All language subtitles for faye

Can we shoot?

We need to shoot! I'm
here now, come on!

I really would like to shoot.
I really... I'm sitting here,

- I really would like to shoot.
- Laurent Bouzereau: Yes, we are.

Okay. Uh,

- you tell me when you're ready, Faye.
- Ready.

Are we rolling?

We're rolling.

Here's the amazing thing.

Today is March 29th.

Now, on March 29, 1977,

- you took this picture.
- Oh, wow.

Yeah.

Show the picture to camera.

It's exactly 45 years ago.

Wow. It's an awfully long time.

When you look at
this picture today,

what do you see?

Well, I remember the moment.

I had won the Oscar for
"Network" the night before,

and closer to 5 o'clock,

Terry O'Neill tried
to persuade me

to come to the pool at
dawn when the sun came up

because he didn't want a
traditional kind of picture

with the actress standing
with the Oscar and that.

But he staged this.

What I loved is that,

"Is that all there is?" was
kind of the theme to it.

Because at my feet are all
of the morning newspapers

announcing the wins and also
a posthumous Peter Finch Oscar

because he passed away
three months earlier.

So, it was bittersweet and
this is a classic place,

Beverly Hills Hotel
and swimming pool.

So anyway, it was
an amazing night.

It was really crazy.

Very, very, um, memorable.

Do you know me?

Well, uh,

I think I would've remembered.

Have we ever met?

Faye Dunaway in one word...

"un-dismissible."

Well, I'm Miss Bonnie Parker,

and this here is
Mr. Clyde Barrow.

We rob banks.

Faye's a legend, an inspiration,

a force of nature,

a literal

and absolute genius

of an acting artist.

And Faye is my chum.

It's a funny, dirty, little job.

Alchemy.

It's the relationship
between a lens and a face.

You can't pigeonhole
her as a movie star.

You see a Faye Dunaway movie,

and you see something
completely different.

You don't see Faye Dunaway.
You see Bonnie Parker.

You see Laura Mars.

You see Wanda Wilcox.
You see Joan Crawford.

Hollywood royalty.

Mesmerizing.

You know, it's very rare
that you get somebody

who's so striking-looking
that's got acting chops.

And she had a confidence because
Faye knew she could bring it.

- I'm scared!
- So am I!

- What are you scared for? You've got the gun!
- Yes!

My mom is a very strong woman,

and I think that's
one of the reasons

why she was so good at acting

is because she would
keep her emotions inside.

And then when she had to act
a scene, she would let it out.

I told him, Lou!

I've been telling him
every day for a week!

I am sick of telling
him! Now, you tell him!

If you go back

and you watch all
of my mom's movies,

I think she's all of
her characters in one,

in real life because she
put a little bit of herself

into every character,

and she put a little bit of
her character into herself.

I was never arrogant that way.

I knew I needed a
look, and I got one.

Faye Dunaway in one word?

Complicated.

Who's one of the worst
people you know in Hollywood?

That I worked with?

Or that you wouldn't wanna
work with again. If...

One million dollars,
Faye Dunaway.

Everybody you can
put into this chair

will tell you exactly
the same thing.

You will read people

with their superficial
comments about Faye.

She's volatile, she's
difficult, temperamental,

aggressive. Yeah, well,

that's also true.

But she's equally fastidious,

caring, deeply caring,

and she has an eye

and a temperament for detail
that I think tips that balance

into what people call difficult.

And I think before you start
to make superficial judgments

about someone like Faye,

you have to look
deeper at the artist.

This is the worst
seat in the world.

I'm not happy with
anything here.

I wanna sit at an angle.

I don't wanna sit straight on.

So the shoulders are there?
Does that look better, darling,

- or shall I come straight like that?
- No, looks nice.

It's the work, you know?
It takes what it takes.

People think it's simple and,
"Oh, this and that. Be real."

But there's so many details.

I do a makeup, and I do a hair.

You know, you have to
get there early enough

till you have the exact time.
So, if you get there there,

and you don't have the time,
you're nervous and frantic.

If you come early you
have your preparation,

you have an organization.
It's just a lot of stuff

that has to fit
together like a puzzle.

I need a glass of
water, not a bottle!

Got it. Hold on.

And it's supposed
to liberate you.

And it's difficult because
it's tense, all of it.

- Alright, Faye, put down the book.
- Speaker: Put down the book.

In a minute!

So, now you see what it is

about me.

Not easy.

It's not easy, but
it gets the results.

We'll see, we'll see.

I just seem to always have
wanted to be an actress,

or I always knew that that's
what I wanted to pursue anyway,

you know, from a very
early age in the South

when I was 5, 6 years old.
And I'd always grown up

feeling that I could achieve

what I wanted to achieve
if I worked hard enough.

I mean that is, in fact, the
American dream, isn't it?

I was born Dorothy Faye Dunaway

on January 14, 1941.

Dorothy Faye is the little
girl with brown hair

who stood in the middle of a
dirt road in Bascom, Florida

and played hopscotch
and mother-may-I.

But I haven't been Dorothy
Faye for a long time.

She might've been written
out of the script.

We hope not, right?
She hasn't been.

She's very important to me,

and that's who I wanna
go back to sometimes.

But, Faye is someone that
perhaps I have created.

It's a persona that is
related very much to my work.

It's specific to my career.

That's the actress, I suppose.

And Dorothy Faye is that
little girl from the South.

That still is a deep part of me,

and I have to stay close to

because she's, you know,
integral to who I am.

My mother and my father,

they were young
when they married,

and I don't think they had
a very good relationship

because he had the
disease of alcoholism.

True, serious illness,

and he wasn't
bringing money home.

He might've been drinking
too much even then.

So, my mother sent a letter
to the War Department,

asking them to draft my
father, and they did.

He was a cook. He
worked in the kitchen.

And they sent the check
to her every month,

and we were able to pay off
bills and pay off the house.

But, my mother had a great
sense of doing things right

and also taking things
into her own hands

when they didn't work.
That's what I learned

by being with her and
seeing how she operated.

And that's what it takes
to make things work.

My mom was very close to Grace,

and we would go to her little
farm in South Carolina,

and my mom was always trying
to, like, take care of her.

I've always been close with her.

I mean, she taught
me everything.

She had backbone, and
she fought very hard

in a very difficult life
with very little money,

and difficulties with my father.

And my mother
always wanted more.

So, she taught me to achieve.

She taught me to do the
best, to get straight A's,

to work hard, no matter what.

And I'm glad that she did.

But it was also
pretty demanding.

I was trained to be
the best, and I was.

I got some... an
idea in my mind,

and I was gonna try to
achieve it. That's my mother.

- We'll start with that guy.
- Oh Lord.

Well, this is me and my
beloved brother, Mac,

the sweetest boy in the
world, except for Liam.

I always thought
he was so sweet,

and I was such a kind of
go-getter, after my mother,

that I felt guilty and I felt
I wish I were more like him.

My brother, his name
was Mac Simmion Dunaway,

and he's younger than
me, two years younger,

and he was, I thought,
a lot sweeter than me.

But I envied that.

I envied that he was so
lovely and charming and sweet.

I was with him at his bedside
just before he passed,

which I'm happy about.
I'm glad that I was there.

He just had contracted
some kind of illness

without us really expecting it.

Heartbreaking that we lost him.

He was a wonderful
man, had a great life.

This one was
interesting, I think,

'cause I'd never seen it before,

and there's no time or date
or anything like that...

Absolutely, that is what it
is. It's Mannheim, Germany.

It's when my father was
stationed in Germany,

and we were outside
one of the parks there.

And my brother and my father

are standing exactly
the same way.

You can see. Sweet. Very sweet.

He was stationed
there in the Army,

and we spent two years there.

The time pattern of my life
was established very early

when we began to travel
with my father in the Army.

Every two years, he was
transferred somewhere else,

and we went from Florida

to Arkansas and Texas,

and then to Germany,

and back to Utah which
is dreary and very arid.

And it was a rhythm that
was not pleasant sometimes.

It was painful because you had
to pick up and leave friends

and people that
you loved and knew,

and there was no
kind of holding on.

No kind of... It was...

I don't think it's
good to do that

but, I mean, I liked
it at the time,

mostly because there
was something new,

and I was always curious,

and I always wanted
to see new places.

But it was a mixture. It
was both bad and good.

I'm interested to know at
what point you got interested

in acting, and decided,
or had a vague decision,

- at least, to be an actress.
- I, I can always remember, you say, a very vague,

a-an unspoken kind of
leaning towards it.

I always did plays.
I always played games

where I was acting or dressing
up and things like that.

There was neighborhood
playhouses,

and I auditioned when I was 13

for the part of Nurse
Kelly in "Harvey."

And I played that in this
neighborhood playhouse

in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah,

which was an Army base
where my father was.

That was something I did because
I was interested in that.

I was always interested in that,

but that was parallel
to my family experience,

which was painful.

The marriage had crumbled.
It was falling apart,

and the acting was a way to
escape from the difficulties

that existed in my family
life, in my home life.

