Cher has called out an acclaimed Hollywood director, nearly four decades after they first worked together.
The Believe singer swapped the studio for the big screen many times over the years, landing starring roles in Moonstruck, the Witches of Eastwick and, .
Despite delighting fans around the world with her acting skills, the 78-year-old revealed that she didn’t quite have the best time on some of the productions.
In a new interview with to promote the, she reflected on her time working on Mask, with Peter Bogdanovich – who died in 2022.
‘There are only two directors I didn’t like: Peter Bogdanovich and the guy from The Muppets,’ she told the outlet, before unpacking her time with the former on the 1985 movie. ‘He was an asshole. He was not nice to the girls in the film and he was so f**king arrogant. I really, really disliked him.
‘He comes in and says, “Cher, where do you think we should film this scene?” And I say, well, the kitchen is working pretty well, why don’t we do that again?
‘The next morning he arrives on set, eating an egg sandwich, and starts screaming that he’s not going to let me direct this film; I’m a nobody; he can cut me out at any moment. Oh yeah, he was a pig.’
‘Ask everybody: I’m really easy to work with. I’m not arbitrary in the things I say, because it’s right to do what the director wants until you need to speak up.
‘Meryl says that if the director wants you to do something you don’t like, you say: yes, yes, yes, I’ll do it that way. Then you do it your way and they don’t even notice. I’ve worked with Bob Altman, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison… Really great directors whom I respect. I know when to listen.’
Mask hit the big screen in 1985, and focused on the brief life of Roy ‘Rocky’ Dennis, who suffered from an extremely rare genetic disorder.
Cher shared the screen with Sam Elliott, Laura Dern and Eric Stoltz, and was nominated for a Golden Globe thanks to her portrayal of Rocky’s mother.
In a 2019 interview with Vulture, the late filmmaker slammed the music icon, claiming she struggled to trust people.
‘She didn’t trust anybody, especially men,’ he claimed. ‘That’s why she dropped her father’s name, Sarkisian.’
Comparing her performance to Tatum O’Neal in his 1973 hit, Paper Moon, Peter claimed: ‘She couldn’t do what Tatum did in Paper Moon.
‘She’d start off in the right direction, but she’d go off wrong somehow, very quickly. So, I shot a lot of close-ups of her because she’s very good in close-ups.’
Although Peter and Cher clearly didn’t love their experience on Mask, Sam Elliott – who played her boyfriend, Gar – didn’t have a bad word to say about working with them both.
‘I was a Cher fan when I was still living up in Portland,’ he told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. ‘My mom and I were there, and I was going to school … my mom and I used to watch The Sonny and Cher Show religiously.
‘I’ve always had a thing for female singers, for whatever reason.’
‘I loved working with Peter,’ he added. ‘I loved coming to the set and watching Peter. I’d come in early on, and I’m still that way.
‘Peter would go in there with László Kovács, his cameraman, and he’d walk through everything he was going to do before anybody even got in there. I always liked to be back in the corner, like a mouse, watching that unfold. It was an education.
‘I loved Peter and I loved Cher. I mean, what the f**k? Cher’s Cher, you know? I mean, what’s there not to love about her. She’s one of the most outrageous people I’ve ever spent time with, and she’s wonderful to work with. It just was a glorious f**king period of time.’
