'Grace of Monaco' Screenwriter Live Tweets His Scathing Critique

Nicole Kidman in ‘Grace of Monaco’

“Grace of Monaco was my filmmaking Vietnam. I survived it, but I’ll never be the same,” screenwriter Arash Amel tweeted last night. The movie in question, a Grace Kelly biopic starring Nicole Kidman as the 1950s screen siren–turned–European royal and directed by Olivier Dahan (La Vie en Rose), seemed like surefire Oscar bait when it opened the Cannes Film Festival last year. Instead, plagued by terrible reviews and production disputes, Grace of Monaco never received a U.S. theatrical release, but premiered Sunday night on the Lifetime network. Fortunately, Amel has a sense of humor about his film’s disastrous trajectory. During the premiere, he critiqued the final cut of the movie (and shared behind-the-scenes photos) on Twitter,using the hashtag #GOMFacts.

Related: 'Grace of Monaco’ Preview: Nicole Kidman’s Grace Kelly Stands Up to Her Princely Husband

Grace of Monaco takes place in 1962, during which time Grace Kelly was caught between her desire to return to Hollywood stardom and her duties as Princess of Monaco. Amel’s screenplay appeared on the2011 “Black List” of Hollywood’s best unproduced scripts, and was purchased in a competitive bid by the French production company Stone Angels. But Amel and director Dahan had two different visions of what the movie should be.

In his Twitter commentary, Amel breaks down some of the changes that turned Grace of Monaco from a witty, realistic drama into a credulity-defying melodrama. “The over-the-top and stilted set-ups is purely intentional direction. The text was written as free-flowing and naturalistic,” he writes of one scene. Of another, he says, “This was never meant to be a thriller… They were also not meant to be shouting at each other. It was meant to play under the surface.” One of the film’s key speeches, he says, “was meant to be metaphoric,” but plays in the movie as literal. Amel also takes issue with the overwrought score, which he sees as undermining even the film’s best moments. “Lesson for film grads: this is how you wash away what was actually a great performance in this scene with unnecessary music,” he writes.  (In the tweet below, he specifically mentions the lunch scene, which you can watch here.)

That’s not to say that Amel hated everything about the film. During his live tweet, he is full of praise for stars Kidman (“amazing to work with and a real trooper against great odds”), Frank Langella (“a real gentleman and bought everybody nice presents”), Parker Posey(“when all were losing their heads, Parker kept her cool”), and Milo Ventimiglia (“backed me up when one of the French producers tried to fight me.”). He also gives a shout-out to the “amazing” costume and production designers, and notes that Grace of Monaco was “huge in Japan. Huge. Ran for weeks.” Some of his lighter moments on set are captured in behind-the-scenes snapshots like the one below.

As far as Amel is concerned, most of the issues with Grace of Monaco could have been avoided with a better edit. Two cuts of the film existed prior to the Lifetime premiere: one created by U.S. distributor Harvey Weinstein and another by Stone Angels and Dahan. “I got called in by Harvey as a producer to restore the movie as a 'writer’s cut,’” writes Amel. “After I saw finished movie I complained to Harvey, and he heard me. But under French law, director say is final. I fought the good fight. But the law is the law. Sometimes you get Truffaut. Sometimes you get this.” The Lifetime version, according to Amel, combined both cuts into a shorter one. “This movie has had more edits than I’ve had films made,” he jokes (though it happens to be true).

Before signing off, the screenwriter hinted at even more dirt he didn’t dish, saying, “I’ll keep people storming off set, 3-hour shooting days and missing sets for my memoirs.” Amel also expressed the hope that one day, when the dust settles, the world will see Grace of Monaco as he first envisioned it.

Watch the movie's trailer: