06/11/2024
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Fantine's assault by a rejected customer in the novel "Les Misérables" is based on an actual incident from Victor Hugo's life that resulted in Fantine's creation: he was on his way to his editor's office when he encountered a young man harassing a pr******te. When she rejected his advances, he shoved a handful of snow down her dress and shoved her to the ground. When she defended herself with her fists, he immediately called the police to arrest his "assailant". Hugo was a minor celebrity at the time, and spoke up on the woman's behalf when the police arrived, and was able to have her set free. Hugo said he was horrified by the unfairness of the woman's situation, and began to imagine that she might have children depending on her, and thus Fantine appeared in his mind.
In the 2012 film, Anne Hathaway actually allowed her hair to be cut very short for the scene where Fantine's hair is cut. Her male hairdresser was put in a dress to double as the haircutting woman, actually cutting Hathaway's hair on set.
Though cut from the theatrical edit, Hathaway insisted that she perform a single stunt that involved Fantine's co**se being thrown from a window into a waiting cart. Tom Hooper and the producers had already hired a stunt woman and were hesitant to allow Anne to make the fall. Anne was able to convince them to let her perform the stunt when she stated, "Don't make me say it... guys, I'm Catwoman." (from "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012))
Hathaway's first exposure to the role of Fantine was in 1987 when her mother, Kate McCauley Hathaway, played the role in the first U.S. tour of the musical. Despite prominent billing, Hathaway only has fifteen minutes of screentime, and her character dies 43 minutes into the film. (IMDb)
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