First of all, there's the cast: Hepburn, Neal, Peppard, Ebsen, etc., the fashion (thank you, Edith Head and Givenchy), and the writing.
I've read the novella the movie is based on by Truman Capote, and loved it too, but it made me wonder: how did such a risque story about a call girl and a gay man turn into a Hollywood romance that also features Mickey Rooney as a slightly (very) racist portrayal of an Asian landlord? Why does Holly Golightly eat a danish outside Tiffany's as opposed to, I don't know, an ice cream cone? These are the kinds of questions I want answered.
Thankfully, Sam Wasson's book Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. does just that. Wasson explains how Capote originally wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly Golightly, but was rejected because that the role was too scandalous; how no one got along with George Peppard, especially Patricia Neal; and of course, how the signature little black dress changed fashion forever.Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. also looks into the whole film making process of the 1950s/60s. Getting the right director, screenwriter, actor, actress, composer, costume, filming location, etc. is more difficult than I truly realized. Also, having them all get along isn't so easy, either. An example of such controversy: at one point, Audrey was so adamant about keeping the song "Moon River" in the movie that she yelled at a studio executive, who suggested they cut it out, "Over my dead body!" and I'm pretty that had never, ever happened before Breakfast at Tiffany's. Not Audrey disagreeing with an executive, but her yelling at anyone, ever.
Even if you've only seen Breakfast at Tiffany's once, or not at all (is that possible?), Wasson's book offers an intimate look inside the minds of some of Hollywood's best directors, actors, writers, and producers. I highly recommend reading it, whether you're an Audrey devotee or simply interested in how such a revolutionary movie came into being. Either way, it's definitely worth checking out.
