One thing we'll never tire of are real-life tales of working with Faye Dunaway. The most recent tidbit comes to us from Rutanya Ald, the actress who played Carol Ann in Mommie Dearest. Before Ald makes a cameo appearance at the Castro Theatre this Saturday for a special screening of the cult Joan Crawford biopic -- most notable for wire hangers, child abuse, uneaten meat, and a revelatory performance by Dunaway -- she talked to the Bay Area Reporter about what it was like working on the set with Faye.
Turns out it was a living hell.
"People despised Faye," she tells the BAR. "Joan got her way in a ladylike way. Faye was despised because she was so rude to people. Everyone was on pins and needles when she worked, and everyone relaxed when she didn't. I wish Faye had learned from Joan."
Which is to say, Dunaway's behavior was so bad that she needed to learn manners from the bipolar, child-abusing actress whom she was portraying. Yikes. Doesn't get more damning than that.
No wait, it does!
Expressing how Dunaway "has no humor in her life," Ald went on to recall how the noted actress shut down production for an entire week and also "wanted a producer credit for her boyfriend Terry O'Neill, even though he had nothing to do with the film's production."
Over the years, Dunaway has made an odd, completely vain decision to eschew Mommie Dearest, which has not only become a cult classic but also an amazing film on its own. Granted, some of the dialogue is stilted and affected, but the entire production -- from Crawford carrying a plate of meat down an art deco staircase to her chilling rant in the Pepsi Co. boardroom -- is genius.
You can hear the Academy Award-winning actress's disdain for the film, among other things, in this infamous voicemail rant. Remember, journalists, she's not interested in "dilly-dallying" over Mommie Dearest. "I don't want to even discuss it in my interview," she will scream at you.
Mommie Dearest, with guest star Rutanya Alda (Carol Ann!), will be screened Saturday, May 11, 7:30 p.m. at the Castro Theatre (429 Castro), SF. Tickets are $15.