Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn starred as frenemies in the 1990s cult classic ‘Death Becomes Her’ – and it seems some of that antagonism spilled over from the silver screen into real life.
In a recent interview looking back on some of her iconic roles, Streep opened up about the “beef” she had with her former co-star.
How Goldie Hawn Created Tension On Set
Streep revealed what happened on the set of ‘Death Becomes Her’ in an interview with Vanity Fair, while promoting her latest film ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.’
“Goldie, she was always late to set,” she shared. “And I’m always on time, you know, and annoying. But she’s late.”
The star continued. “She had a red convertible, I remember, and she’d drive herself to set. And so that was probably the problem. She’d drive herself to set.”
She laughed while recalling, “She had her hair all over, and she’s like ‘Oh gosh, sorry!’… and everybody thought ‘Oh, she’s so cute.’”
“Yeah, so I had a beef with her,” she deadpanned. “But I loved her. I love her. She’s one of my buddies.”
Streep On The Legacy Of ‘Death Becomes Her’
One thing that has kept the two stars close is the enduring popularity of the film.
“Over the years, we’ve had some laughs about that movie because people love it,” she shared. “I thought it was like a documentary on Beverly Hills.”
The film follows two frenemies, Madeline (Streep) and Helene (Hawn) after they drink a magic potion promising eternal youth, while both competing for the same man (Bruce Willis). However, the effects of the potion soon prove to be more macabre than expected.
As well as its legacy as a camp classic, the film was also lauded for its use of special effects. In 1993, the film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
“I remember being in a green spandex suit that encompassed my whole body, and then little pins being stuck in it and they measured something,” Streep recalled to Vanity Fair.
“So no, I wasn’t in my costume,” she said of one of her more infamous body horror scenes. “And then they, for part of this, when they take your head off, I’m not sure how they do it. But it’s not like playing in a scene that Arthur Miller wrote or anything. It’s a completely different animal.”
Although she remembers the special effects process as “tedious” and “excruciating,” she maintains that she and Hawn “laughed” and “had a lot of fun” during the shooting process.
In an interview clip posted by Universal Pictures on Instagram, director Robert Zemeckis discussed the film’s use of special effects.
“We’re really doing something that has literally never been done before, and using technology that’s never been used, computer graphics… pushing it to a level that’s never been seen before, and that’s really exciting,” he said.
Death Becomes Broadway
The film was later revived as a Broadway musical.
PEOPLE reported that Hawn herself attended a performance, with a source claiming “She was definitely gushing about the show, but it wasnât just her saying ‘I loved it, great job!’ Her reactions to the show were really insightful and thoughtful.”
Another source described Hawn as “happy as can be.”
“Her distinct laugh could be heard throughout the whole show, and she was always one of the first people to applaud when the musical number finished,” they said. “You could tell she was living for every moment.”
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