I mean, it was hurting
us as well, the children,

so my mother wanted a divorce,
and we went back to Florida.

Did you have a happy
childhood or an unhappy one?

- I read a bit about it...
- Both, really. Not-Not terribly.

It was, um, it was...

Well, there was a divorce in
the family when I was older,

but the childhood
itself was, was, um,

not particularly unhappy.

I remember that my relationship
with my mother, for example,

was very close, you know? It
was not until really my teens

that there was the divorce,

and that certainly
is an adjustment

because that is difficult
emotionally, and I imagine,

financially, it was a
bit less of an easy life.

We lived in Tallahassee,

and I went to Leon High School.

Tried out to be a cheerleader,
became a cheerleader.

There was a drama club as well,

and I had a couple of roles
in the productions there.

After I graduated,

I went to Florida State
University for one year,

and then I transferred to
the University of Florida

because I had a
boyfriend who was there.

But winning a beauty contest
was de rigueur in the South.

This is a very important
thing. You had to win one.

You had to win one.

And I tried a number of times,

and I was always
runner-up to May Queen,

six votes that I didn't
get, that someone else got.

And then, when I finally
became Sweetheart of Sigma Chi,

my darling boyfriend
at that time,

Eugene Page, who's no longer
with us, unfortunately,

he was part of this,

and when I won that,
I thought, that's it.

I've done it now.

And in spite of the fact that

Gene and I were very close,

I had to go and live my life.

I had to go and do
what I wanted to do,

to be an actress. And so,

I then researched
and found a school

that was interesting because
it was Boston University,

and it had visiting directors
from the New York stage.

So I got accepted, and I
went to Boston University

just after I became
Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.

Okay, what's next?
Ah. This is...

I think it's a...
some kind of Roman...

It's me playing Medea

when I was in college,

and that's the chorus
and that's the gladiator.

That's a play production that
I was in when I was young.

Were you a terribly
ambitious young girl

when you were a teenager
that got you out

- in this crazy business in the first place?
- I had a lot of desire.

And a lot of, um, energy.

And a lot of, um, you know,

determination to do good work.

Did you ever get
down and frustrated,

didn't think you
were gonna make it,

or did you always know
that you had that goal set

- and you were gonna make it?
- All the time!

Every day down and
frustrated and, you know,

had to pull yourself up
and talk to yourself,

and I think that there's a
lot of character building

and strength that goes
into, when one is fearful

and when one takes
on a large task.

Six days after I graduated
from Boston University,

I went on Broadway in New York
to play with Emlyn Williams

in "A Man for All Seasons,"
and, at the same time,

I worked in the training program
for Lincoln Center Repertory.

‘Cause Robert Whitehead, the
great producer, with Kazan,

had seen me play
things up in Boston.

Faye was in the company of
Lincoln Center led by Kazan,

and everybody wanted
to be in this company.

You had to audition for it.

But, to be in the
company you had to spend,

almost eight or nine months
in the training program.

We didn't think about
going to Hollywood.

We were thinking about
being on the stage,

and so we were in an
extremely exciting

and enviable place
by being with Kazan.

What do you think of the
new Lincoln Center group?

Well, I must think a lot of it.
I've worked a long time on it.

We've brought this
bunch together,

and it's a very exciting group.

Very fresh and young, eager.

And, uh, high-spirited.
Wonderful group of people.

- You mean the actors, don't you?
- Yeah.

Kazan would locate the
part within the actor.

That was his secret. He
said, "The material I use

is the life that the actor
has led up to this moment."

Kazan taught me how to act.

He taught me my feelings
were my strength.

I used to think they
made me look weak

and that I was weak if I cried
or felt sad or depressed.

And he taught me to
use those feelings.

He says, "They're who you are.

They make you strong.
They don't make you weak."

You know, when you
meet little girls,

and they wanna be an actress
like you when they grow up,

- what do you tell them?
- Get a good education.

Become a person.

And education is a
big part of that.

And then, when you can bring
something to the profession,

come in. But don't
come out saying,

"Oh, I wanna be an actress
and get in front of a camera,"

because a million other people
will be there before you,

or simultaneously,

and it's just not the way
that it's gonna happen.

You have to develop
your own uniqueness.

I was getting a salary
on Broadway at that time,

but it wasn't that much.
But I was a young actress.

I was auditioning for things.
I finally got "Hogan's Goat."

This was written
by William Alfred,

who became my great
mentor and friend.

And it was Off-Broadway,
but it was a beautiful role

and written in blank verse
with an Irish accent.

Daughter of a mighty Father,

maiden patron of the May,

angel forms around thee gather,

Macula non est in te.

My mom in her 20s,

she really turned more
of parental guidance

to William Alfred,

who she had met
on "Hogan's Goat."

He was a professor at Harvard.

He was also a writer,

and they kind of just bonded.

I remember there's a
picture of them together,

and they're just literally
at two ends of the desk,

and there's just like a
typewriter in the middle,

and you can see
they're just working.

And that was their relationship.

And he would always read books,

so he got my mom into
more reading and learning

and educating herself, and being

a master of her craft.

Bill Alfred was my
father, basically.

My father in art.

I would always go up
there with my scripts,

and we would sit
in his living room,

and he would fiddle and say,

"Well, this is what maybe the
playwright was thinking about."

So, he helped me enormously,
and he showed me how to work.

But the play, "Hogan's
Goat," was a surprise hit.

You know, everyone
came to see it.

Jackie Onassis came one night.

And the reviews were very
good. Not just for me,

but for the play as well.

That's when Hollywood
came knocking.

And the casting
director, Joyce Selznick,

was in the audience,

and she recommended
me to Sam Spiegel,

who was a very big
Hollywood producer.

He had produced
"The African Queen,"

"On the Waterfront"
with Marlon Brando,

"Lawrence of Arabia,"
and he became a friend.

Platonic. Never... There was
never any romance between us,

but he believed in me, and
he put me into my first film,

"The Happening."

Are you scared?

Yes, I'm scared.

I don't think you're
really scared yet.

It was glorious! You kidding?

I was in shape.

I used to do 100
sit-ups every morning

because I had these bare
midriff things I had to wear.

It was the first film
I did. Can you imagine?

A young actress in this
world of movie-making,

which is glamorous
and thrilling.

You and Rad made up your minds
to go and sell the place?

- You're gonna have to talk to Rad about that, Henry.
- Okay.

Only I hope you folks
don't wait too long.

In "Hurry Sundown," I
played the farm wife.

Jane Fonda played the wealthier
wife with Michael Caine

that I wanted to play,

but I got the role of
the poor Southern woman

who was with John Phillip Law.
But I took it also because

it reminded me of my mother.

And the role of the
farm wife was something

that I knew from my grandmother
when I was growing up.

And it was a good
experience in the end.

Good afternoon. This
is the Barrow gang.

Now, if everybody will just take
it easy, nobody will get hurt.

"Bonnie and Clyde,"

in its preparation and
in its preproduction,

was really a kind of men's club.

It was written by Robert
Benton and David Newman.

Arthur Penn was the director.

Warren Beatty was the
star, but also the producer

and the kind of driving force
in wanting to get it made.

But, they waited to cast

quote-unquote "the girl."

Who's the girl gonna be?

I went to the Beverly
Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles

‘cause that's where
Warren had a suite

in the very top of the hotel,

and Arthur Penn was there. And
we auditioned in the suite,

and I read some scenes
of "Bonnie and Clyde."

And Arthur basically said
he wanted me to do it.

Warren was less sure,

but, in the end, Arthur Penn
committed himself to me.

He actually told Warren
that if I didn't play it,

he wasn't gonna do it.

It was Penn who insisted
on Faye Dunaway.

Although the other actresses
being considered included

Jane Fonda, Tuesday Weld,

Natalie Wood, Leslie Caron,

and, my, my, the film
would've been different

with any of the other actresses

because of a special sensibility

that Faye Dunaway
brought to that part.

I mean, I was a Southerner.

You know, I mean, you
saw in "Bonnie and Clyde"

that I was home free.

And the accent is a part of it.

Oh, big Clyde Barrow!

You're just like your brother!

- Uh-huh!
- Ignorant, uneducated hillbilly!

Listen, the only
special thing about you

is your peculiar ideas
about love-makin',

which is no love-makin' at all!

"Bonnie and Clyde,"

the studios didn't like it.
They didn't wanna show it.

And Warren, at one point,

in Warren's inimitable way,

laid right down on
the floor and says,

"Sell me the picture."

And they said, "Oh, get
up from the floor, kid.

Get... What are you
talk... Get up."

And he didn't. He just
stood there, said,

"Sell me the picture. I'll be
back with a check this afternoon."

He left. Well, you know,
they then are saying,

"Oh, God, he showed it to Fox.

"Or he showed it
to another studio.

And they're
interested, and now..."

So, it worked.

"Bonnie and Clyde" came
out in the summer of 1967,

but it took five or six months

before the movie really
started to take off

and be popular
across the country.

