On screen, Anne Hathaway attracts the audience’s eyes with her fragile and charming beauty – from Princess Mia of The Princess Diaries (2001), 

Seline/Catwoman of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) to Fantine of Les Misérables (2012)… Anne Hathaway has also been the center of conflicts behind the scenes.

The beauty once became the main character in the article titled Do We Really Hate Anne Hathaway? 

of The New York Times or Why do Women Hate Anne Hathaway? on The Cut and many other discussions on social networks.

The conflict behind the screen once made her turn down the offer of the main role in the blockbuster Silver Linings Playbook 

before accepting a supporting role in Les Misérables – a role that brought her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Turning down the main role in the Oscar-winning film

According to Showbiz CheatSheet, Jennifer Lawrence’s famous role in Silver Linings Playbook was originally given to Anne Hathaway. But due to creative differences with director David O. Russell, the beauty left the project.

In an interview with Howard Stern on SiriusXM, Harvey Weinstein, who worked closely with the project, revealed the inside story. The two main roles in Silver Linings Playbook were originally assigned to Anne Hathaway and Mark Wahlberg, Hathaway was also Weinstein’s top choice for the role.

However, everything fell apart when the beauty and the film’s director could not agree on the work. As a result, the female lead role of Silver Linings Playbook was assigned to Jennifer Lawrence while Anne Hathaway took on the supporting role of Fantine in Les Misérables.

Both Silver Linings Playbook and Les Miserables are famous films released in 2012, reaping commercial success and countless awards. According to IMDb statistics, Silver Linings Playbook earned 132 million USD from the North American market. This figure was 148 million USD for Les Misérables.

For Anne Hathaway, appearing in Les Misérables was the right choice. In the film, Hathaway’s role as Fantine is a beautiful woman with a difficult fate. She had a child with her unfaithful boyfriend, became a single mother, had to work hard, even sold her teeth and hair to raise her child. The role brought the beauty a huge salary of 10 million USD and an Oscar.

Winning at the Oscars is not only a golden milestone in Hathaway’s career, it is also a personal event for the beauty. According to The Hollywood Reporter, her mother played Fantine in the first time the play Les Misérables was performed in the US.

Wave of hatred from the audience

Along with her success at the 2013 Oscars, Anne Hathaway also became the focus of rejection from the general audience. The boycott was so strong that the New York Times wrote about it in a cultural study published in April 2013 titled Do We Really Hate Anne Hathaway?.

The article listed many manifestations of Anne Hathaway’s online boycott, as well as tried to dig deeper and analyze the reasons behind this negative chain of reactions.

There was even a contest held on The San Francisco Chronicle website, with Hathaway being awarded the title of Most Hated Artist of 2013.

Actor James Franco and SiriusXM host Howard Stern dissected the online community of Anne Hathaway’s boycotters – dubbed by the rather catchy name “Hathahaters” – on the show Mr. Stern.

In 2011, James Franco and Anne Hathaway became the focus of criticism when they became co-hosts at the Oscars. Both were criticized for their lack of interaction. After the 2011 Oscars, there were rumors that it was the two actors’ open hatred for each other that led to the “disaster” on the awards stage.

The New York Times article quoted comments from many viewers, as well as media experts, about the case of Anne Hathaway – when her illustrious career put the actress in a confrontation with her fans.

One comment from a netizen opposing Hathaway wrote: “There’s something about her that just doesn’t feel right… It makes me feel like she’s not real.” This is Hathaway’s problem with many viewers: she’s too perfect.

“I don’t really hate Anne Hathaway. I hate the surreal image of Anne Hathaway on screen, the high school princess, good and talented, eating raisins for snacks and not caring about boys and girls” – Sarah Nicole Prickett, a writer for Vice and The New Inquiry shared.

New York Times writer Alex Williams concluded that Anne Hathaway of 2013 was a victim of the “Tall Poppy” syndrome – the flowers that grow taller are often the first to be cut.

First time transforming into a villain

However, the negative reaction from the audience did not deter the actress. The actress continued to shine on the screen, becoming a beautiful and talented actress among the top Hollywood actresses today.

In 2018, Anne Hathaway spoke out on Instagram about negative comments directed at her, especially the outfit she wore on the night of her Oscar.

The post reads: “I have laryngitis and still have to sing, but the media still focuses on negative comments about me? But you know what, I am still the best.”

Anne Hathaway will soon play the role of the ultimate witch Evangeline Ernst in the film adaptation of the book The Witch by famous author Roald Dahl. Evangeline Ernst has a high-pitched voice and a smile that stretches from ear to ear. Her plan is to turn children all over the world into mice.

This is a role that is unfamiliar to most of Anne Hathaway’s career. It marks the first time the actress has played a villain on screen. In an interview with Empire on October 1, director Robert Zemeckis said he believes that if not Hathaway, no one would take on this role.

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Source: USA Today