Gigi
Thank heaven for Gigi
Country
Budget
$3 319 355
Box office
$13 200 000
Director
Actors
Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac, Isabel Jeans, John Abbott, Corinne Marchand, Marie-Hélène Arnaud
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Audition
Editing
Short description
A home, a motorcar, servants, the latest fashions: the most eligible and most finicky bachelor in Paris offers them all to Gigi. But she, who's gone from girlish gawkishness to cultured glamour before our eyes, yearns for that wonderful something money can't buy.
What's left behind the scenes
- In all scenes with Leslie Caron, the cat reacted with a kind of nervous aggression, but director Vincente Minnelli insisted on filming with that particular animal, so the cat had to be sedated.
- The day after the film won nine Oscars, the telephone operators at MGM were instructed to answer calls with “Hello, Em-Gee-Em.”
- Filming in Paris had to be rushed while the weather was good, so the actors were forced to simply open their mouths to the accompaniment of the piano, as the songs hadn't been recorded yet.
- For the scene in the “Le Bois” restaurant, costume designer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) had to create over 150 costumes from the corresponding historical period, and for the scene in the “Maxim’s” restaurant – 20 chic evening dresses for the ladies. Costumes were tight in Paris, but when the film crew moved to Hollywood, everything necessary was found in the film company's warehouses, both in terms of clothing and furniture.
- When Alan Jay Lerner met Leslie Caron in Paris to discuss working on a future film, he noticed that Caron, of French origin, had adapted so much to English culture that she even spoke completely without an accent.
- Initially, after completing work on the film, screenwriter Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) and composer Frederick Loewe (1901-1988) were disappointed. Lerner found the film's pace too slow and believed it could and should be cut by twenty minutes. He proposed making the corresponding changes to the film, but this would have meant additional expenses totaling $300,000, and producer Arthur Freed (1894-1973) flatly refused. The composing team offered to buy 10% of the film for $300,000, and then offered another $3 million – to prevent the film from being released at all. This impressed the management of "MGM," and they agreed to the proposed changes, which required eleven days of reshoots and exceeded the project's budget by $400,000. Nevertheless, test screenings showed a change in perception of the film from indifferent-positive (before all these changes) to much warmer (after the changes), and Lerner decided that the work on the film was finally finished.
- During location shooting, the filmmakers often noticed how harsh the local authorities were with them and how they demanded that everything be returned to its original condition after filming. Arthur Freed was so tired of this that one day, when a mirror fell from the ceiling of the "Maxim’s" restaurant dining room during filming and, of course, shattered, he panicked, assuming that the restaurant administration would now present the filmmakers with an exorbitant bill for thousands of dollars. The administrator, however, reassured him, stating that mirrors fell from the ceiling regularly because champagne lovers constantly hit them with corks, and adding that the restaurant kept a stock of mirrors specifically for such occasions.
- In all the scenes with Leslie Caron, the cat reacted with a kind of nervous aggression, but director Vincente Minnelli insisted on using this specific animal, so the cat had to be heavily sedated.
- Initially, upon completing work on the film, screenwriter Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) and composer Frederick Loewe (1901-1988) were disappointed. Lerner found the film's pacing far too slow and believed it could and should be cut by twenty minutes. He suggested making the corresponding changes, but this would have meant additional costs totaling $300,000, and producer Arthur Freed (1894-1973) flatly refused. The songwriting team offered to buy 10% of the film for $300,000, and later offered another $3 million just so the film would not be released at all. This made such an impression on the MGM executives that they agreed to the proposed changes, which required eleven days of reshooting numerous scenes and exceeded the project's budget by $400,000. Regardless, test screenings showed a shift in perception from indifferently benevolent (before the changes) to much warmer (after the changes), and Lerner decided that the work on the film was now truly finished.
- For the scene at the 'Le Bois' restaurant, costume designer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) had to create over 150 costumes from the corresponding historical period, and for the scene at 'Maxim’s,' 20 lavish evening gowns for the ladies. Costumes were in short supply in Paris; however, when the crew moved to Hollywood, the studio warehouses provided everything necessary in terms of both attire and furniture.
- During location shooting, the filmmakers often noticed how stern the local authorities were with them and how they demanded that everything be restored to its original state after filming. Arthur Freed grew so tired of this that one day, when a mirror fell from the ceiling of the dining hall and shattered during filming at 'Maxim’s,' he panicked, assuming the restaurant management would now present the filmmakers with an exorbitant bill for thousands of dollars. The manager, however, reassured him, stating that mirrors fell from the ceiling regularly because champagne lovers constantly hit them with corks, adding that the restaurant kept a stock of spare mirrors specifically for such occasions.
- When Alan Jay Lerner met Leslie Caron in Paris to discuss her role in the upcoming film, he noticed that Caron, who was French by birth, had adapted so well to English culture that she spoke completely without an accent.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
