Shreveport, Louisiana served as the filming locations.

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD by the Weinstein Company on July 17, 2007. It contains the Unrated Extended Edition of the film.

The film debuted on Blu-ray in Canada on March 8, 2011, in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. It contains the Unrated Cut. [10]

Critical reception

Factory Girl received generally negative reviews, but Sienna Miller's performance as Edie Sedgwick was met with critical acclaim. Johnny Vaughan from Sun Online concluded that "It's Sienna Miller's star that shines brightest in this heartbreaking cautionary tale." Empire magazine described Factory Girl as "A brave bid to recreate a modern American tragedy, with a revelatory turn by its lead actress." [11] Mick LaSalle from San Francisco Chronicle said "Miller gets old and used up before our eyes, and we not only see it, we see what it means to experience it. This is a movie about power, and its spectacle is that of a woman losing all of it." [12]

Stella Papamichael wrote for the BBC: "In all it's an unconvincing portrait, and as the Dylan clone says, "Empty, like one of those cans of soup...". [13] Trevor Johnston for Time Out wrote "One wonders whether the documentary format would have better served the material than this ill-focused drama. Since real-life family and observers chime in over the end credits, perhaps the filmmakers were thinking the same thing." [14] In The Guardian , Peter Bradshaw gave the film two out of five stars and said; "Edie Sedgwick's story is sad, but never appears important or interesting." [15] Jim Lewis of Slate felt the film didn't do justice to Warhol's artistic accomplishments and concluded, "Factory Girl isn't just a bad movie, it's a 90-minute insult to the culture it pretends to be capturing." [16]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20%, based on reviews from 114 critics. The websites' consensus states "Despite a dedicated performance by Sienna Miller, Factory Girl delves only superficially into her character, and ultimately fails to tell a coherent story." [17] [13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Warhol</span> American artist, film director, and producer (1928–1987)

Andy Warhol was an American visual artist, film director, producer, and leading figure in the pop art movement. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental films Empire (1964) and Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edie Sedgwick</span> American model and actress (1943–1971)

Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post was an American actress and fashion model who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s. Her prominence led to her being dubbed an "It Girl", while Vogue magazine named her a "Youthquaker".

Brigid Emmett Berlin was an American artist and Warhol superstar.

Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his dictum, "In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes". Warhol would simply film them, and declare them "superstars".

<i>Ciao! Manhattan</i> 1972 film by David Weisman

Ciao! Manhattan is a 1972 American avant garde film starring Edie Sedgwick. A scripted drama in which most of the actors play themselves, it centers on a character very closely based on Sedgwick and deals with the pain of addiction and the lure of fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Factory</span> Andy Warhols New York City studio

The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstars. The original Factory was often referred to as the Silver Factory. In the studio, Warhol's workers would make silkscreens and lithographs under his direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sienna Miller</span> British-American actress (born 1981)

Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British and American actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian Vogue and for the 2003 Pirelli calendar. Her acting breakthrough came in the 2004 films Layer Cake and Alfie. She subsequently portrayed socialite Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl (2006) and author Caitlin Macnamara in The Edge of Love (2008), and was nominated for the 2008 BAFTA Rising Star Award. Her role as The Baroness in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) was followed by a brief sabbatical from the screen amid increased tabloid scrutiny.

Poor Little Rich Girl is a 1965 underground film by Andy Warhol starring Edie Sedgwick. Poor Little Rich Girl was conceived as the first film in part of a series featuring Sedgwick called The Poor Little Rich Girl Saga. The saga was to include other Warhol films: Restaurant, Face, and Afternoon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Woronov</span> American actress and author

Mary Woronov is an American actress, writer, and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a "cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies and on stage at Lincoln Center and off-Broadway productions as well as numerous times in mainstream American TV series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider. She frequently co-starred with friend Paul Bartel; the pair appeared in 17 films together, often playing a married couple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Maloney</span> American musician (born 1975)

Samantha Maloney is an American musician best known for playing in the bands Hole and Mötley Crüe. She has also performed live with Eagles of Death Metal and Peaches.