And that was right at
this interesting moment

when everything in old
Hollywood was falling apart.

The production code, which had
governed the content of movies

for many decades, had
finally been dismantled.

So, there was
suddenly this window

when you could have
very adult movies.

But nobody, including the people

who were making the movies,

knew quite how far
those movies could go.

With "Bonnie and Clyde,"
you got the sense that

the Band-Aid had
been ripped off.

All of a sudden, you saw...

anguish. Real anguish.
You heard about

Clyde's sexual impotence.

You saw her intensely frustrated

and lonely,

and her humanity validated.

But also, her sadness,

and that was not
something we'd seen before

with that kind of frankness.

How long did it take them to
shoot you up the way they did

in, uh, in the end of
"Bonnie and Clyde"?

Yeah, it was incredible.

It took, um... I
think we did it...

I think we did it
twice, on two days,

and there were about four
cameras going on each one.

That was incredible.

The shootout and the death scene

was shocking, and part of
it was that you liked them.

And it was echoing something

that was going on
across the country.

In '63, President
Kennedy was assassinated,

and then a few years later,
his brother, Robert Kennedy,

running for President,
was assassinated,

and Martin Luther
King was assassinated.

Those were also
incredibly turbulent times

and very frightening

because it just
felt like everything

that we had been told and
everything we had known

was being turned upside down,

and I think "Bonnie and Clyde,"
in this very seductive way,

just brought that right
into the movie theater.

This is Faye's
first time in Paris.

Will you tell us just shortly,
uh, your stage experience?

Three years stage
experience in New York

with the Lincoln Center
Repertory Company.

Two years with that,
one year on Broadway.

As a result of this fame

that came as a result
of "Bonnie and Clyde,"

it was a very frantic
and hectic time.

I don't have anything against
fame, but it can be difficult

because you don't have a
lot of privacy sometimes.

But, it's something that I
accept and am grateful for

because there are
people who like my work.

When one becomes successful,
it's an opportunity.

- It's a freedom, really. Success is freedom.
- Yes, of course, it is.

You can choose
what you wanna do.

You can choose what's
most exciting for you.

Bonnie and Clyde are
very big here in France,

and they have been
for a long time,

even though the film has
only just now arrived.

The French have for months been
buying Bonnie and Clyde songs,

neckties, hats, dresses,
car accessories.

People came in costumes
of the American 1930s

to see the Paris
premiere of the film

and to see its stars, Faye
Dunaway and Warren Beatty.

Her look, which really did spark

a major fashion trend,

was intentionally anachronistic.

Because if you look at pictures
of the real Bonnie Parker,

she did not look like
Faye Dunaway. And so,

this was a highly
stylized, visually,

highly romanticized version

of Bonnie and Clyde,
which was appropriate

because this is partly
a movie about celebrity

and about seeking celebrity.

And that part of
the story is true.

Come on, smile. Hey...

The look for Bonnie
was established

by Theadora Van Runkle.

She was a great friend of
mine for many, many years,

and she was a divine
costume designer.

And so, after Bonnie, she
did "Thomas Crown" for me,

with these very short
miniskirts and ruffly things.

And this woman, very
feminine, but very aggressive.

Alright, Eddy! I'm immoral!

So is the world! I'm
here for the money, okay?

My character was a
private investigator,

and she was a dresser.

She did these incredible looks
every time she was in public,

and that was just
the choice we made.

In a lot of my films,

the clothes have
created statements.

I know what I am.

Don't put your
labels on me, Eddy.

The story of "The
Thomas Crown Affair"

is about Thomas Crown,
played by Steve McQueen,

and he has these guys rob
a bank, and, of course,

it's the quote-unquote
"perfect crime."

And the insurance company,

they send this high-powered
insurance investigator

to help the Boston Police.

And that insurance
investigator is Faye Dunaway,

Vicki, and, of course,

they both are very intrigued
by each other to put it mildly.

Whose head are you after?

- Yours.
- Mine?

Yours.

She's very much of the moment.

It's the '60s.

The women's movement is
coming into the forefront,

so she's this independent woman

who was so cool and
so self-possessed.

Nobody who's ever
seen that movie

would argue that
perhaps the chess game

is the most erotic piece
of filmmaking ever made.

Do you play?

Try me.

And there's not a word spoken!

It's just chess moves.
It's fingers. It's looks.

It's a chess game!

But, she and Steve McQueen,

they play it so well
that it is a silent game,

and it's all in the looks,

and, boy, does that work.

And you know she's in control.

Check.

He and I had a wonderful
chemistry, actually,

because he was an
actor for sure,

but he was also Steve.

He had a persona that was
something that defined him

perhaps more than this
quote-unquote "acting."

There's a story
that Steve McQueen

disparagingly referred to her

either as Dun-fadeaway

or Fadin'-away.

Because she was thin.

She was, like, disappearing
and losing weight.

There's a big demand that
you be very, very, very thin.

And that you fit everything.
And that you look great.

And you get a half
an hour for lunch,

from the time they break,

to you eat, go to the
toilet, brush your teeth,

and get back on set.

Absolutely, there is much
more pressure on a woman.

The clothes are very demanding.

But, you're going at such a pace

you don't have time
to eat very much.

Sharon Stone: In truth,
you just don't get to eat

three healthy meals a
day and fit the clothes

that come off the runway.

You just really don't.
And Faye and I know that.

All the great photographers
photograph Faye

'cause she is a fashion icon.

Jerry Schatzberg, of course,
photographed Faye beautifully.

They were an item in the '60s,

and are still great friends.

And he's a formidable
photographer

as well as director himself.

I got a call from "Esquire,"

and they said they would like
me to photograph a new actress.

And I was really
happy to meet Faye,

and we did some
wonderful photographs.

In the middle of the
shoot, she started crying.

And I thought maybe
I had said something,

but I couldn't
really tell at first.

I don't know. I think
probably I wanted

to have a vulnerability
for these stills

and, you know, you think of
something that is sad for you

and makes you cry.

Life is emotional, and
it's easy to tap into that.

The lunches we had
led to dinners,

and we just liked
talking to one another.

We started spending time.

After a while, she knew

that I was aiming to
get into making films,

and she started
asking me questions

about the film I was
working on. And that's how

we got started with "Puzzle
of a Downfall Child."

Would you want to take a
picture of me now, as I am?

Well, uh, I didn't
bring my camera.

No, but you would not
because I am imperfect!

I... My makeup has worn
off, I look horrible.

You know you look
wonderful though,

so you should stop knocking
yourself down like that.

I was in a play called "Huey,"

and Jerry saw me on that
and thought I would be good

for the role. But, of
course, he checked with Faye,

and Faye said, "Yeah, well
sure. That'd be great."

And Faye was so
gorgeous in the film,

and it appealed to her

because it was another
side of herself.

You know, couldn't think
of anything more different

than Bonnie in this part.

The character was
Lou Andreas Sand,

but it was based on a model
by the name of Anne St. Marie.

And she was a top, top
model. Just owned the city.

And Jerry's photographed
her many times.

She kept a list of photographers
she didn't like anymore,

and she would say that she
wouldn't work for them.

The camera gives
you 15, 20 pounds.

Thin as you are, may I suggest
you drop five or seven pounds.

Five or seven.

Certainly, the
character based on Anne

was very tortured by
relationships in the past,

and she had a lot of
darkness in her as well.

And, you know, it's
a difficult thing,

sometimes I would think,

coming to terms
with being a model,

because her whole
career was based on

how she looked through
a lens, a camera.

So, that was something
that was very akin

to what I experienced as
an actress in, in film.

I'm not adding up to
anything, am I, Aaron?

I'm not making any
sense, am I? It won't...

Yes, you are.

As a matter of fact,
there was a period of time

when you weren't doing too well.

Was that when you were ill?

I was able to relate
to this character.

I mean, who was it who said

I walked around in
a cloud of drama?

I think it was Kazan.

That you never know
what's gonna happen next.

It could be true, and I
was... had periods, you know,

where I was very depressed
and I was very moody

and actually have,
we might as well say,

a bipolar diagnosis.

It's a very real
thing. It's bipolar.

It's manic depressive

is another name
for this illness.

And it's an imbalance,
a biological imbalance.

You can be up high,
you can be manic,

you can be very depressed
is the other place to be.

So, I do have mood
swings, up and down.

And it was happening
early on as well, I think.

And they only
became more evident

as I grew later in my life.

Will you stop angering me?

My mom always had
depression issues,

bipolar issues,

but it wasn't until a
couple of years ago,

where I had watched my mom go
through, like, really hard,

hard times and hit rock bottom.

So, I kind of got to the point
where I said, "Hey, listen,

like, let's get you to
this clinic in Boston,"

where she went to
lectures and classes,

and they got her
on the right stuff,

and she came out like
a whole new person.

I worked with a group of doctors

who analyzed my behavior,
and who, who gave me

prescriptions for pills

that they thought
would be good for me,

and they have helped.
So, I am quieter,

but throughout my career,

people know that there
were tough times.

