Thirty-One

Cher has known Nicholson since she was nineteen years old. Although she and Pfeiffer became firm friends it was especially important to the singer turned Oscar-winning actress (for Moonstruck in 1987) to have Nicholson's support.

Cher would demostrate in Witches she had the energy not just to play sex games with Nicholson but to have a bedroom scene with 1250 non-venomous but nevertheless intimidating snakes. Jules Sylvester of Hollywood's Reptile Rentals had to pour the snakes on to Cher's bed before the scene. 'I've never worked with an actress who was so tolerant of snakes,' he said. But Cher wasn't that tolerant. She was concerned the snakes might crawl under her nightgown. They didn't. And she asked for rubber snakes to be used on the floor so she wouldn't step on the real ones.

However, she regarded the biggest snakes in the film as the executives from Warner Brothers Studios:

"If I'd been fucked by my husband as much as I was by Warner Brothers I'd still be married. The women were totally subjected, and it was a bitch. First of all we were always referred to as 'the girls', and I don't want anybody calling me 'the girls' in any way. We had lousy facilities, lousy trailers. I had to come up with my own clothes in that movie, and I supplied Susan with three of her outfits.

I've had some bad food binges while making movies – at the end of Witches Michelle and Susan and I really went crazy. We'd go from one of our trailers to the other stuffing ourselves with Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Cheese Goldfish, M & Ms, Cokes and Hershey's Kisses. Then Michelle and I found we could microwave sweet potatoes in four minutes and that changed our entire lives. We lived on sweet potatoes, baked potatoes and Caesar salads.

I really made good friendships on the movie, and I don't have many friends who I can call and see and stuff like that because I don't stay in one place too long.

For all concerned on Witches, the experience was oddly 'great' and 'terrible'. Cher went on:

"The actors were unbelievable, fabulous. George Miller left a lot to be desired. He never wanted me. The studio finally forced George to use me. I was in tears with him because he kept saying he didn't want Cher – he used to make quotation marks in the air whenever he used my name – to ruin his movie."

"I watched Jack sit on the set and know that he was not happy with what was going on but no screaming, no yelling, just quietly, when nobody noticed, he'd go over and say: 'These women are stars, and if you keep treating them like trash you are going to get non-star performances."

It's great to be around him because he grew up in a beauty parlour surrounded by women, and he loves it. When we were getting ready for Witches he would always come to the trailer, even when it wasn't his time, and he'd just sit around, and we'd be getting our make-up done, and he'd be in the comer. He bought us lunch. He was so thoughtful about what to do for 'his witches'. He called Michelle, Susan and I that. 'His witches'.

And Pfeiffer called Nicholson good news. A movie icon, he was her anchor during the film. And like Pacino before him he taught her about the generosity of stardom –that by helping others you also help yourself. Professionally, it convinced Pfeiffer that being a team player is so important. It was also a lesson in trust and loyalty. And friendship.