Twenty-Seven

Making The Witches of Eastwick was a trial for all of them, but it was to be Pfeiffer's first major box-office success. And she was the first actress chosen for the film by Australian director George Miller [ who made an international star out of Mel Gibson and created a celluloid science-fiction trend with his Mad Max films]. Miller could never have conjured up the crazy antics that making The Witches of Eastwick would cause on and off the screen. Trouble was brewing from the start of the project.

Legendary writer John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick was a bestseller and tempted a film version. It's a book packed with delicious mischief involving three small-town New England witches. They are all divorced or widowed – one has 'permanized' her husband 'in plastic and used him as a place mat' – and sexy. And randy. And the book details how Daryl Van Horne gets them into his hot tub for much more than a relaxing soak, following their regular Thursday night ritual of gin martinis, when they wonder if a 'tan, dark prince travelling under a curse' may be just what they need to liven up their lives.

George Miller was one of several people contracted when producers Neil Canton, Peter Guber and Jon Peters bought the film rights to the novel. 'I read the original script and had some reservations,' says Miller.

Then, on a publicity tour in Germany for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome with Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, he read Updike's book: 'It haunted me for weeks afterwards. I'd never considered the subject before, and suddenly I couldn't stop thinking about it.'

In November 1985 he accepted the job from Neil Canton who had produced Michael J. Fox's Back to the Future films. They agreed to hire writer Michael Christofer to work on the script. And they set about casting the film. Scores of actresses from Kathleen Turner to Jamie Lee Curtis were suggested or auditioned for the trio of roles of the bored but beautiful ladies. While playwright Christofer worked on the script in Paris the director conjured up his coven of a cast.

It was Tinseltown time. Jon Peters who with his partner Peter Guber was responsible for Batman (with Jack Nicholson as the Joker) and Batman Returns (with Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman), rather laid down the law on the casting. Miller had to fill the roles of sculptor Alexandra Medford, cellist and music teacher Jane Spofford and the very fertile journalist Sukie Ridgemont. Pfeiffer, [seven years before her own overwhelming desires to be a mother made her adopt her daughter Claudia Rose], won the role of mother of six children Sukie. But only after a screen test proved what Miller sensed – that Pfeiffer had the perfect sense of humour for the role.

Susan Sarandon then came aboard as Alex the widow who sculpts odd little dolls. Miller wanted Bill Murray as the mysterious stranger Daryl Van Horne but the Ghostbusters star, who would repeat his box-office heights with Groundhog Day, had a diary that would not allow his involvement. Enter the man who could have been born to play the Mephistophelean rogue Van Horne – Jack Nicholson. Here was a man who could believably cope with a couple of dozens of covens of bubble, bubble, toil and trouble. With Nicholson in place Warner Brothers Studios production chief Mark Canton admitted that after that casting if there were a snag they would have to 'go to hell and back for a replacement'.

All that was left was an actress to become Jane the cellist. Enter the dynamic Cher. But it seemed that Cher might be better as the outspoken Alex rather than the quieter Jane. And as it turned out Sarandon became 'Me, Jane' and Cher 'Me, Alex'. Sarandon's less vociferous part in the movie is no mirror of her life. For Pfeiffer, working with her must have been influential and encouraging. She's that perfect role model for an independent, take-no-shit-from-anyone person. And she's a working mother with a child.

For Pfeiffer, Sarandon and Cher there was little talk of Academy Awards while making The Witches of Eastwick. For Sarandon it was her big return to work after the birth of her daughter. Alexandra was the ringleader of the witches. And Sarandon, who had spent four months preparing for the role, was abruptly told when she turned up for work that she was going to be Jane. The actress does not mince her words. Pfeiffer watched this particular Hollywood tale play out. And she listened. And she learned much from the behaviour of a woman who is regarded as one of the leading acting talents in America. And who also has the admirable ability of letting life work in her favour.

At the Bel Age Hotel on Hollywood's Sunset Strip Sarandon flutters the lashes around her Pekingese eyes as she considers the complications of Hollywood casting. She shrugs in a what's-a-girl-to-do? way. But she was not happy when she turned up for The Witches of Eastwick. But she stayed on the film and explained:

"The legal alternative was too ghastly. But it was a large adjustment for me. Technical things like learning to play the cello overnight were impossible. It was by far the most painful thing I've ever faced in this business. And I'm not sure I needed this character building lesson. But I accepted the obligation to myself as an actor and a person to make the best of it. You learn that nothing comes without bumps. I like the way Hemingway put it, something about a broken place mending much stronger than it ever was whole."