Cher Slаms Late Mask Director Peter Bogdanovich Without Holding Back: «He Was a Pig»
Cher has two directors who she «didn’t like» over her storied career.
Cher, 78, revealed candidly to The Times in the first installment of her biography about her experiences working with Frank Oz, who she called «the guy from The Muppets,» and the late Peter Bogdanovich.
«He was an asshole,» Cher claimed of Bogdanovich, who passed away in 2022. «He was so f—— conceited and rude to the females in the movie. I didn’t like him at all.»
On the set of the 1985 film Mask, she recounted an instance where the director asked her to suggest a location for a scene.
«And I say, ‘Well, the kitchen is working pretty well, why don’t we do that again?'» Cher remembered.
«He eats an egg sandwich when he gets to the set the next morning and yells that he won’t let me direct this movie, that I’m a nobody, and that he may fire me at any time. He was, indeed, a pig.
According to Bogdanovich’s 2019 interview with Vulture, Cher was the hardest actor he had ever dealt with. reportedly «didn’t trust anybody, especially men.» «That’s why she dropped her father’s name, Sarkisian.»
He went on to say, «She couldn’t do what Tatum [O’Neal] did in Paper Moon,» alluding to the actress who was ten years old at the time of the 1973 filming. «She would get off to a good start, but she would suddenly veer off course.
She’s really skilled at close-ups, so I took a lot of pictures of her.
Cher mentioned the 80-year-old Oz, who directed her in the 1990 film Mermaids, in other parts of her interview with The Times.
«I actually got the guy from The Muppets fired,» Cher recalled. «It’s unfortunate because he’s a really brilliant filmmaker, but he had a thing for me, so I said, either you’re going or I’m going. «At least my wife loves me,» he would say.
Cher claimed that despite the negative encounters with Bogdanovich and Oz, she is «really easy to work with.» «I’ve collaborated with Norman Jewison, Mike Nichols, and Bob Altman. I like filmmakers who are truly outstanding. I am aware of when to pay attention.
