In 2013, when the film “Diana”, a biopic about the Princess of Wales with Naomi Watts in the title role, was released, a controversy over the poster had taken place in France.
Diana: the first biopic in the cinema
Disappeared 25 years ago, on August 31, 1997, Lady Diana left a lasting mark on her era and her death was one of the major events of the 20th century. In 2013, after several TV movies, the first biopic about the princess is released in cinemas with Naomi Watts in the title role.
The film focuses on the passionate story that Diana had with the surgeon Hasnat Khan between 1995 and 1997. With a budget of 15 million dollars, the film is a bitter failure to worldwide box office with only $21 million in revenue. It also received a chilling reception from audiences and critics. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (The fall), he was also at the center of a controversy following a poster of the film placed in a place that could not be more… inappropriate.
The Controversy Poster
Released on October 2, 2013 in French cinemas, Diana only attracted a little more than 300,000 curious people. A failure for the French distributor Le Pacte, which also had to face an unexpected controversy.
Indeed, at the time of the release, a poster of the film had been placed at the entrance to the Alma bridge in Paris. Or the place where the Princess of Wales had died on August 31, 1997 in a dramatic car accident. Several English media then protested against this poster.
Following this controversy across the Channel, the distributor Le Pacte had requested the withdrawal of the 120cm by 176cm poster. The latter as well as the JCDecaux display had declared that it was from a mere coincidence and not from deliberate positioning.
Eight years after the release of this biopic, another film dedicated to Lady Di was born: spencer with Kristen Stewart in the title role. Directed by Pablo Larrain, it takes place during the 1991 Christmas holidays. A few days during which Diana decided to divorce Charles. A dizzying dive into the soul of a tormented princess who struggled to find her audience.