But I don't need to
make an excuse about it.

I'm still responsible
for my actions.

But this is what I
came to understand

was the reason for
them. It's something

you need to be aware
of, and you need to try

to do the right thing
to take care of it.

Unfortunately,

something happened in her
life that then, uh, we, uh,

had to break up.

Well, I went over to
Italy, and I did a film

with Mastroianni,

and, uh, I did fall
in love with him,

and we had a relationship
for a couple of years.

I would say if I'm
gonna lose somebody,

it might as well be to
Marcello Mastroianni.

I got the feeling
I'm a part of a plan.

I come out all alone.

But it's nice, anyway.
I don't say it isn't.

Marcello Mastroianni,

well, he was the king of Europe.

He was the most
famous actor in Italy.

Are you married?

Just about.

Is she in Milan? Do
you live together?

Yes, for a while now.

And, you know, we were together,

but he was married,

and it's tricky because in a
Catholic country like Italy,

you couldn't have divorce.

So, it had to be
backstreet. And I really...

Foolish girl.

I really kinda got
into it for a while,

I mean, because he
meant so much to me.

I would fly into
Fiumicino with a brown wig

and go to a place where we
had a person arranging things.

I mean, it was all
very, you know,

romantic and illusional.

Delusional perhaps.

It’s hard to say. You're young

and there are interesting
people that you meet.

And so, that was certainly
the case with him.

That was the way it was.

And then, finally,
it was too much.

Finally, I was
ready to leave it.

Marcello Mastroianni was
quoted in a woman's magazine,

saying the most extraordinary
things about you.

The most complimentary.

The most fantastic woman
he's ever known in his life.

Well, I think that's very nice.

I don't know, that's a
whole other can of peas.

- That you'd rather not open up.
- I think not.

Ah. Are you sad though

with the, the breakup
of that relationship?

No, I'm not at all.

And, uh... I mean, I am,

you know, in certain, certain...

Yes. Yes and no. I'm not...

Things happen as
they happen, I think.

I do have some kind of...

belief that it was...
what happened was right

and necessary for
him, as well as me.

He made a bit of a
furor there for a while,

but I don't think it was...

I think he's very well
now, and I think, you know,

we-we gained from
it. Whatever it was.

And that's all I'm
gonna tell you.

I've got sort of two-year
sequences in my life,

and I think that definitely
dates back to the time

when we were traveling
with my father in the Army.

Every two years, you know,
you had to pick up and go.

You had to leave the
friends that were there.

And I think I learned not
to be too close to people

because you're gonna
lose them anyway.

So, you may as well move away.

There's going to be an end,

and the end, I think,
was very painful for me.

And now, I think I... that still
is part of my life that way.

And I think that was a pattern
that was set up very early,

and I noticed in
my relationships

they lasted about two years.

You know, I could've
still been with Marcello.

In many ways, he was
the love of my life.

And also, I've always
been about work.

I need my work.
It fulfills me.

It makes me feel
good about myself.

And I feel a sense
of my own strength,

and I feel I can
achieve something.

So, to me, what I
need is my work.

I don't need, necessarily,
another person.

But I know it's wrong.

I know one should have
other people in one's life.

But, work was the thing
I could always turn to.

It was the thing that
never let me down.

It was what I did,
and it was solid.

I don't see anyone for
very long, Mr. Gittes.

It's difficult for me.

On "Chinatown,"

I was told to call Faye

to come out from New York to
LA to do wardrobe fittings.

And I said, "Hi, Miss
Dunaway. I'm Howard Koch,

"and I'm the first assistant
director on the movie.

"And just calling you
to say that, you know,

we need you out here next
week. We'll fly you out."

And then she said to me,

"You're Sagittarius,
aren't you?"

"Uh, yes."

She said, "Oh, we
won't get along."

Whoa.

Okay.

So, that was my
introduction to Faye.

You see, I'm Mrs.
Evelyn Mulwray.

You know, Mr. Mulwray's wife?

Not, uh, that Mulwray?

Yes, Mr. Gittes, that Mulwray.

What reputation did
she have at that point?

That she was difficult.

Faye was difficult but serious,
and a terrific actress.

That's the reputation.

There's no point in
gettin' tough with me...

I don't get tough with
anyone, Mr. Gittes.

My lawyer does.

"Chinatown" is a film
noir detective story,

and then it becomes
something so much deeper.

It's a story about
large-scale corruption

in a business-type sense,
and more importantly,

familial corruption.

The kind of horrors that people
in power do to the powerless.

And at the time, again,

it was tied into the things
going on in the larger world.

People have gotta know

whether or not their
president is a crook.

Well, I'm not a crook.

You see, it all happened at

the beginning of the Watergate.

When I came here,
it all started.

And during those eight
weeks, we were bombarded

by all news media with
what was going on.

And the parallels
were so obvious

that it obviously inspired us

to go more even
in this direction

and try to dig
into certain things

that had to do with Los
Angeles and its history.

They're blowin' these
farmers outta their land

and then pickin'
it up for peanuts.

You have any idea what
this land would be worth

with a steady water supply?

About 30 million more
than they paid for it.

It felt like everything you
thought was right was wrong,

and everything you thought
was moral was immoral.

And that feels even more
powerful and more relevant.

It was a mysterious woman, too,

which is fun to
play, first of all,

because I have to know what
she's thinking all the time,

and that particular
character nobody else knew

what she was thinking,

so that they easily
misconstru... mis-misconstrued

- what she was saying or doing.
- David Sheehan: Yeah, yeah.

As did Gittes, the
Nicholson character.

You've already got one
going, Mrs. Mulwray.

- Oh.
- Does, uh, my talking

about your father upset you?

Why, no.

Yes. A little. You
see, Hollis and my f...

my father had, um, a
falling out, finally.

Evelyn Mulwray was dynamite.
She was a great character.

You know, Roman Polanski
did a good movie.

We had difficult
times, he and I,

but he's a great film director.

There you go.

That's Polanski and
me in "Chinatown."

Roman the Terror.

But he thought I
was a terror also,

I'm sure, so... We had a
pretty complicated time.

Jack helped, though.

Nicholson being there
made all the difference.

For this particular movie,

it was all about the hair,
the makeup, the dress,

the whole thing of Mrs. Mulwray,

and she made it difficult
on all of us because...

and I'm sure you've
heard about Blistex.

When did you discover Blistex?

On my lips, I can't
speak without it.

Lee Harman, who was
our great makeup man,

had a tube of Blistex.

And between every shot,

he'd have to put
Blistex on her lips.

It was her security blanket.

But, for Roman and
for the rest of us...

Oy vey, what a pain in the ass.

‘Cause it took time,

and you wanna keep it rolling.

I remember this one time,
we're shooting in a restaurant

called the Windsor Restaurant.

It's a two-shot
of Faye and Jack,

and, originally, she
didn't have the hat on.

So, as we're about to shoot,

one hair on Faye's head

just stuck up.

So, Roman said, "Faye!
Faye, you have one hair!

Can you just, you
know, just..."

And Faye went, "Okay,
okay," and put it down.

And I said, "Okay, ready,
and..." And the hair popped up.

It was a very tense moment

and, you know, my hair
was deeply marcelled,

which means they have
to force it into waves.

And I have naturally curly hair,

so my hair doesn't wanna do

what another person
tells it to do.

And there was a
hair sticking up.

Susie Germaine, the
hairdresser, she comes in...

with the spray. Get it down.

"Okay, ready, and..."

The hair pops up again.

Roman literally walks around

and pulls the hair

out of Faye's head.

I've been around a long time.

Even then, I had been
around a long time.

I never heard some
of those words.

That's enough to set off
the manic depression.

I just... I said... I...

Well, it was offensive.
You don't do that.

So, I went to my trailer,
and it was a whole situation.

Finally, we got her
back to the set,

but Anthea Sylbert,
costume designer,

put a hat on her.

So, we started the scene over,
and she shot it with a hat on,

so we didn't have to worry
about the hair popping up.

Now,

I think you know all
you need know about me.

I didn't want publicity.
I didn't want to go into

any of this, then or now.

Is that all?

After that hair incident,
Jack nicknamed me.

"Dread," he called me.
The Dreaded Dunaway

was his name for me.

He still to this
day calls me Dread.

And I love it.

Now I wanna know how it happened

and I wanna know why and I wanna
know before Escobar gets here

because I don't wanna
lose my license.

I don't know what you
are talking about.

Th-This is the craziest,
the most insane...

Stop it!

One of the most shocking scenes

was the moment of revelation
that Evelyn Mulwray

had, in fact, been
raped by her own father,

and a child from that
relationship was her daughter

and her sister.

What's her name?

Katherine.

Katherine who?

She's my daughter.

I said I want the truth!

What we do in movies
is we usually do that

and that

and the hand comes quite
close, but it doesn't slap.

Well, it doesn't
work, of course.

