Sure, Faye Dunaway might be best known to millennials for flubbing the Oscars Best Picture announcement (“La La Land” did not, in fact, win — it was “Moonlight”) alongside her “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) co-star Warren Beatty. Or perhaps it’s Bowen Yang’s “Saturday Night Live” quips about the famed actress that has made Dunaway go viral more than a half-century since her iconic films were released.
Now, Dunaway is reclaiming her 21st-century legacy by way of an eponymous HBO documentary, “Faye.”
Dunaway revisits her tumultuous history, controversial reputation, and Hollywood iconography in the feature film directed by Laurent Bouzereau, who also directed HBO’s “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” doc.
“Faye” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, with Dunaway traveling back in time to “contextualize her life and filmography, laying bare her struggles with mental health while confronting the double standards she was subjected to as a woman in Hollywood,” as the synopsis goes.
Née Dorothy Faye Dunaway, the “Chinatown” actress was once an Army child of an alcoholic father. Her acting aspirations were realized with help from mentors, like director Elia Kazan and playwright William Alfred, whose 1965 play “Hogan’s Goat” proved to be Dunaway’s breakout role.
Dunaway discusses her reputation as being a “difficult” actress to work with, especially after her Oscar-winning turn in “Network.” The doc includes Dunaway speaking candidly about her own struggles with alcoholism and bipolar disorder, as well as revisiting her love affairs and questionable acting choices. “Mommie Dearest” (1981) comes to mind.
“Faye” also includes interviews with Mickey Rourke, Sharon Stone, director James Gray, photographer and director Jerry Schatzberg, authors David Itzkoff and Mark Harris, journalist Robin Morgan, and film professor Annette Insdorf. Dunaway’s son Liam Dunaway O’Neill is also featured in the HBO documentary.
Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Documentaries produced “Faye” in association with Nedland Media. Bouzereau directs and produces, with Markus Keith, Justin Falvey, and Darryl Frank also producing. Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez serve as executive producers.
“Faye” premieres July 13 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. Check out the trailer below.
