The Gwyneth Paltrow movie Bill Clinton fell asleep watching: “He was snoring right in front of me”
You can’t please everyone when you make a film, even if you end up winning Oscars and receiving widespread praise. Gwyneth Paltrow had the brutal experience of learning this when none other than the then-President of the United States, Bill Clinton, fell asleep watching one of her movies – and she witnessed the whole thing.
Let me set the scene. In the 1990s, everyone was crazy for Jane Austen. It was a literary revolution that few could have predicted, but it seems that, as we careered towards a new era, the lust for the past was stronger than ever.
In fact, Austen-mania swept the entertainment industry, with a Hollywood version of Sense and Sensibility emerging in 1995, the same year that a BBC mini-series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice captured the hearts of many TV lovers and Austen fans alike. These were two terrific interpretations of classic novels, filmed and acted to perfection.
Of course, they weren’t the first instances of Austen works being adapted for the big (and small) screen, but few were as successful as these, and soon more adaptations were quick to follow. In 1996, two versions of Emma were subsequently made, just a year after the release of the teen rom-com Clueless, a modernised version of the matchmaking story.
While one version was a made-for-TV movie written by Andrew Davies, who had also penned Pride and Prejudice, the other was a theatrical release with Hollywood newcomer Paltrow in the lead. On the surface, you might question why the American actor was picked to play the well-to-do English teenager, but the actor soon fit into the world that Austen had created, and as a result, she won various accolades for her performance.
Starring alongside the likes of Ewan McGregor, Toni Collette, and Alan Cumming – that’s a real menagerie of different accents, when you think about it – Paltrow led the film to success, and it helped to boost her own career. Within the next few years she had found roles in the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love and The Talented Mr Ripley, securing her iconic status in Hollywood.
But when it came to a screening of Emma at the White House (why? I’m not sure), the actor had to witness the President falling asleep as he tried to watch her film. Perhaps he’s had a long day in the office, or perhaps he just wasn’t a fan of Austen’s timeless story.
Appearing on Hot Ones, Paltrow revealed that the rumour was true, he really did start snoozing. “He was snoring right in front of me. I was like, ‘Wow, I guess this is going to be a real hit movie.’ But it was! So fuck you, Bill Clinton!,” she said.
Clinton might not have been a fan of Douglas McGrath’s film, but audiences were keen to watch it, with the film grossing $40million at the box office. Considering the fact it was made on a budget of $8million, that’s not too bad.
Maybe Clinton preferred the TV film version starring Kate Beckinsale? There have been various other adaptations of Emma since then, including the 2009 mini-series featuring Romola Garai, and the slightly more quirky endeavour from 2020 featuring Anya Taylor-Joy in the leading role.
