Director Sofia Coppola, famous for playing Mary Corleone in The Godfather Part III, recently shared that Apple TV+ cancelled her The Custom of the Country series after executives informed her the female protagonist was “unlikeable.”
Sofia Coppola via W Magazine YouTube
Speaking with The New Yorker, Coppola informed the outlet she was hoping to get a $200 million budget for five episodes of The Custom of the Country, an adaptation of Edith Wharton’s 1913 novel.
According to a description of the novel, the book is “a scathing yet personal examination of exploits and follies of the modern upper class. As she unfolds the story of Undine Spragg from New York to Europe, Wharton affords us a detailed glimpse of what might be called the interior décor of this America and its nouveau riche fringes.”
“Through a heroine who is as vain, spoiled, and selfish as she is irresistibly fascinating, and through a most intricate and satisfying plot that follows Undine’s marriages and affairs, she conveys a vision of social behavior that is both supremely informed and supremely disenchanted,” it concludes.
The Custom of the Country (1913)
Coppola revealed that Apple ditched the project, “Apple just pulled out. They pulled our funding.”
She added, “It’s a real drag. I thought they had endless resources.”
The Custom of the Country (1913)
As for why Apple TV+ pulled out of the project, it’s unclear. However, Coppola did indicate that executives found the character of Undine, who was supposed to be portrayed by Florence Pugh, “unlikeable.”
Coppola shared, “They didn’t get the character of Undine. She’s so ‘unlikable.’ But so is Tony Soprano!”
She concluded, “It was like a relationship that you know you probably should’ve gotten out of a while ago.”
The Custom of the Country (1913)
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However, while Apple ditched the project, no one else seemed interested in it either.
The New Yorker’s Rachel Syme revealed, “In January of 2022, after trying in vain to secure alternative funding for Custom, Coppola moved on to a new project, an independent film adapted from Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me.”
The Custom of the Country (1913)
It’s hard to imagine that executives would scrap a project due to the female protagonist being unlikeable especially just two or three years ago. Just look at all the films and TV shows that came out around that time and are still coming out that were greenlit back then. One need look no further than Marvel Studios’ most recent releases in The Marvels, Echo, and Secret Invasion.
It’s more than likely that Apple TV+ pulled out because Coppola wanted $200 million for five episodes of television.
Just as a comparison point, the period piece drama Downton Abbey reportedly only cost $1.5 million per episode to make. Good House Keeping reported, “Jessica Fellowes’ wrote in her book, The World of Downton Abbey, that the production company spends roughly 1 million Euros for each episode.”
Mad Men, which was set in the 50s and 60s reportedly had a budget of $3 million per episode. Coppola wanted $20 million.
Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey (2019), ITV
What do you make of Coppola’s claim that the show was axed after executives described the main character as “unlikeable?”
Good call Apple the material above would be better introduced as a movie or adapted for modern times.