Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards from a screenplay by George Axelrod and based on the 1958 novella by Truman Capote. It stars Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney. In the film, Holly Golightly (Hepburn), a naïve, eccentric socialite meets Paul Varjak (Peppard), a struggling writer who moves into her apartment building. Development for the film began soon after the publication of Capote's novel, with several actors, including Marilyn Monroe, Shirley MacLaine, Kim Novak, Steve McQueen, Jack Lemmon, and Robert Wagner, considered for the lead roles prior to Hepburn and Peppard being cast. The screenplay, which deviates from Capote's novella, was originally completed by Axelrod and director John Frankenheimer, who was replaced by Edwards well into pre-production. Principal photography began on October 2, 1960, with filming taking place in New York City and at the Studios at Paramount in Hollywood, California. The film's music was composed by Henry Mancini and its theme song, "Moon River", was written by Johnny Mercer. Breakfast at Tiffany's was released in the United States on October 5, 1961, by Paramount Pictures. It grossed $14 million worldwide and received critical acclaim for its music and Hepburn's style and performance, being nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Hepburn, and winning two (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and Best Song for Mancini). The film also received numerous other accolades, although, Rooney's portrayal of I. Y. Yunioshi garnered significant subsequent controversy for being racist. In 2012, the film was preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.