From documentarian Lauren Greenfield comes THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, a tale of the Siegels' American Dream which collapsed with the real estate market.
The American Dream is a beautiful thing, unless you build your empire on the back of a bubble only to have that bubble burst. So goes the rise and fall of the Siegel family, captured by documentary director Lauren Greenfield in The Queen of Versailles. Billionaire David Siegel and his wife Jackie (30 years his junior) built a 90,000 square foot mansion upon the shifting sands of the real estate market. When that market collapsed, the Siegels were in the same boat as the rest of us (more or less). The new trailer evokes a few laughs, a heap of frustration and just the slightest whisper of sympathy. Hit the jump to check it out, along with a poster featuring Mrs. Siegel and the monstrous $100 million mansion. The Queen of Versailles opens July 20th.
Here's the official synopsis for The Queen of Versailles followed by the trailer and poster:
Directed by lauded
filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield, who won the U.S. Directing Award for Documentary Film at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for this film, The Queen of Versailles is a character-driven documentary about a billionaire family and their financial challenges in the wake of the economic crisis.
With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, the film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. The film begins with the family triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis. Major changes in lifestyle and character ensue within the cross-cultural household of family members and domestic staff.
