TCMFF Presents Faye Dunaway & Network
Monday, May 2, 2016 at 1:00PM Anne Marie here, reporting with a 30 share on Hollywood Blvd!
The 7th Annual TCM Film Fest ended on a high note this year with Network. Though a satire about network television may not seem like the first choice for a film festival sponsored by a teleivion network, nonetheless TCM rolled out the red carpet, not only for the movie, but also for Faye Dunaway. The Academy Award-winning legend introduced the movie by talking to TCM host Ben Mankiewicz about the work - her process, her co-workers, and her thoughts on television and film.
Dunaway started by describing just how many people told her not to take the role of Diane Christensen in Network. Hot off the success of Bonnie & Clyde and Chinatown, Dunaway had awards goodwill to burn. Even Network director Sideney Lumet told her not to take the role. However, Faye Dunaway went against Lumet's good advice, and starred in Network regardless. When Mankiewicz asked her why she'd risk her career to play such a heartless character, Dunaway replied, "This was too interesting an exploration of American culture not to do it."
Dunaway was effusive in her praise of her costars and crew. She called William Holden as a man with "crusty elegance," and amitted that she nicknamed Sidney Lumet Roller Skates because he delivered movies on time and under budget no matter what. When asked what it was like to win an Academy Award, Dunaway could only quip, "You forget to thank people you were supposed to thank."
While the dour tone of Network may not seem like your first choice for a TV film festival, nevertheless the film and its interview beforehand showed what TCMFF is all about. Over 4 days, TCM screened dozens of lost treasures from Hollywood and beyond, exposing the multiplicity that makes true cinephile. As Dunaway said before she was whisked away: TCM does crucial work for promoting classic cinema. And this definition of "classic" always evolves.
Reader Comments (19)
Unfortunate she was able to secure a fourth Best Actress nod.
Unfortunate she was unable to secure a fourth Best Actress nod.
It's a shame her career fizzled out so quickly after her Oscar win. Her track record, starring in 3 of the greatest American classics of the second golden age of Hollywood, is certainly admirable.
I think her beaviour on sets didn't help.
Hollywood hypocrisy. Men are monsters all day in Hollywood. The minute a woman speaks up for herself she's a bitch.
No Faye was rude and late.
I'm not sure if younger people appreciate how huge Faye Dunaway was in the 70s before Mommie Dearest forced her career into free fall. She starred in three of the biggest money-makers of 1974--Chinatown, The Towering Inferno, and The Three Musketeers. The first two were up for Best Picture. Her much maligned work in Mommie is actually impressive and quite brilliant. I don't think an actor's fall has been so swift and permanent. I mean, Faye won an Oscar and carried serious prestige, and seven years later she was costarring in a cheesy miniseries on network TV. It still ignites my fury.
And Network is one of the greatest movies of all time.
brookesboy: Four years after, she was in the Supergirl movie, which cemented her fall from grace.
My recollection was that "Mommie Dearest" derailed her career, and projects like "Eyes of Laura Mars" and "Supergirl" were odd and tanked her. Although "Mommie Dearest" created perhaps an overly harsh reaction, her performance in it was widely considered a joke. Her behavior also seemed to get very erratic around this time, and as noted, people found Faye increasingly hard to work with. She admitted that people on the street would ask her if she was Meryl Streep, so she definitely lost her A list mojo. She has at least three classic films on her resume, which is very impressive, but I do feel that her potential as an enduring actress was never quite realized. She was also good in Barfly, and Don Juan DeMarco.
Volvagia, I think she could have survived Mommie if Supergirl hadn't followed. That was the crucial misstep. I still think Faye got a raw deal. Fact is, she still is a wonderful talent. I saw her in a Hallmark movie of all things with Lauren Holly. And she made me cry like a little bitch. I would love for her to get a juicy role and snag another Oscar nom. Hope springs.
Would totally support a Faye comeback role. She, Jane and Julie Christie were the cutest and most talented of that late 60's-70's bunch. If Susan Sarandon is still working in show biz after actively working to ruin the current election, there is hope for anyone. Faye, shape up!
She's supposed to be a nightmare beyond belief--like, a legendary asshole. My sense is that we're not talking about a "women get called bitches when they are strong and assertive" scenario. I went to a screening of Mommie Dearest where the actress who played the maid (I think) was present and she described Dunaway as horrific to work with. And I have a friend who is a flight attendant who has had her on a flight. NOT a pleasant person.
I'm not saying she's not talented--but I think there's a reason why her career went downhill fast after she had a few flops.
Anne, I'm thinking of these three in a new film. My head is about to explode at this delicious thought.
Love Faye Dunaway as a certified screen legend thanks to Network, Chinatown, and Bonnie in Clyde. Her decline is pretty sad considering I suspect there are mental health issues involved. She lives (or lived, haven't seen her in a long time) two blocks from my house and that's what I thought during my admittedly brief encounters with her around the neighborhood.
Still, having 3 classic films to your name is nothing to cry over.
Joe: yes, Faye is a legendarily psychotic nightmare to work with. There was an LA-based gay gossip columnist in the early aughts (can't remember his name at present) who had a recurring "Faye Watch" item in his column. wherein he would chart her latest transgressions to other humans - generally hapless service people who would encounter her in video stores, restaurants, etc. It sounded like she more than her fair share of mental health problems.
Billy Masters did Faye Watch. Faye had issues, but all of the 70's women in her cohort lost their grip in the 80's.
Faye is one of my faves.
That said, I think it's pretty common knowledge that she's wackadoodle.
Despite all the junk that Dunaway has done--not uncommon for long-term stars--Faye has appeared in 3 of the greatest films of the '60s and '70s: Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown, and Network.
As for Mommie Dearest, think how dull it would have been without Dunaway!
I alws feel that she is playing herself in the Network, the cold-hearted go-getter who wld do anytink for the rating (oscar).
Mommie Dearest is a deliciously campy peformance & Dunaway had a field day hammin it up, going all OTT...........& IMO..... it actually works!!! she's so effective that everyone see it as a joke
This is THE performance tt stuck w me, not Bonnie & Clyde, not Chinatown or Network
Adored Faye. She had some big misfires, but at that time, actresses hitting 40 were not really supported by Hollywood. Streisand, Faye, Fonda ... they all had to step aside for younger stars like Debra Winger, Meryl Streep, and Kathleen Turner. Maybe Meryl helped push through the 40+ resistance barrier, and now people don't even think of age so much anymore (Mirren, Bullock, Streep, Moore, Davis, Dench, etc. all over 40).