Cher Says Director Peter Bogdanovich Was an “A**Hole” on the Set of ‘Mask’

In the 1980s, Cher appeared in a number of films that have since gone on to be regarded as classics. The Witches of Eastwick, Moonstruck, and, of course, Mask, the true story of Roy L. “Rocky” Dennis, a young man with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia who was portrayed by the phenomenal Eric Stoltz. Cher played his overprotective mother in the movie, which earned her the 1985 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress. However, things behind-the-scenes were no fun according to the actress, who recently called director Peter Bogdanovich an “a**hole.”

Speaking with The Times to promote her new book, Cher: The Memoir Part 1, the singer/actress slammed the late director, who passed away in 2022 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. “He was an a**hole. He was not nice to the girls in the film and he was so f**king arrogant,” she told the outlet before adding for emphasis, “I really, really disliked him.” Tell us how you really feel, Cher.

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She would elaborate further, recalling a particularly tense day on set. “[Bogdanovich] 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.

Responding to Bogdanovich’s 2019 comments about Cher being difficult to work with because she “didn’t trust anybody, especially men,” she added, “Ask everybody: I’m really easy to work with […] I’ve worked with Bob Altman, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison… Really great directors whom I respect. I know when to listen.”

Peter Bogdanovich Wasn’t the Only Director Cher Had Problems With

Following her appearance in Mask, Cher starred in Mermaids five years later, which went through a couple of directors before landing on Richard Benjamin, including The Muppets creator Frank Oz. Like Bogdanovich before him, Cher said she was none too fond of the director, due in part to his apparent attraction to her. Her co-star, Winona Ryder, also had problems with Oz, who wanted to eliminate some of the film’s comedic elements in favor of a more dramatic piece.

“I actually got the guy from The Muppets fired,” Cher bragged. “I said, either you’re going or I’m going, which is a shame because he’s a really good director, but he had a thing about me. He would go, ‘At least my wife loves me!'”

Mask would go on to earn $48 million at the box office and win an Academy Award for Best Makeup. Mermaids, unfortunately, didn’t fare as well, and took in just $35 million in receipts against a budget of $20 million. It did, however, earn Ryder a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, which she lost to Whoopi Goldberg for her role in Ghost.

Release Date December 14, 1990

Runtime 1hr 50min

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