“My character is the only one, in either movie, who’s dressed in head-to-toe synthetic apparel,” laughs BJ Novak. “So, I’ll let that be a clue as to who [and what] my character represents.”
When we speak, it’s just one week before The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theatres. A sequel to 2006’s generational Condé Nast roman-à-clef — a movie Novak calls “a classic for all the right reasons” — the follow-up film feels like catching up with old friends.
“A secret weapon of [The Devil Wears Prada] is that every character’s point of view makes a lot of sense. So, when you have villains, it’s really about clashing worldviews.”
BJ Novak
First, we’re reunited with Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, who finds herself scrambling for work after (another) round of mass layoffs hits her Very Serious News Organization. Meanwhile, editor-in-chief of Runway, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), lands in hot water after running a glowing review of what turns out to be a fast fashion brand (Remember the SHEIN-sponsored influencer trip?). Oh, and our favourite creative director, Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci), has spent the last two decades letting Priestly stifle his spark, passing him over for promotions while he watches his budgets dwindle from four-week photoshoots abroad to two days in a “content studio.” Then, in swoops the lacrosse-stick-wielding, Patagonia-vest-wearing Jay Ravitz — that’s Mr. Novak — as the cherry on top. As the son of Irv Ravitz, the chairman of Runway‘s parent company, Jay Ravitz is ready to offload Runway to the highest bidder.
“[Jay] has his own excited vision for how this magazine is going to adapt and be profitable — and, of course, you can laugh at it! He might be wrong. He might be a bad influence on people. But I think every character, in a smart movie like this, even if you’re laughing and rolling your eyes, you know where they’re coming from,” Novak explains.
For Ravitz, a magazine like Runway is only as good as its profit margin. Anyone in a creative industry is intimately familiar with the financial peril of old-school media — be it publishing, cinema, or (as Timothée Chalamet reminded us) the opera and ballet — in the age of short-form videos and social algorithms. Yet as Novak notes, it’s a valid concern to have; for better or worse, magazines need to make money.
“A secret weapon of [The Devil Wears Prada] is that every character’s point of view makes a lot of sense. So, when you have villains, it’s really about clashing worldviews,” he explains. “The Devil Wears Prada refers to Miranda Priestly because she is the devil from the perspective of Andy Sachs, Anne Hathaway’s character. But, when you watch the movie and you learn why she acts this way — how committed she is to excellence and high standards and beauty — you come to love that philosophy.”
Watching Priestly’s knuckles whiten as she clings to her increasingly-bourgeois brand, Novak’s thesis proves correct. Her spirited double-downs and unwavering pursuit of perfection will inspire even the biggest synthetic-fibre fans in the cinema.
As Novak shares his experience on set, the actor describes a parallel phenomenon. “Great actors lift the scene for everyone,” Novak says. “While it’s extremely intimidating to work with the best actors in the world, it’s also easier to work with the best actors, because the best actors bring you into their reality. You can really just join their energy.”
Though Novak admits he never expected to join the sequel, he says he “couldn’t have been happier” to get the call. As the Newton-born actor sees it, The Devil Wears Prada 2 offers a rare chance to embrace the ethos of Old Hollywood; films like this — ones “beloved because of how good the actors are” — are an endangered species.
“[The Devil Wears Prada 2] isn’t sci-fi or world-building. It’s anticipated because of the talent of the people who made the first one. People want to see Meryl Streep act. They want to see Anne Hathaway act,” Novak elaborates. “It was really inspiring to join a project that’s from an era where people saw movies because of the talent. They wanted to see what [the cast] did next. I was the same way. I wanted to see what Meryl Streep would do next.”
In stark contrast to the IP-milking sequels of late, The Devil Wears Prada 2 manages to walk the fine line well: it reinvestigates the themes and characters that made us love the original, yet it shows them from a new perspective. It’s a sequel that has something to say. In the context of modern cinema, that’s genuinely groundbreaking.
“Everyone has ambition inside them. It’s one of those key forces of human nature, and this movie really celebrates that.” BJ Novak
After its whopping $234M opening weekend, it’s safe to say that The Devil Wears Prada 2 has recreated the original’s alchemy: it’s a bubbling concoction of wit and glamour, sparkling with celebrity cameos. There’s a line from Donatella Versace, a backstage moment with Lady Gaga, and a sympathetic secretary played by Caleb Hearon. “Any direction you look, there’s someone to look up to in this film,” Novak attests.
Still, the screenplay itself takes centre stage. Packed with lightning-fast quips, high stakes, and organic relationships, the script keeps up with its high-calibre cast. “I think everyone that watched the first one really noticed how much the script is one of the stars,” Novak says. He credits his respect for fashion to Meryl Streep’s legendary cerulean monologue.
That said, Novak wouldn’t dream of touching the Prada pen. “Being a writer makes me have so much respect for the script. A lot of people ask, ‘Oh, do you improvise a lot? Do you help with the writing?’ Like, no f***ing way. Are you kidding me? To get handed great dialogue that’s already finished? I would much rather focus on what I could do to deliver it than struggle over a rewrite,” he laughs. “First, writers don’t like being rewritten, so you want to respect the writer that way. Second, it’s hard to write. So, it’s a real gift to be handed a beautifully polished page.”
Novak’s favourite part of that beautifully-polished page? He gushes over Justin Theroux’s frustratingly-familiar portrayal of Benji Barnes, a booming techno-billionaire who dominates conversations with vaguely-antisocial ideas (including a future in which “humans don’t need necks”).
Any semblance to real-life, however, came after the fact. “You can take a lot of clues and hints from real-world people. A lot of the movie seems to parallel real-world things, but it was actually written before those things happened. So, it was oddly prescient and coincidental, which just shows that Aline [Brosh McKenna], the screenwriter, was really plugged into the mood out there,” Novak explains.
Like its predecessor, The Devil Wears Prada 2 refuses to settle for shallow comedy or well-styled scandal. Instead, the film uses its hook — the gossipy, glamorous account of a scorned assistant — to tell an ever-relevant tale about morals, money, and power.
“Everyone in the movie is ambitious, and their ambitions clash,” Novak explains. “People really care about excellence. Andy cares about excellence in journalism; Miranda cares about excellence in fashion on a more global level; my character cares about new media profitability.”
As competing interests jeopardize what’s left of the magazine, the sequel reveals that, for all her posturing, Priestly is equally vulnerable to the whims of the wealthy. Still, it’s too soon to count her out. For Novak, that’s the draw: “Everyone has ambition inside them. It’s one of those key forces of human nature, and this movie really celebrates that.”
So, where will Novak’s ambition take him? As the actor sees it, his job is simply to complement his colleagues: “You’re paying for the Meryl Streep show and the Anne Hathaway show and the Stanley Tucci show and the Emily Blunt show — and that is really exciting. Even when you have big stars in movies, you don’t always get to see them shine, [but] these stars, these actors, get to shine,” Novak says. “It was fun to be a little flickering star in their galaxy.”
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is now in theatres.
