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"Factory Girl * Superstar Edie Sedgewick"

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Hayden Christensen in Factory Girl Uncut

London fashion had Twiggy and the New York art and culture scene had Edie Sedgwick, a bright and shining star of the mid 1960's. Edie was art and artist of The Factory, the 60's style bohemian community of artist Andy Warhol. Youth-quaker, superstar, tragic muse, were words and phrases invented just for Edie. She was a fashion trend setter and probably one of the first to be called a performance artist.

Factory Girl is the story of Edie Sedgewick, a wealthy socialite, who left Cambridge in 1964 to go to New York in pursuit of art and an artists life. She immediately gained attention on the Manhattan social scene as New York's "It Girl" making party appearances and becoming a model for fashion icon Diana Vreeland. As part of this social scene, she met Andy Warhol who became fascinated with her gamine beauty and muse like qualties. She was his inspiration and was welcomed into his studio of "superstars" and everything that lifestyle entailed.



"When Andy met Edie, life imitated art."


I'm just a movie buff and also a fan of most of the actors in this movie so I followed the filming from the beginning with interest, along with all the news stories and criticisms and controversy. One of the first things I did after hearing about the film was to do my own research to find out more about Edith Minturn Sedgwick. I found her fascinating but I also found she still had a following of fiercely devoted fans. That a movie was going to explore the life of a still beloved icon, was bound to bring controversy. In the eyes of fans, no movie could ever live up to the legend.

What the movie does is provoke questions and interest and a desire to know more about the real Edie and people should do their own research. I would hope in this day and age no one would take for granted that everything they see on screen even in a biopic is to be taken too literally. There is always dramatic license taken in movies. Instead, what we have in Factory Girl is an artistic rendering, an overall view of someone's life, though much of the material used was carefully researched and taken from interviews with people who knew Edie well.

The plot device used to move the story along involves a conflict between Andy and "the musician" with Edie being torn between two loves. Andy, representing all the superficiality and shallowness of fame and fortune and "the musician" representing the anti-establishment generation seeking enlightenment and simplicity in a material world.

Sienna Miller is perfection as the the Cambridge student who leaves for New York, already fragile and damaged but still enthusiastic and hopeful. The re-edited Director's cut gives more of a glimpse into Edie's childhood and family life early on, giving plenty of reason for her decline as the story progresses. Sienna's resemblance to Edie is remarkable and her portrayal is her break through performance. You can't watch Sienna in Factory Girl without realizing a star is born and one who is truly talented and gifted.

Guy Pearce, whose performance was already extraordinary, benefits from additional minutes on film in the Director's cut, giving us a clearer picture of the artist's inability to show feelings or emotions and resigning himself to being detached yet mourning Edie privately. Two scenes in the movie, one with Edie invited to have dinner with Andy and his mother and the other with Andy and Edie having dinner with her parents, wonderfully juxtoposes the two character's differing family backgrounds and gives insight into their relationship.

Hayden Christensen already has this rock star thing going on, according to Sienna Miller in the Behind the Scenes video on the DVD. Hayden's performance is brief but memorable with no trace of Darth Vader or Anakin Skywalker. There is just something charismatic about Hayden's performance as "the musician", cast against type, with all the cool and charm of any rock star who has ever picked up a guitar. One has to wonder what wonderful bits and pieces of his performance ended up on the cutting room floor because of the legal problems that were reported in having a clearly Dylan-like character as part of the story.

George Hickenlooper's director's cut makes for a more smoothly flowing story than the theatrical version and the added minutes of film complete the characters and give more depth to the 60's era. The mixed media filming style makes more sense in the 60's themed context, bringing back memories of some of the more gritty "slice of life" movies of that era. I'm always amazed when viewing a director's cut what the addition of eight, five or even three minutes can add to the quality of a movie. I just wish this wasn't always the afterthought with the execs who make those decisions so theater goers could have a better viewing experience.


Life flies by when you're having fun or high on heroin or speed.

Days quickly turn to weeks and months pass, turning overnight into years as happens with any addiction. Towards the end of the movie and in the ending credits, it's only then we see Edie fight back against Andy and the superficiality of the Factory but tragically loses her battle with herself. She leaves New York and turns her back on The Factory and Andy. Edie never found herself in the identity crisis era of 1960's and 70's. In the closing credits, you hear about the real Edie from people who knew her and you wish with all your heart that Edie was still around and hadn't wasted away in the illusion of Audrey Hepburn and the Warhol factory. Still hauntingly beautiful today in countless photos and memories committed to film, the face, the aura, the superstar quality of Edie Sedgwick lingers and fascinates today as a ghost, a vision and an enigma.

July 25, 2007
Author: Barbara
Hayden Christensen Fan News


Factory Girl - The DVD is the uncut and unrated director's cut. The theatrical release was rated R for pervasive drug use, strong sexual content, nudity and language.



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Hayden Christensen and Sienna Miller in Factory Girl
Sienna Miller and Hayden Christensen in Factory Girl now available on DVD. Animation by Hayden Christensen Fan News.

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Factory Girl Trivia

Factory Girl filming, which was to take place in New Orleans in August 2005, was delayed when Hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf coast. According to director George Hickenlooper on the DVD commentary, New Orleans was so devastated it made it impossible to film there. Almost 75% of the crew had lost their homes in New Orleans. It was finally decided to take the filming to Shreveport, Louisiana. Locations in Shreveport were selected to sub for New York, Philadelphia and other cities. The cast and crew became very close during filming, frequently gathering at various restaurants and nightclubs in Shreveport.

Sienna Miller initially had to back out of filming for Factory Girl due to a conflict in her schedule. Katie Holmes was also mentioned to play Edie and reportedly dropped out. Delays in the production made it possible for Sienna to finally sign on for the part.

Weezer guitarist Brian Bell and drummer Patrick Wilson appeared in a concert scene in the film as part of The Velevet Underground.

Mary Kate Olsen, whose scene was cut from the theatrical release, has been added to the Director's Cut in a brief scene.

Bob Dylan threatened a lawsuit if he was portrayed in the film, claiming the story placed the blame for Edie's death on their relationship. The legal problems were later settled out of court. As a result of the legalities, Hayden had to go in and re-dub all his scenes because of the potential lawsuit and his character was simply called "the musician".


Links

Official Factory Girl Movie Site

More Information:

IMDB - Factory Girl
Factory Girl is available to buy or rent on DVD from:

Blockbuster - For rental only with exclusive dvd extras.
Amazon.com - Widescreen/ Unrated
Best Buy - Widescreen/ Unrated
Target.com - Widescreen/ Unrated


Factory Girl Video

WATCH THE UNSEEN DIRECTOR'S CUT: Factory Girl Director's Cut (third version)


Moviefone - Factory Girl Trailer/Videos
Factory Girl - Quicktime Trailer
Hayden Christensen - Youtube


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Credits: Thank you to Sophie for the photos.

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