I said finally to Jack,
"You're gonna have to slap me.

Just go ahead and do it." And
he said, "You sure, Dread?"

And so I said, yeah. So
then, we did it again,

and it worked.

She's my sister.

She's my daughter.

My sister, my daughter...

I said I want the truth!

She's my sister and my daughter!

Faye's such an
extraordinary actress

and her ferocious intent

with her characters was
something I really admired.

For a beautiful woman

to take a bite out of
characters like that

is so unusual and
so rarely offered.

Better get out of here!

Lena, it's me!

In the early '70s,

we are now making
films about women

who can be independent.

Women who are no longer
defining themselves

purely in terms of
being mothers and wives.

And that-that marked
the '70s, in society,

as well as on screen.

What good are you?

I'm your father, Lena.

So what?

You wanna read me
nursery rhymes?

It's a little late for that.

This was not somebody
who was typecast.

She was playing very
different kinds of characters

with very different looks.

Anything Faye Dunaway
was going to be in,

I wanted to see it.

I saw it happen.

With your own eyes?

In a nightmare.

The '70s was just
like a goldmine.

It was an incredible
time for film.

That's when things
started happening

in a major kind of way,

and the big one was "Network."

I want you to get up now.

I want all of you to get
up out of your chairs.

I want you to get up right
now and go to the window,

open it, and stick
your head out and yell,

"I'm as mad as hell,

and I'm not going to
take this anymore!"

When the script was sent to me,

I read it, and I said yes.

And everyone didn't
want me to do it.

They said she
didn't have a heart,

and she didn't have a soul.

She was a TV baby.
That's all she knew.

Television and ratings and
that's what made her tick.

I seem to be inept
at everything.

Except my work.

I'm good at my work.

So, I confine myself to that.

All I want out of life is
a 30 share and a 20 rating.

The script was by
Paddy Chayefsky,

and he was, I think, using
the character of Diana

and Faye Dunaway's body and soul

to critique what he saw as

the worst excesses
of television.

Namely that mentality that
we have to be number one.

We have to have all the profits.

Who cares who gets
trampled in the process?

We've got the number-one
show in television!

And at next year's affiliates
meeting, I'll be standing here,

telling you we've
got the top five!

Now, you're talking about

a multi, multi, multi-million
dollar industry.

As big as steel, as
big as electronics.

It's an enormous
industry. And right now,

it's an industry dedicated
to one thing, profit,

and the only responsibility they
have is to their stockholders.

- The interesting thing...
- And that, I think, is worth knowing,

that what you see on television

is what's getting
money for the network.

And it's not true.

I think it's necessary to expose

what that process is,

as it goes on in
contemporary times.

And it just seemed to me that

you had to play her. You
had to get it out there.

And Sidney Lumet was
a fantastic director.

And I had said to Faye,
when I first met her,

"I know what the first
question is gonna be from you,

"and that you're gonna ask me,
where is her vulnerability?

"And I'm gonna tell you
right now, she has none.

"And if you try to get any in,

I'll cut it out of the movie."

I've been telling you people

since I took this
job six months ago

that I want angry shows.

I don't want conventional
programming on this network.

I want counterculture. I
want anti-establishment.

David Itzkoff: Dunaway, at
this point in her career,

is, of course, an A-list star.

She was the first person to be
officially cast in the film.

She's already got
her Oscar nominations

for "Bonnie and Clyde"
and for "Chinatown,"

and an actor that Sidney
Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky

wanted very badly for this part.

This was essentially
a lone woman

working in a
male-dominated industry

who really had
power and control,

and was seeking more
power in her department.

I'm talking about a six
dollar cost per thousand show.

I'm talking about 100,
130,000 dollar-minutes!

Do you wanna figure out the
revenues of a strip show

that sells for 100,000
bucks a minute?

One show like that could
pull this whole network

right out of the
hole! Now, Frank,

it's being handed
to us on a plate.

Let's not blow it.

Women can be powerful, and
when they become powerful,

power corrupts.

And she proved the point.

Talk about equality for women,

she could be as mean
and single-minded

and devastating as any man.

And you know what? It was
kind of exciting to see that

as a young woman starting out.

I've heard it said by women
who have seen "Network"

that the, uh, character
you created in the picture,

uh, might set the woman's
movement back 50 years.

I have a very definite
opinion on that.

I think that for, for years,

uh, and I'm not actively
involved in the movement,

God knows I'm for it,

um, but what we've been
trying to get away from

is stereotypical
women's roles that,

that reflect an
inaccurate view of,

of what a woman really is.

Now, you cannot then
say, "Well, yes,

but she always has to
be nice at the end."

It's a kind of hypocrisy

which I don't think real
feminists are gonna feel.

Now, my task, I felt
the largest task I had,

I think, in this was
to infuse the role

with some sense of
what she is, in fact,

giving up and paying for it.

It was just very
important to understand

the lengths to which
she had developed

without normal human
emotions and decency,

and there was a way
somehow to let her soul,

or her lack of
soul, seep through.

And the moment I
think that happened

was with William
Holden at the end

where we're splitting up.

What exactly is it
you want me to do?

I just want you to love me.

I just want you to love
me, primal doubts and all.

I don't know how to do that.

I mean, that's
the look. It's...

"I can't.

Just can't."

I don't want your pain.

I don't want your menopause
or decay and death!

- I don't need you, Max! Now, get out of...
- You need me!

You need me badly.

You know, she was
tragic, in my view.

And that look, that's
a lost person in hell.

And she's not gonna get out.

And the winner is...

Faye Dunaway in "Network."

Well, I didn't expect
this to happen quite yet,

but I do thank you very
much, and I'm very grateful.

I would like especially
to thank Sidney Lumet,

Paddy Chayefsky,
Howard Gottfried,

uh, Danny Melnick,

and the great generosity

of a rare group of
actors, company of actors,

in particular William
Holden, Robert Duval,

and Peter Finch. Thank you.

Oh, that's wonderful. Oh!

And they set it up so everyone
can, like, partake in it.

Oh, that's amazing.

Margaret Roth:
That is so cool.

Ah...

Couple more. Maybe you're
looking, just like that.

Thirty minutes from
now, there are gonna be

a few hundred people in here
to welcome Faye Dunaway to

probably the most exhaustive
career retrospective

of her ex-husband Terry O'Neill.

And, of course, perhaps the
greatest shot of his career,

Faye Dunaway, the morning
after she won her Oscar.

My dad was a photographer.

He was born in England,

so he was just an English
guy through and through.

I guess his specialty was
putting someone in a place,

letting that person
be themselves,

and then taking the picture

because it directly
represents them

instead of someone
just setting it up.

I have a funny picture
that no one's ever seen

- that I took with, uh, Dad.
- What?

Before he died, we were visiting

the Beverly Hills Hotel,
and there's this huge sign

on the pool that says

"No photography
in the pool area."

And I got Dad to, like,
stand by the sign,

and just kinda do one of
those things holding a camera.

- It was just a great, great photo.
- That's lovely.

I always called Terry a
journalist with a camera,

not a pen.

You know, he needed a
photograph that told a story.

And he did that with
that photograph.

He actually persuaded
a major Hollywood star,

on the night that she
collects her Oscar,

to be poolside at 6:00
a.m. the next morning.

And he took 12 shots,

and off she went to bed
again. It took 15 minutes.

It, many times,
has been described

as probably the greatest
Hollywood shot of all time.

And it was very indicative of
Terry's need to tell a story.

He said, "The morning
after you're gonna wake up,

and your life will have
changed dramatically."

When my parents met,

my mom was married
to Peter Wolf,

who was a rock star
in the J. Geils Band.

My dad was also married
to a lady named Vera

who was an actress-slash-model.

They were both married,
both in relationships,

and they just kind of
sparked this interest.

I mean, I think that's how it
works most of the time, right?

Terry was taking
photographs of me,

and we kind of started
to get to know each other

and like each other.

Things had not been
working out with Peter

in terms of what we truly want.

He was younger than I was,

and we didn't want the
same things anymore.

And so, I ended it.

It was hard because I
had to kind of give him

the papers by surprise.

But, more than that, I
did want to have a child,

as part of a woman's experience.

Look at that.

Little... little baby pictures.

Yeah. This one. This is
great. This was way early on.

"Who's the best boy in
the world?" I used to say.

And he would say, "Me,
me." It's so nice.

I wanted you to talk to
us about being a mom.

Oh, God.

There is nothing that's
more, more important to me.

I don't know why. I was
most important to my mother.

She had her heart set
always on having a child,

and she planned for it,
and I don't know whether

I got that from her
as I was growing up...

I... It meant very much to me.

And there came a moment
where the work had taken over

to the point where it
was too late, really,

for me to have a child
in a biological sense.

So, I found my son, Liam,

and I adopted him with Terry,

and I was overjoyed, really,

when it evolved
the way that it did

because I certainly know

that he's everything
to me. Everything.

I never care to discuss my
adoption with my parents.