<i>Chelsea Girls</i> 1965 film by Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol

Chelsea Girls is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films. It was shot at the Hotel Chelsea and other locations in New York City, and follows the lives of several of the young women living there, and stars many of Warhol's superstars. The film is presented in a split screen, accompanied by alternating soundtracks attached to each scene and an alternation between black-and-white and color photography. The original cut runs at just over three hours long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibbe Hansen</span> American actress

Bibbe Hansen is an American performance artist, musician and actress.

<i>Vinyl</i> (1965 film) 1965 American film

Vinyl is a 1965 American black-and-white film directed by Andy Warhol at The Factory. It is an early adaptation of Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange, starring Gerard Malanga, Edie Sedgwick, Ondine, and Tosh Carillo, and featuring such songs as "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas, "Tired of Waiting for You" by The Kinks, "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones and "Shout" by The Isley Brothers.

<i>a, A Novel</i> 1968 book by Andy Warhol

a, A Novel is a 1968 book by the American artist Andy Warhol published by Grove Press. It is a nearly word-for-word transcription of tapes recorded by Warhol and Ondine over a two-year period in 1965–1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul America</span> American actor

Paul Johnson, better known as Paul America, was an American actor who was a member of Andy Warhol's Superstars. He starred in one Warhol-directed film, My Hustler (1965), and also appeared in Edie Sedgwick's final film Ciao! Manhattan (1972).

Chuck Wein was an American promoter and manager of entertainment acts whose celebrity stemmed from his five-year (1964–1969) association with Andy Warhol and from his discovery of Edie Sedgwick who became a Warhol superstar of 1965. He was also a film director.

<i>Beauty No. 2</i> 1965 American film

Beauty No. 2 is a 1965 American avant-garde film by directed by Andy Warhol and starring Edie Sedgwick and Gino Piserchio. Chuck Wein also has a role in the film but never appears onscreen. Wein wrote the scenario and is also credited as assistant director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Bottomly</span> American model and actress

Susan Dunn Whittier Bottomly, also known as International Velvet, is a former American model and actress. She is known primarily for her appearances in many of Andy Warhol's underground films, as well as her modeling career which spanned over a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Weisman</span> American film producer (1942–2019)

David Weisman was an American film producer, author, and graphic artist, most noted for his films Ciao! Manhattan and Kiss of the Spider Woman. He was the brother of film director Sam Weisman.

Space (1965) is an underground film directed by Andy Warhol, written by Ronald Tavel, and starring Edie Sedgwick, Gino Piserchio, Dorothy Dean, Ed Hennessey, singer-songwriter Eric Andersen, and Norman Levine. Unlike many of Warhol's other films made at The Factory, this film involved a moving camera, moving around the actors as they stood still.

References

  1. 1 2 "AFI|Catalog". Catalog.afi.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Stewart, Ryan (January 31, 2007). "Junket Report: Factory Girl". Cinematical. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 Smith, David (December 30, 2006). "Dylan's got it wrong about my movie, says Sienna". The Guardian. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. "Dylan Threatens Action Over Sedgwick Biopic". The Guardian . December 15, 2006.
  5. Yuan, Jada. "The Freewheelin' Hayden". New York . February 5, 2007.
  6. Juarez, Vanessa (January 8, 2007). "The studio behind Factory Girl pushes Oscar". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Rapkin, Mickey. "Factory Man". The New York Times . December 24, 2006.
  8. "Factory Girl Unseen Director's Cut". April 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2017 via Tumblr.
  9. Brett, Anwar (June 15, 2005). "BBC – Movies – interview – Katie Holmes". BBC.
  10. "Factory Girl Blu-ray (Unrated | Portrait D'Une Muse) (Canada)". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  11. Thomas, William (January 23, 2007). "Factory Girl". Empire. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  12. LaSalle, Mick (February 9, 2007). "FILM CLIPS / Also Opening Today". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Papamichael, Stella. "Factory Girl (2007)". BBC. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  14. Johnston, Trevor (March 14–20, 2007). "Factory Girl review". Time Out London (1908). Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  15. Bradshaw, Peter (March 16, 2007). "Factory Girl". The Guardian . Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  16. Lewis, Jim (February 7, 2007). "A Very Nasty Portrait of the Artist: How Factory Girl insults Andy Warhol". Slate. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  17. "Factory Girl". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  18. "Factory Girl". Metacritic . Retrieved April 20, 2020.