Cakes 038; Queens

Played winningly by Kirsten Dunst, Marie is not the mean-spirited royal she is often portrayed as, but somewhat of an uncomprehending innocent. Marie laughs when she hears it reported that she said, 8220;Let them eat cake,8221; calling the charge ridiculous, like a pop star dismissing a tabloid rumor.

8220;I always thought it was an interesting period of time. It was so bizarre that people were so cut off from reality 8212; an extreme decadent moment 8212; the last hurrah before the revolution,8221; says Coppola, who also wrote the script.

As inspiration, she visited the real apartment of the ill-fated queen. 8220;I saw the real fabrics that she chose. They were bright turquoise and pinks. Usually when you think of that period, you think of faded earth tones because that8217;s what you see in a museum.8221;

And Coppola wanted the film 8220;to feel like it was happening now and not looking back in time and you8217;re there,8221; so she didn8217;t want to give herself any rules. She added pop songs and made unusual casting choices for a period piece 8212; including 8220;SNL8221; veteran Molly Shannon, British comic/actor Steve Coogan and horror queen Asia Argento.

The former CalArts student sees a connection between the decadent life of the 18th-century French aristocrats and contemporary times. 8220;I think it8217;s relevant to today8217;s world, but I don8217;t want to point out all the parallels.8221;

Rob Lowman