And my mom doesn't
like to talk about it,

especially in a business where
everyone is in your business,

or likes to think that they
can be in your business.

So I think that that's one
of things she kept to herself

and didn't want
everyone else knowing.

I wanted that to be
private and personal,

and I didn't want it to be
out there in all the world.

And I wanted to keep him safe.

That was my major priority.

And people still want to pry
about it and talk about it

and I don't see
the point in that.

And I don't choose to
reveal everything to people.

I was less than a week
old when I was adopted.

And to this day, I mean,

I don't know who my
biological parents were,

my birth mother, that's
what you call it.

But, to me, it's like a parent
is the person who raised you.

So, for me,

you grow up with your
parents. They're your parents

your whole life.
There's no one else.

My parents were married.

They did actually
get married in 1983,

three years after I was born.

And I grew up

and I split time between
London and New York City.

My mom had a place
in New York City,

300 Central Park West,

and my dad had a place in
London right behind Harrods.

I just remember it
always being busy.

There were always people
there. There were always people

hanging out, having a good time,

lots of laughing.

It was odd because
we would have people

come to the house to do things.

You know, instead of people
going out to get a haircut,

they would come into my house,
give me a haircut, because,

back then, they
were the megastars.

They couldn't just take
their kids to the park.

You can't do those
normal activities

without getting hounded by
people, much like today.

Many years ago, Joan
Crawford told a reporter

that of all the young
actresses on the way up,

only one had the
makings of a true star,

and that was Faye Dunaway.

- This is stuff that Dad took...
- What? Tell me.

That are Polaroids that
no one's ever seen before.

- And that we have about...
- Oh, my God.

Yeah. We have about
20 pages of ‘em.

- You do?
- Yeah.

- This is the Crawford stuff.
- Yeah.

- Wow.
- There's a funny story about...

- Tell me.
- Probably about 10 years ago.

We were looking
through Dad's archive.

He said, "Whoa-whoa-whoa,
wait. That picture's not mine.

"I never shot Joan
Crawford. I never met her.

I never... you know,
anything like that."

And Robin had to stop him

and he was like, "No,
no, no, that's Faye."

Like, it looked so
realistic and everything

- and he was just like...
- Yeah.

- Oh, that's wonderful.
- Didn't even remember it.

Do you feel, in
any way, a kinship

to Joan Crawford? Is she
anything like you are?

Oh, I feel an enormous kinship.

Enormous.

Um, "Is she like me?"
is a different question

because there are,
I think, in me,

to be honest, some tendencies.
I don't know. I'll have to...

I've never completely examined
that, but I can do that.

But, a kinship, yes.

We're ready for
you, Miss Crawford.

Before "Mommie Dearest"
and after "Mommie Dearest"

it's a different Faye Dunaway.

Let's go.

It's a different
conception of Faye Dunaway.

Throughout the late '60s
and throughout the '70s,

we're talking about one of the
most respected actors working.

So, there's no reason to
think that "Mommie Dearest"

would be anything other
than a rich, serious film,

exploring the life of
another Hollywood legend.

Come on. You've got
everything you want.

No, I don't. I want a baby.

A baby?

Yeah.

There are moments in your
life when things make sense

and it did at that time.

I'd just been married to
Terry, just had a baby,

and, somehow, that was,
financially, a good prospect.

It wasn't really, and it was
the wrong thing for me to do,

but it was one of the mistakes.

Darling?

Remember what I told you
about adopted children?

Adopted children are luckiest

- because they were chosen.
- That's right.

I feel like "Mommie Dearest"
was released 40 years too early.

Joan Crawford, her passing

was so recent when that
book was published.

Christina Crawford
was the first person

to ever write a tell-all book

about this Hollywood star

and what life was like
behind that glitzy curtain.

I don't want her growing
up a spoiled Hollywood brat

just because she's
Crawford's daughter.

Nobody had ever really
talked about those skeletons

because Hollywood
actors and actresses,

they were so protected,
and they were just idolized

as perfect human beings.

Now, we talk about
mental illness.

Now, we talk about child abuse.

Back then, it
wasn't talked about.

And to have this book come out

- that just reveals all of it was overwhelming.
- Ow!

You be quiet!

You're always rummaging
through my drawers,

trying to find a way to
make people look at you!

Why are you always looking
at yourself in the mirror?

Faye Dunaway is uncanny

in her performance as Crawford.

It's like watching a ghost
to see her on the screen.

But, "Mommie
Dearest" is basically

just a pointless record
of neurotic child abuse.

One of the most depressing
films in a long time.

I agree with you.
Well-made, but depressing.

The way the film has been
structured, you sit there

and wait for the beating scenes.

And when you're in the
audience thinking that,

you sort of feel lousy.

Everybody wants to make fun
of her for "Mommie Dearest,"

but you tell me how
you play that part.

And ask yourselves, was it Faye,

or was it the way
they shot the scene?

That wasn't Faye
Dunaway's error.

The joke is on the director.

The joke is not on the artist.

And if the director puts
the artist in that position,

shame on the director.

Don't fuck with me, fellas!

This ain't my first
time at the rodeo.

The woman lived her life
almost as grand opera.

She was performing while
she was having these rages,

in my judgment at
least, and, uh,

and so those were
conscious choices.

I would do 'em again.

Frank Perry didn't help
me shape the scenes.

I wish he had come in
and said, "Come on, Faye,

that's too far. Come
on. Pull it back."

I mean, I'm a professional.
I would've done that.

But, I got engrossed
in trying to achieve

what the script seemed
to be requiring of me.

And it might've kicked
into my bipolar,

this mania, this
irritation, this mood swing.

Carol Ann! I asked you to
keep the children quiet today!

Now, for Christ's sake,
get them out of the garden!

I'm sorry, Joan.

She was scary.
She's frightening.

I was on the edge of my
seat sometimes, thinking,

"Am I gonna get fired?"

And Frank would remind me,

"Don't do this, or
you're gonna get fired,"

from the beginning!
"Don't look so good,

"or I'm gonna have to fire you,

and I have no
control over this."

So, who was in charge?

I mean, it's a
terrible way to work,

thinking you're gonna
get fired at any time.

Rutanya Alda said that there was

like a fearfulness
of me on the set.

Well, that's because
the character

was written fearful, I suppose.

But I don't recall bad
things with Rutanya.

You know, sometimes I guess
I've been unkind to people

or seemingly cruel.

I haven't meant to be, and
it's not in my nature to be.

I don't willfully want to be.

I'm sort of led by

extremes of nature
sometimes, I suppose.

No... wire... hangers!

What's wire hangers
doing in this closet

when I told you,

no wire hangers ever?!

There were quite a few takes
of that particular scene.

I do remember a lot of
coverage on Faye Dunaway

because of that incredible
mask she was wearing,

and the lighting and those
eyes with that makeup.

You live in the most
beautiful house in Brentwood,

- and you don't care...
- Mommie!

If your clothes look
hunchbacked from wire hangers?!

Mara Hobel was the little
girl that I had to hit,

and I was crazy worried about it

and very sympathetic.

And I tried to make
sure she was alright,

and that we had done
it in such a way

that she didn't
actually get hurt.

It was a difficult
role. Very difficult.

Tina!

Bring me the axe!

I never felt afraid

during any of our
physical scenes together.

I trusted her immensely.

She was incredible to me.

It makes me sad that she...

doesn't have fond memories of...

doing "Mommie Dearest"
because I loved it.

At the time it came out,

it was perceived as a disaster

and it was something
that Faye Dunaway

had a really hard time

rebounding from, for
a very long time.

You have to give
Pauline Kael credit

for being one of the
few critics of the time

to really take that
movie seriously

and I always remember the line

that Pauline Kael wrote in
the "New Yorker" which is,

"You can laugh at the movie,
but you can't laugh at her."

That performance
by Faye Dunaway,

it absolutely should've been
her next Oscar nomination.

I actually paid money to see it

on one of the big
theaters on Broadway

when it opened. The
theater was full.

And then, people
started laughing.

And laughing and
laughing and I went,

"Whoa." I-I-I was shocked.
I didn't expect that.

But they thoroughly
enjoyed the movie.

They loved the movie.

They loved it in a whole
other way as it's become.

"Mommie Dearest" has
a life of its own

that has legs that
no one expected.

The film is now being shown

at a lot of places at midnight,

like "Rocky Horror
Picture Show," you know?

And that's wonderful.

Kids come, apparently, and
bring hangers and cleanser

and talk to the screen and...

- It's gonna get to be a cult film.
- Well,

that would be
wonderful, I think.

Throughout these 40 years,

it's so interesting
that one film can evoke

such a different
reaction out of everyone.

You know, some people see
it as this over-the-top,

outrageous, campy comedy.

What's wire hangers
doing in this closet?!

I can see that side of
that. I absolutely can.

On the other hand, I've also have
had people that have come up to me

and said that they
started watching it

and had to shut it off

because it reminded them
of their own childhood.

I've had people that
have said to me,

"It gave me the courage
to actually come forward

and say I was abused."

