negotiating tactics

Meryl Streep Got Fox to Double Its Offer for The Devil Wears Prada, Because Miranda Priestly Is Worth It

Lean in. Photo: FOX

Ten years after its release, The Devil Wears Prada remains the definitive cautionary tale about the fashion industry (and about dating guys who brag about their grilled-cheese skills). Variety compiled a comprehensive look back at the film, which includes all sorts of interesting tidbits — Meryl Streep insisted on adding that belt scene! Anne Hathway traced the words “hire me†in an executive’s Zen garden! — but none more thrilling than the story of how Streep negotiated for her part. Streep says she knew the impeccably coiffed Miranda Priestly would be an icon, but the initial offer was “to my mind, slightly, if not insulting, not perhaps reflective of my actual value to the project.†She decided to play hard to get. “There was my ‘good-bye moment,’ and then they doubled the offer,†Streep said. “I was 55, and I had just learned, at a very late date, how to deal on my own behalf.†By all means, underestimate Meryl Streep’s star power, you know how that thrills her.

How Meryl Streep Got Her Pay Doubled for Prada