Chronology: 1992
Creating a cult classic: Meryl Streep with co-star Goldie Hawn and director Robert Zemeckis on the set of “Death Becomes”. Panned by critics but praised for its visuals, the dark comedy won an Academy Award for its special effects. On the right, she is seen during a visit to Japan to promote the film.
Still eager to score a hit with a comedy, Meryl Streep teamed up with Goldie Hawn (both considered doing “Thelma and Louise” before) when they found their match in Robert Zemeckis, the acclaimed director of the “Back to the Future” series and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, who took his groundbreaking visual skills to good use in a story of vanity and growing old in Los Angeles – a subject Streep had witnessed all too good during her time in the city. The two actresses played arch rivals who both drink a potion that promises eternal youth, beyond death. The strenous shooting, however, was a challenge for Meryl, as the special effects asked for her character’s head to move a 180 degrees, among other obscure deformations. In the end, the special effects were the film’s biggest achievement and won their creators an Academy Award, while Meryl Streep received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. But after “Death Becomes her”, she closed the comedic chapter for good.
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