Do you feel you
made some mistakes?

- The things you chose to do?
- Mm...

I might take Crawford back.

But, I really wouldn't because
I did like her so much.

The only reason is because
she was very larger than life

and I wouldn't... I don't
want to be that myself.

And there's an inevitable
tendency of people,

who both work in the industry

and, and the audience,
to associate.

To think you're like
the parts you play.

Life is hills and
valleys sometimes.

You're not always gonna
be up there doing...

making the right
choices, being perfect.

You're gonna have
moments where you think,

"Why did I ever do that?"

So, that's something that

you can't control sometimes.

It is shocking, though,

to see that here was this
person who was so iconic,

her characters were so linked

to this 10-year period
of massive change.

And by the time the '80s
came around, that was over.

The world is at last my oyster.

You know, you had
the Reagan years.

It was a whole
different ballgame

and where was the place
for Faye Dunaway in that?

Look, I drink.

When I drink, I move
in a wrong direction.

My mom was an alcoholic.

She always used to say that

her drink of choice
was just a gin martini.

And she would drink them,
especially with William Alfred.

They used to have
martinis together.

She always jokes that,
you know, on her deathbed,

she's like, "Just bring
me a dry martini."

"One last one before
I go out" kinda thing.

But, when I was growing
up, I remember my mom

going to the alcohol
treatment centers.

And then slowly over
time, she got sober.

She got sobriety.

I mean, I went through a period

where I had problems
with alcohol,

as did my father. It's
an inherited thing.

I'm in program and have
been for about 15 years.

And I knew what that was like

because it had been
part of my experience

and that, I think, was
helpful when I did "Barfly."

When you run off like this,

I feel like you're trying
to get away from me.

Hey, baby.

I'm doin' this for us.

We'll be able to
drink with class.

We don't have to be barflies
right down to the grave.

I didn't wanna do the movie.

My grandfather, my uncle,

and my father

all drank themselves to
death before they were 50.

You know, my father drank
himself to death at 47,

and I met... I only met
him for the first time

the year before when he was 46.

So, I didn't wanna do a movie

where I was glorifying
being an alcoholic.

And Barbet Schroeder chased me
from New York to LA to London.

And then, when I met Faye,

it kinda changed
my mind a little.

I was very in awe of her.

I was kind of a
little intimidated,

and I don't get intimidated.

But, she'd been somebody
I did look up to,

and I don't look
up to very many.

I had never worked with anybody
who was like a legendary hero.

I can't stand people.

I hate them.

Oh, yeah?

What I would hear
through the grapevine,

"We got Faye Dunaway
and Mickey Rourke.

Which one of ‘em is
gonna explode first?"

‘Cause she had a
bit of a reputation,

and I, I imagine I
probably had one.

And people were waiting for...

that. And it never
fuckin' happened.

Pour me one, then.

Deglamorizing is always
interesting. You know?

You don't wanna play
these queens forever.

And to get human, to get real,

and, you know, I was
in very good hands

with Barbet Schroeder,
the director.

Mickey Rourke was
great to work with.

Very generous actor
that I liked very much.

But, it was a chance
for me to come back

in a vulnerable role as well.

I kept coming to
set on the testing,

and Barbet Schroeder,
who directed it, said,

"No, you still look too
good. The hair's too good."

So, we had to keep
working to bring it down.

It wasn't something
that I normally do

but if it's right for the
role, you wanna do it,

and you do do it.

You always start from
reality, you know?

And I went, first of all,
to a bar on 9th Avenue

where the world of
the film existed,

down to the fights, everything.

And the humor,
and the dancing...

But there was a woman
there who was very,

ironically, very like Wanda.

She had a tragedy in her life
that she never recovered from,

and yet she was very warm

and very funny and, you
know, very touching.

When Faye got to the set,
she was ready to go to work.

And so whatever I did, she
was right fucking there.

And she was there.

I could see the wheels
turning in her eyes,

in her expression,

in how she delivered
her next line.

Nothing ever works
right in this life.

She would always add

a little different
twist to each take.

We call that working
moment to moment.

It's alright.

Now, you knew Terry O'Neill.

Oh, I knew... Terry
and I were mates.

Terry was never afraid to
speak what was on his mind

‘cause he was just
a regular guy.

I loved Terry.

How did you meet him?

When I met Faye, he
was there at the house.

They were just at the end
of their relationship.

To be honest,

I don't remember my
parents getting divorced.

You know, I was about 7
when they got divorced,

so prior to their divorce,
they had been living separately

in London and New
York for years.

So, we would kind
of go back and forth

and my dad would
come to New York,

or I would go to
London with my mom.

But, it slowly kinda started
to dissipate over time,

so I probably only saw my
dad once or twice a year.

I would either go to London,

or if he was
traveling to New York,

I would get to see
him. So, I think,

even though they finally
got divorced in '87,

I think it was over for
a few years before that.

I don't know what
contributed to the divorce.

He was English, and I
didn't wanna live in England

completely. Not for full-time.

I love England, still.
It's a great way of life.

But, at a certain moment,

I was Faye Dunaway, and
I'm an American actress,

and there aren't many jobs

for an American
actress in England.

And if I don't work, I
don't feel at my best.

I just wanted to be
back in my country

and performing in my way.

Hi!

We're making Faye
ready for Tel Aviv.

She gonna look beautiful.

- You're touching your hair.
- The ends of the hair.

Yeah, just like this.

- When I do this...
- Okay, you got his hands?

Yes.

That's wonderful.

When it comes to actresses,

there was really
a big difference

with male actor.

It's great.

This is great.

In fact, one of
the biggest agents

once said to me,

he would rather represent men

because their career
is longer than women.

Women, as they head into 40,

you're not old enough
to play a grandmother,

and maybe now,

you're thinking that
you're not young enough

to be a love interest.

I'm looking for roles

that just touch the real issues

and the real feelings
that women have,

rather than this very
covered up, controlled,

exterior kind of persona.

And I felt that, um,

you know, having lived
in London for eight years

and being away from
my home, basically,

and I really was seeking and...

I'm developing roles of my
own, now that I'm producing.

I'm really looking for
women that are funny,

are vulnerable, are complex,

and that I have a chance to
develop all of those areas.

I wanted to start to
initiate my own projects,

and so I moved to
California in that time.

I lived on Linda Crest
Drive in Beverly Hills

with a white house, very pretty.

It has to do with producing,

you know, because this is a town

where, in fact, all the
business actually takes place.

And I kind of find
that interesting.

It's a, it's a community.

Kate Capshaw And now,
our final presenter.

Please let me introduce
the legendary Faye Dunaway.

There's a river of tradition

that runs through this
industry, and through time,

of actresses who take
on roles that challenge

the conventional wisdom
about who a woman is.

And Sharon Stone has done that.

Sharon, I salute you,
admire you, and love you.

I met Faye at a photo shoot,

pre the release of
"Basic Instinct,"

doing all the press for it.

And I said,

"May I watch you do
your photo shoot?"

And she said, "Sure, kid,
just stay outta my eyeline."

So, I stayed off to the side,

and I watched her,
and she was so good.

She was so professional,

and, I mean, she's
just so beautiful.

And we really just hit it off.

She was just so willing

to allow me the
opportunity to know her,

to learn from her, to
understand her experience.

And she offered me a friendship

that I hadn't expected

from someone of her stature.

You always try to give back.

If you know what you're
doing, you need to share it.

You need to give it back
to the people that need it

and that deserve it. I
feel strongly about that.

It was a good feeling
to help Sharon

and we are still good
friends to this day.

I like the tent,

but wouldn't drapes
have been simpler?

We got termites.

But, you're a carpenter.

I guess they wanted a
really well-built meal.

Robert Urich and I
wanted to do a sitcom

called "It Had To Be You." It
was my first venture, foray,

into this sitcom,
which is comedy.

Which wasn't my
cup of tea, really.

I mean, I'm not a
comedic actress.

I'm a...

down and dirty, very
dramatic actress.

But I wanted to
have a try at it.

She was way ahead of
the pack in saying,

"You know what? I
wanna go do television.

"I wanna go do something
commercial and funny,

"and have a place to go
to work for, you know,

eight or nine months a year
and then have my time off."

And she could go off and do
something small and independent

and do something on television,

and she could go
back to the theater,

but she had options.

But, when it came to films, I
think she chose really well.

She makes this film
with Emir Kusturica

called "Arizona Dream."

It is a surreal adventure

in which she costars
with Johnny Depp.

And it's not implausible
that his character

is romantically drawn
to this older woman.

Johnny Depp is a prince,

and I worked with him twice.

First was "Arizona Dream,"

and then after that, we did

"Don Juan DeMarco"
with Marlon Brando.

It was movies like "The Chamber"

with Gene Hackman
and Chris O'Donnell,

and "Gia" with Angelina
Jolie that was done for HBO

and she won the Golden Globe.

This means an enormous
amount to me tonight,

and I was completely thrown

because I really
didn't expect to win.

