Artist. Actor. Businesswoman. Advocate and personality. Cher is everything. On top of it, Cher is an incredibly strong-minded woman. So much so that she's often gotten into feuds with others equally passionate as she is. However, it might be safe to say that Cher's passion is one of the reasons that she continues to defy age-standards by continuing her epic career. Speaking of her epic career, we can't forget her powerful performance alongside the equally accomplished Christina Aguilera in Burlesque.
While the 2010 film isn't everybody's favorite, it became pretty famous for its star-power, dance and song numbers, and all the juicy behind-the-scenes drama. Even though the movie didn't exactly win over the mainstream audiences, Cher is easily one of the best parts of it. That seems to have been the idea from the get-go. While the movie was really made for Christina, even the former Voice judge knew just how important including star-power like Cher was. Here's how Cher was cast in Burlesque...
Approaching One Of The Most Accomplished Artists And Actors In The World
Burlesque was Cher's first movie in a whopping seven years. According to Entertainment Weekly, she is notoriously picky about which roles she chooses to take on. After all, she doesn't need to act. She likes to act. So, what about Burlesque appealed to her? Well, it might have had something to do with the incredible talent behind the scenes. This includes writer/director Steven Antin, production designer Jon Gary Steele, Christina, of course, Screen Gems studio president Clint Culpepper, and choreographers Joey Pizzi and Denise Faye. Each of these accomplished creatives knew that the "Life After Love" singer would be perfect for the club owner, Tess.
"For the role of Ali, we wanted an actress with a very big voice. Christina was the choice. The role of Tess could’ve gone several ways. At first, I was interested in Queen Latifah or Michelle Pfeiffer. But Clint came up with and loved the idea of Cher," Steve Antin explained to Entertainment Weekly. "I liked the idea, too. So did Christina. I mean, hello. Cher. Enough said…. Cher was on a soundstage doing a voiceover for Zookeeper. Clint heard she was there. We camped outside of the stage and waited for her to exit. When she did, we introduced ourselves."
Both writer/director Steven and producer Clint Culpepper had real guts to approach Cher on set. In fact, the two of them were incredibly brazen.
"[Cher] had these little ‘70s glasses on, and she looked up, stopped, and said, 'What are you two doing here?'" Clint recalled. "I said, “We’re ambushing you…. we’re going to take you right up there [to Steven’s office] and talk you into doing this movie!' She laughed and turned to her assistant and said, 'We have a few minutes. Let’s humor them!'"
At the time Clint and Steven did this, their mutual friend mogul David Geffen and Cher's manager were all talking to her about the movie, so she was very aware of the project.
"We begged for five minutes of her time," Steven admitted. "We wanted her to come to my office to see all the renderings of the set and my references plastered all over the walls, storyboards, and the endless preparation…. She was actually really funny about it, and I was surprised that she agreed to join us! When she got to my office, she was impressed with everything she saw. The meeting went well. But there were many more meetings and conversations before she actually said yes. A few weeks later, Clint and I went to her house in Malibu for another meeting. I went to her house alone with just the two of us for another meeting. More meetings and many more conversations followed. It was a long process. Clint was driven to get her on board, and he made it happen."
Clearly, Cher wanted to be absolutely sure of what Steven was going to do with the movie before she was going to devote her time and lend her name and talent to it.
Christina REALLY Wanted To Work With Cher
Steven and Clint were getting added pressure to land Cher from Christina Aguilera, who was absolutely deadset on hiring the famous star.
"Christina kept saying, 'Please, Clint, get Cher! Don’t come back to me without Cher!' It was a joke between us, because after I met Cher at her house for three hours with Donald [De Line, the executive producer] and Steve, we called Christina as we left," Clint said. "She was at the Chateau with some friends and she said, 'Come here immediately. I have to hear everything!'"
Clint used Christina's authentic admiration for Cher in order to woo the star into another meeting. In fact, he even told Cher that Christina loved her so much that she would 'drink her bathwater. It wasn't until Cher actually signed on that she met Christina for the first time.
"When we met Cher, Christina was holding her kid on her hip, and we walked over…. Cher [saw us] and went, 'Ok, everybody, take five!' It was so cute," Clint said. "Christina stuck her hand out and said, 'Hi, I’m Christina, the one who would drink your bathwater.' Cher grabbed her and gave her a big hug and a kiss."
"She’s truly an incredible woman and a force of nature," Christina Aguilera admitted in the interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I respect her talent, her no-bulls---, genuine way of saying it as she sees it, making up her own rules, and helping to pave the way for so many other women in generations to come."