After introducing himself to international audiences with the curious dystopian romance The Lobster and the harrowing psychological thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos brought his signature pitch-black comic wit to the historical epic genre with The Favourite, the story of a love triangle between Queen Anne, a duchess, and a courtier.
The movie swept the Oscar nominations, with Olivia Colman landing an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Anne. Visually, the movie’s unusual style is akin to Stanley Kubrick’s underrated gem Barry Lyndon. There are plenty of fascinating stories from behind the scenes of the movie.
Emma Stone Dropped Out Of Little Women To Appear In This Movie
Originally, Emma Stone was signed on to appear in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women. However, the shoot clashed with production on The Favourite, and Stone chose to stick with the latter.
Dropping out of Little Women allowed Emma Watson to take her role. So, American Stone played a British character in The Favourite and British Watson played an American character in Little Women.
Kate Winslet Was Originally Cast As Sarah
Rachel Weisz turned out to be the perfect casting choice for Lady Sarah, landing an Oscar nomination alongside her two equally well-cast co-stars. But she wasn’t the first choice for the role.
Kate Winslet was initially cast to play Sarah, but ended up dropping out, paving the way for Weisz to swoop in and deliver one of the finest performances of her career.
Olivia Colman Put A Makeup Sponge Between Her Legs During The Sex Scene
While Olivia Colman and Emma Stone were shooting their sex scene for The Favourite, Stone was worried that she’d accidentally put her hand too high on Colman’s leg.
So, Colman had the idea to put a big makeup sponge between her legs. In an interview with Graham Norton, Colman recounted the hilarity of Stone’s reaction to feeling the sponge for the first time.
The Original Script Was Called The Balance Of Power
Although The Favourite didn’t make it to the screen until 2018, the first draft was written by Deborah Davis two decades prior in 1998. During her research, Davis stumbled upon an all-female love triangle and found a previously unseen angle for a historical epic.
Davis’ initial draft was titled The Balance of Power, and it caught the eye of producer Ceci Dempsey, although it would take 20 years for the movie to actually hit theaters.
The Wardrobe Team Intentionally Used Anachronistic Fabrics
Some of the costumes in The Favourite are made out of anachronistic materials that weren’t available when the film is set. This was a stylistic choice by costume designer Sandy Powell, who used denim from thrift store jeans to make the servants’ clothes and laser-cut vinyl and lace for the courtiers’ clothes.
Powell had to divide her time between designing the wardrobe for The Favourite and designing the wardrobe for Mary Poppins Returns. Both movies received Oscar nods for Best Costume Design.
Emma Stone’s Topless Scene Was Her Own Idea
When Sarah first discovers that Abigail is a threat to her relationship with Anne, she finds Abigail topless. This was reportedly Emma Stone’s own suggestion. It was a last-minute decision on the set.
She was going to have a bedsheet wrapped around her, but right before the cameras started rolling, she asked if she could just do the scene nude instead, feeling that this would be more humiliating for Sarah.
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan Briefly Left The Shoot When His Father Died
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan’s father died in the middle of production on The Favourite. Ryan left the shoot briefly to grieve with his family. In the interim, Stephen Murphy stepped in to replace him as the film’s director of photography.
After an appropriate amount of time, Ryan returned to the production and continued his duties as cinematographer. Ryan remains the only credited cinematographer on the film.
Yorgos Lanthimos Including Easter Eggs Calling Back To His Previous Movies
Yorgos Lanthimos included scenes in which characters eat lobster and venison as references to his two previous movies, The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz were cast in The Favourite based on their experiences working with Lanthimos on The Lobster.
Olivia Colman Gained 35lbs To Play Queen Anne
Olivia Colman finally got the international recognition she has always deserved after starring in The Favourite. She’d been a beloved actor in Britain for years, but this movie gave her major clout in Hollywood, as well as a handful of new awards for her mantle, including an Oscar.
Colman gained 35 lbs before shooting The Favourite in order for her portrayal of Queen Anne to be as authentic as possible.
Emma Stone’s Corsets Shuffled Her Organs Around
In an interview with Graham Norton to promote the movie, Emma Stone said that the corsets she wore for her role in The Favourite shuffled her organs around. This is a real medical issue; corsets, when worn for extended periods of time, can push the liver and stomach down.
Stone also said that she took up a habit of sniffing menthol while she was filming the movie, because it gave her the sensation of being in a large open space when she was crammed into a corset.