I... I don't know why.
You know, I mean...

But, the point is I'm
really grateful that I did,

and it means a lot because
I'm struggling, too.

And I'm trying... I'm putting
my own projects together.

By the '90s, you're getting
a lot of younger filmmakers

who'd been through film
school in the '80s,

and, of course, they've
grown up, like I was,

on '70s films.

So, I'm sure James Gray is
like, "Are you kidding me?

Like, I would get to
direct Faye Dunaway?"

Don't you know what
he does for Frank?

What?

How do you think he gets the money
for all the things he buys you?

There were some
actors in their 20s,

Mark Wahlberg, Charlize
Theron, and Joaquin Phoenix,

and then there were the sort
of older group of actors,

James Caan, Faye
Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn,

who were the sort of
'70s heroes that I had.

It was so great because I
remember the younger actors

always looking to the older
actor to learn something.

"The Yards" was unique

because it had,
like, two generations

and so it was kind of a
congregational sort of thing

where the two generations
intermingled with each other.

Gray was a wonderful director,
so that was a good experience.

It was incredibly intimidating,

but they were terrific with me.

Whatever reputation that
she had in some ways

is also a comment
on how women are,

in some ways, treated and judged

on a very different
scale than men.

So yeah, her story is
tremendously relevant.

She directed a short film

which I thought was quite
good. "Yellow Bird."

It was adapted from
Tennessee Williams,

Williams himself
did the voiceover,

and it was shown at the
2001 Cannes Film Festival.

So, she wasn't just
a screen divinity.

She was a hard-working
stage actress,

a screen actress, a
director of a short film,

and somebody who could
play Maria Callas.

She is currently
enjoying, uh, her role

in the stage play "Master Class"

at the Doolittle Theater
here in Los Angeles

through July 13th.

Getting great reviews
and standing ovations

when it comes to an end
for the curtain call.

Faye, welcome back and
thanks for coming to CBS.

"Master Class" is about,
uh, the great Maria Callas,

when she taught
voice at Juilliard.

Yes. There was a
moment in her life,

late in her career,

early 50s she was,

where she held some
held some very famous

and well-attended master
classes at Juilliard.

And everybody from
Tennessee Williams

to Leonard Bernstein was there.

No applause! We're
here to work.

You're not in a theater.
This is a classroom.

No folderol. This
is a master class.

I saw the play in Los Angeles

when she was here,

and Faye transformed
to that character.

‘Cause if you look at both of
them, they don't look alike.

But, on the stage,
you saw Maria Callas.

So, she did the
play to begin with,

and then she bought the
rights after the play

to option and do the movie.

Isn't it tough to take
something from the stage

and put it on the screen?

Not really. So many plays have
become, "Crimes of the Heart..."

Oh, right. Uh, uh, "Driving
Miss Daisy" became...

"Driving Miss Daisy" was
a great, great movie,

and it was... I actually
saw that on stage as well.

No, you-you do what's
called "opening it up."

I think this movie
probably oughta...

definitely oughta stay very true
to what McNally has written.

When it comes to work,
my mom gets obsessed.

She wanted to tackle it all.

Writing it, directing
it, and being in it,

playing Maria Callas.

A career in the theater
demands total concentration.

100% detail.

The film eventually
got some financing,

and they started shooting
in Pontiac, Michigan

for two or three months,

and then they had to shut down

because the money
was running out.

So, I came in and
helped take over

all the things that
needed to be done

to maybe kinda get the
production back on track.

But, it was too far gone.
The money just dried up.

As much as it was a
passion project for her,

you have to be realistic
at a certain point

and shut down.

Very devastating.

I was in pieces for
quite some time.

You know, locked up in my
room, going to analysis.

It's just when you
have a dream like that,

and you've worked
on it for so long,

I knew what-what it was about.
I knew what she was about.

But, I wanted too
much for myself.

I should have set it up
and got a good director

and I would act in it.

But, I wanted too
much at that time.

So, it was a mistake.

Eventually, you decided to
move back to New York City.

What is it about New York?

Well, it's always been my city.

You know? I mean, I remember
when I first hit New York

as a young Southern
girl, you know,

and standing off that curb and
putting your hand up for a taxi

and the pace of it.

You can't duplicate
that anywhere.

And LA is much more laid back.

I like the energy of New York.

So, that's why I moved back.

My mom hadn't worked
for a period of time,

and she really wanted
to get back into it

‘cause acting was her passion.

And my mom has always
loved the theater.

That's, like, her first passion.

So, I presented the
play "Tea at Five,"

where my mom would be
playing Katharine Hepburn.

And at first, she was
very excited to do it.

I felt like I needed to do it

for the experience
back on the stage,

but I didn't feel
I was right for it

because Katharine
Hepburn's New England,

and I'm from the South,

and so such a
different sensibility

that I was worried about my
being able to really play it.

And it began to make me
more and more irritated.

And I, I'm pretty
sure... I know,

that was the bipolar kicking in.

It was one of those things
where she didn't wanna quit,

but, at the same time,
she didn't wanna do it.

Slowly, as the shows went on,
she started losing her temper.

She started acting out.

Her demons kind of
got a hold of her

and she was fired from
it, and they cancelled it,

and it just... That was that.

The erratic behavior.

That's down to these
biological, physical realities.

It's the sensitivity, and
it's something that...

is just a part of my makeup.

Thank God that
there is medication

and there's...
there are studies

and there are doctors
who deal with this.

And I've been able
to benefit from that.

But, the medication is crucial,

and without it, you fall
back into, you know,

what is there psychologically
and biologically.

For me, I've dealt with
that so much over my life.

I mean, even now, I
can pick up the phone,

and if she's just a
little bit off, I'm like,

"Have you taken your medicine
today?" And she's like,

"Oh, I don't know. Lemme
check. Oh, no, I haven't."

Now, for me, it's like
pinpoint accuracy.

I'm much happier now.

I feel better about things,

and I, I think the
better you feel,

the more you're gonna be able
to do work that is meaningful.

I actually see Faye
Dunaway from time to time

because we work out
at the same gym.

So, I have seen her lately.

She works hard.
She looks great.

She really does take seriously

taking care of herself

and looking, frankly, quite
magnificent at her age.

Which is why I think
that there's still more

that this legendary
actress has to offer.

Since I was very young,
we always went to Cannes.

We went every single
year. My mom loves Cannes.

She loves France. She
loves the French people.

And she becomes like a whole different
person when she's over there.

A lot happier, full of life,

and she was almost shocked

when they wanted her to
be the face of Cannes.

It was the greatest
honor for her

just because she just
loves going over there.

This is my festival

that I always go to
learn filmmaking,

and to have my face
there is very humbling,

and it's very much an honor,
and I'm very grateful.

Jerry Schatzberg
took that picture

and with the big banner
up over the Palais,

it was a great thing that
Cannes did that year for him

and for me.

It was very nice.

I come to see the films.

It's the best films in the
world at a given moment.

The funny thing about my mom

is no matter how bad things get,

when the lights and
the camera come on,

there's no questioning it.
You know, I think she feels

like she's in her 30s again.

They were showing
"Bonnie and Clyde"

in Cannes in one of those
retrospective thing.

And seeing it again,
"Bonnie and Clyde"

was just as exciting and amazing

as when you saw it
for the first time.

So, at the end of it,
when the lights go up,

she turns to her son,
Liam, and she said, "So?

Now, you're proud
of your mother?"

And he said, "I'm always
proud of you, Mom."

That was really
touching, honestly.

When someone gets sick

or is unable to take
care of themselves,

it falls upon someone
who's close to them

in order to help them.

And when she has
her fits of mania,

or her depression,
or her bipolar,

it comes out in this mood.

You see it. It's almost
like "Mommie Dearest."

She just has that energy.

I fought worse monsters than
you for years in Hollywood!

I know how to win the hard way!

When she goes into, like,
our lawyer's office,

it switches to "Network,"
where she's like,

"I know what I'm talking
about, this is how it's done."

I'll be in LA until Saturday,

and I'd like to get it rolling.

And I think you have to
ask yourself this question:

If she wasn't in so much pain,

would she have been that
good? Which then, in turn,

wouldn't have made her be
able to touch people acting.

You gotta take the good with the
bad. You know? That's just life.

- Here he is!
- Hi! Hi! How are you doing?

Hang on. Gotta
hold him properly.

My favorite thing in my life

is my son. It's
always been him first.

And my grandson.

Those are my refuge.
Those are the things

that I hang on to and cling to

more than anything.

Also, in closing, my, my son.

I'd like to thank him.

Liam, you're the best.
And thank you all.

She started off
as a normal person

trying to be famous,

and is ending as a famous
person trying to be normal.

I'm definitely Faye Dunaway.

That's who I am.

And the Dorothy Faye is in
the background somewhere.

That's the child
persona that was there.

I certainly kind of like that.

The Faye Dunaway is the
surface, I suppose. The shell.

But, still, my deepest
soul is Dorothy Faye.