- Title: USA: 'FIRST WIVES CLUB' STAYS NUMBER ONE AT U.S. BOX OFFICE
- Date: 25th August 1996
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (REUTERS TELEVISION - ACCESS ALL) (SEPTEMBER 16, 1996) BETTE MIDLER SAYING I THINK THEY (MEN) ARE GOING TO COME BECAUSE THEY WANT TO LAUGH, THEY WON'T THINK IT'S THEM. THEY WILL THINK IT'S ABOUT A CERTAIN GROUP OF THEM. THEY ARE NOT ALL TARRED WITH THE SAME BRUSH DON'T YOU THINK (ENGLISH)
- Embargoed: 9th September 1996 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAL99MRQZTMZ93L7MU8WECZXRD
- Story Text: Watch out, men - three gutsy women jilted by their husbands and with revenge on their minds are on the war path in the new big-screen comedy "The First Wives Club".
The Paramount film held onto its Number 1 spot in the United States (U.S.) box office over the weekend (September 28-29). As of Tuesday (October 1) its 10-day takings total stood at 41.78 million U.S. dollars.
Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler head the cast as women who have all been callously dumped by their husbands in favour of younger, sexier "trophy wives." Feeling bitter, the three join forces and concoct a plan to exact the perfect revenge.
In the film, Hawn plays Elise, an aging actress who is addicted to plastic surgery in order to keep herself looking young. Keaton plays Annie, a housewife living in denial of her husband's infidelities while Midler is Brenda, the ex-wife of an electronics magnate.
"Its about growing older and not feeling sexually attractive and about trying to figure out ways to regain your power," Hawn told Reuters Television.
Keaton believes the film will appeal to women who find themselves in a similar situation. "Someone was telling me yesterday that there's a fifty percent divorce rate so there are a lot of women out there who are probably first wives who grew up with their husbands and got dumped for the younger version," she said.
As for the on-set antics - the film ends with a show-stopping rendition of the 60's doo-wop hit "You Don't Own Me" - Midler, with her singing background, said she couldn't teach her fellow actors anything. "Those girls are unteachable. They didn't want a single bit of advice thank you, so I stayed out of the way", she confided.
Other members of the cast include Maggie Smith as a high-society Manhattan socialite, Bronson Pinchot as a flamboyant interior decorator and Stockard Channing as a college friend of the women. Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley, and Marcia Gay Harden play the younger "trophy wives." The film was author Olivia Goldsmith's first novel and an instant success. It became a national bestseller and drew rave reviews from the critics. The director is Hugh Wilson, whose credits include the original "Police Academy" and "Guarding Tess." "The First Wives Club" is very much a New York City story and it was filmed almost entirely on location in the Big Apple.
Locations included well-known spots like Cafe Des Artistes, Christie's Fine Arts Auctioneers, Barney's, The Bowery Bar, The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel.
The film's final sequence is a huge fund-raising party that drew upon real-life guests including former New York mayor Edward Koch, feminist writer Gloria Steinem, talk-show host Kathie Lee Gifford, and Ivana Trump, whose famous one liner "don't get mad, get everything" is sure to bring the house down.
The film is another success in the long careers of all three lead actresses.
Hawn has been seen in such hits as "Foul Play," "Private Benjamin" and the 1975 hit "Shampoo." In 1969, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman in "Cactus Flower." Diane Keaton is best-known for her long professional and personal association with filmmaker Woody Allen. Their films together include "Sleeper," "Manhattan," "Radio Days," and "Manhattan Murder Mystery." She won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1977 for playing in Allen's contemporary classic "Annie Hall." Her other films include "The Godfather" (Parts 1,2, and 3,) "Baby Boom," and "Father of the Bride II" with Steve Martin. She made her feature directing debut with the critically-acclaimed drama "Unstrung Heroes" in 1995.
Bette Midler began her career as a musician but soon branched into movies. She has received two Academy Award nominations, (for "The Rose" and "For the Boys,") two Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, and two Golden Globes. Her other films include "Beaches," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," "Ruthless People," and "Big Business." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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