The Monaco royals will not attend the world premiere of Nicole Kidman’s “Grace of Monaco” following a clash with the filmmakers, Page Six has exclusively learned.
Prince Albert is said to be furious about the portrayal of his father, Prince Rainier, in the Princess Grace biopic, which will open the Cannes Film Festival on May 14.
We are told that the movie’s producer, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, has refused to screen “Grace of Monaco” for Albert, his wife, Princess Charlene, and his sisters, Princesses Stephanie and Caroline, or make any changes to the script.
One source told Page Six, “Prince Albert is angry about the film. His concern is that Grace is glorified and Prince Rainier is depicted as a weak, one-sided leader, who is controlling over his wife. Albert fears the movie vilifies his father. It was Pierre’s decision not to screen the movie for the royal family, and their requests for changes have been ignored. They won’t be at the premiere.”
The movie, directed by Olivier Dahan, stars Kidman as Kelly and Tim Roth as Rainier. The plot focuses on the 1963 crisis when Charles de Gaulle blockaded Monaco, angered by its status as a tax haven for wealthy French. The film also depicts a young Princess Grace struggling in her marriage and with her identity as Rainier discourages her return to Hollywood.
Prince Albert has described the movie as “inaccurate.” In a statement last year, the royal House of Grimaldi blasted some scenes as “purely fictional.” It reads, “The royal family wishes to stress that this film in no way constitutes a biopic. It recounts one rewritten and needlessly glamorised page in the history of Monaco and its family with both major historical inaccuracies and a series of purely fictional scenes.”
There are also differences between Dahan and the film’s US distributors, The Weinstein Company. Dahan claims Harvey Weinstein had pressured him to agree to a new edit for the US market. Dahan fumed, “There are two versions of the film . . . mine and his, which I find catastrophic.”