Charlie’s Angels
On the eve of a remake, we find out it wasn’t all girl power on set
at war
Charlie’s Angels was the all-female, butt-kicking movie blockbuster that paved the way for girl power 18 years ago – but now it’s been revealed that behind the scenes, the cast members secretly despised each other!
On screen, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray’s characters fought against the bad guys, but when the cameras weren’t rolling, the cattiest fights broke out between the leading stars.
As the trio prepare to unofficially advise a new cast and crew on an upcoming remake, word has filtered out about what really went on between them during filming in 1999.
While Lucy and Bill’s tension was widely reported at the time, few people knew there was also a fierce rivalry between Cameron, 45, and Drew, 43, too.
CATTY COMPETITION
“Drew and Cameron were the biggest female stars of that era and they were very competitive. Cameron was constantly complaining that Drew – who was also a producer on the film – gave all the best lines to herself, while Drew felt intimidated that this hot new blonde was taking over and bossing her around,” says a source.
“Cam thought she should be front and centre in pictures for all the promotional material and Drew was furious when the film’s publicity team agreed. They said it made sense based on the fact that Cameron was the tallest, but Drew knew it was really because everyone thought Cameron was the best looking.”
But if there was one thing that united Cameron and Drew, it was their mutual dislike for Lucy. “They felt that Lucy never tried to gel with the cast. She would always sit alone in her trailer between takes rather than make any real effort,” says a source. “Drew found her to be very snobby.”
Veteran actor Bill, 67, also instantly clashed with Lucy. “Lucy and Bill particularly hated each other,” dishes a set source. “Production would halt for days sometimes because they couldn’t agree on anything.”
Bill told Drew, “I get why you’re here,” then told Cameron,
“You’ve got talent.” But when he got to Lucy, 49, he sniped, “But what in the hell are you doing here? You can’t act!”
He later took back his comments, insisting they had simply clashed over the script.
“She got furious with me because she thought it was a personal assault, but the reality is she hated the lines as much as I did,” he insists. “I think very warmly of her now.”
By the end of production, Drew and Cameron had also ironed out their differences, and the pair and Lucy agreed to work on the 2003 sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.
SISTER ACT
But while Lucy vanished from the scene once filming had ended, Drew and Cameron went on to become best friends in the years that followed – that is, until rumours of a new rift emerged last year.
For a time so close they called each other “sisters”, the two actresses are believed to have fallen out once more in a major way when Cam rejected Drew’s offer of taking her on holiday for her h 45th hb birthday hd – choosing h to spend it with her husband Benji Madden instead.
A US source says, “Cameron said she had already planned something low-key with Benji at home. Drew threw out a bunch of alternative dates but Cameron just kept saying, ‘Sorry, busy.’ Drew was so shocked and hurt.”
And d with h Cam b becoming increasingly reclusive – and all but giving up her acting career – there are whispers that her friendship with Drew is still on rocky ground.
“They haven’t been out together in a good nine months, which is unusual for them as they used to be joined at the hip,” our source adds.
‘Cam thought she should be front and centre’