For the past five years, Lily Collins has been dazzling those of us with a Netflix subscription with her lead role on the ever-popular Emily in Paris, a role that has cemented her place in pop culture. At some point in the near future, the talented and charming actress will take on the role of a Hollywood legend when she plays Audrey Hepburn in a new movie about the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's, one of the best rom-coms of all time.
This isn’t a remake of the timeless classic that gave us unforgettable characters like Holly Golightly and Paul Vajrka, and Cat, but instead a behind-the-scenes look into the making of what could be considered one of the most important movies of the 1960s. I am so excited to see this, but I just need to know how they’re going to handle one problematic character
I’m A Big Fan Of ‘Behind-The-Scenes’ Movies, And This Is No Different
Whether it’s something like Saturday Night’s chronicling of the first episode of Saturday Night Live or The Disaster Artist exploring the roots and fallout of The Room, I love me a good “behind-the-scenes” movie. That’s what has me so excited for Lily Collins upcoming film about Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Not a lot about the project was revealed when Deadline first reported on its development in February 2026, outside of the fact that Alena Smith is adapting Sam Wasson’s book, Fifth Avenue, 5 AM: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, but that’s not dampening my excitement. With the movie being a cultural touchstone and Hepburn being one of the biggest and most influential stars of the 20th century, there’s so much I can’t wait to explore here.
From the early stages of its development (the movie was based on Truman Capote's novel of the same name) to finding its Holly Golightly to working with one of the best movie cats of all time, I’m coming up with dozens of scenes that the movie needs to include. However, despite all that excitement, I have one question…
How Are They Going To Handle Mickey Rooney’s Mr. Yunioshi?
Let me get this out of the way… I’m not trying to knock the late Mickey Rooney down a peg or two (he was a legendary entertainer with one of the best track records), but the Mr. Yunioshi character, Holly’s Japanese neighbor, has long been considered one of the most offensive racial stereotypes ever captured on film. I mean, just watch any of his scenes from the movie, and you’ll see what I mean by this. Even back when the film premiered in 1961, outlets like THR wrote that “the role is a caricature and will be offensive to many.”
From what I’ve gathered, the character was handled much differently in Capote’s original novel, so I’m interested to see how this whole dynamic is handled in this “making of” movie. At what point did the character become a buck-toothed racial stereotype, and what was the reaction to it like on set? These are questions I need answered.
This one is still very much in the early development stages, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens next and if the whole Mr. Yunioshi situation is addressed
