The worddivais grossly overused, both as a pejorative and a superlative.
Yet Faye Dunaway, the subject of a newHBO Max documentary, is atruediva.
She feuded, publicly and viciously, with Bette Davis, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Roman Polanski.
Photo: Terry O’Neill
Marcello Mastroianni never got over their love affair.
Would you be interested in my moms life story?
The two men planned to propose the project at a dinner in New York.
Dunaway and her son, Liam, in the early 1980s
A bit of luck the day of the meeting helped pave the way for the film.
In the morning, I had gone to a movie store in the village, Bouzereau says.
I saw thisLifemagazine from the 60s with Faye on the cover for the release ofBonnie and Clyde.
Dunaway at the Beverly Hills Hotel the morning after she won the best-actress Oscar for her performance inNetwork
So I bought it, and I had it in my bag.
We were having dinner with Faye, and I said, Do you remember theLifemagazine cover ofBonnie and Clyde?
Bouzereau took out the magazine, which Dunaway had not seen in decades.
She started crying, Bouzereau says.
I knew I had won her heart a bit.
(Kazan told Dunaway that she walked in a cloud of drama.)
The beauty came later for Dunaway, in her mid-20s, as the result of starvation and hydrogen peroxide.
Faye and I know that.)
From then, the actor took on roles in one critically acclaimed picture after another.
In the 1980s, however, Dunaways career began to falter.
As such, the interviews forFayewere handled delicately.
I could show you my notebooks, which are pretty intense, Bouzereau says.
It looks like something out of the brain of a scientist.
There were many case scenarios based on where she decided to dance with me.
The erratic behavior is down to the biological, physical realities, Dunaway says in the film.
Thank God there is medication.
(Adds Liam ONeill: If she wasnt in so much pain, would she be that good?)
Fussing, powdering, and preening, she remains every bit the star.
They either mirror or are worse than Faye, but it is not spoken about.)
Bouzereau promised Dunaway that he would show her the film as soon as it was finished.
He arranged a small screening, attended only by her son and a handful of producers.
He asked that she keep an open mind.
There was no sign that things would go well.
Everyone sits behind me, Dunaway commanded when she entered the room.
I dont want anyone in front of me.
As the film began, Bouzereau sat in terror.
At one point, Dunaway retrieved a notebook from her bag and started scribbling.
I think I aged about 20 years, Bouzereau jokes at the memory.
Then, after the credits rolled, the star stood and approached her director.
You really got me, she said.
After a long time in each others arms, he asked her what she was writing.
I was writing the names of people I want to thank, she said.
Fayeis now streaming on Max.
