May 1
Diva Dearest: Film Clip Shows Dunaway Ordering Crew Member to 'Please Leave'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Faye Dunaway's reputation for being hard to work with may just have been bolstered anew as a clip from the 1990s has emerged, showing the temperamental actor ordering a crew member to "please leave."
UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported that in the clip, filmed in 1996 as Dunaway was making a commercial, "Dunaway, now 83, can be seen ordering a crew member off set merely because she could see him."
The Mail rounded out the story, explaining that the ad was being made for Dunaway's "live stage show 'Master Class,' a play based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas..."
In the clip, "Dunaway glares at an unseen crew member behind the camera lens and says: 'Could you leave please, you're right in my eyeline.'"
Other snippets from the same shoot have also come to light, including one in which Dunaway carps at a crew member for calling, "Action!" before she is ready.
"Mo you cant do that," Dunaway snaps, "we have to get set, you have to wait and let me give you a sign." Shortly afterwards, still snippy, she demands, "What's going on? I'm not ready?"
"The behind-the-scenes clips have delighted fans of the star," the Mail relayed, recalling that one of Dunaway's most famous roles is that of Joan Crawford in the film "Mommie Dearest," an unintentionally campy movie – and much beloved because of that – which depicts Crawford as an abusive parent.
The clips are part of "Faye," a new documentary from HBO, the writeup detailed, adding that the doc is set to be screened at Cannes. Dunaway, the report noted, is expected to be in attendance.
"Faye," the Mail went on, "will walk through the highlights of Dunaway's career including her landmark roles in 'Bonnie and Clyde,' 'Chinatown' and 'Network.'"
Dunaway was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress for both "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Chinatown," but it was her third nomination in the category, for "Network," that netted her the gold.
Dunaway was sued in 2019 for allegedly harassing an assistant with homophobic slurs, including having called him "a little homosexual boy."
Dunaway has long had a reputation for erratic behavior. Her antics reportedly caused her dismissal from the Broadway production of "Tea at Five" earlier the same year.
"It is unclear whether the actress will address her lengthy string of controversies in the film," the Mail reported of the upcoming doc.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
