Faye, Dearest

Faye Dunaway is a fabulous diva. You know it. We know it. And, most importantly, she knows it. While we will always love her for her turn as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest, the legendary actress is just as awe-inspiring for her turns in Network, Bonnie and Clyde, and Chinatown. (And we cant forget her in Supergirl!) Dunaway is serving as a judge on the new WB series The Starlet (Sundays at 8 p.m.), where young women from all over the country compete to be the next Julia Roberts. We got a moment to chat with the delicious Dunaway. Have you always noticed that gay men love you? Yeah. Why do they? Because Im kind of strong or what? Youre strong, fabulous, and we love that you played Joan Crawford. Oh, Im still trying to live that down. Well, theres nothing to live down! It was a good performance but theyve made it very camp. Very camp. Have you been a fan of reality television? No, not all that much. I was interested in the one that happened to Donald, you knowThe Apprentice. It was amazing. And what else, and the one that has Tyra Banks in it. Americas Next Top Model. Exactly. Its a genre that has an enormous fanbase, so you cant ignore it. What do they see in it? What are they interested in? As an actor, you have to take your emotions and all that and it has to be used. Whereas on The Apprentice a girl can try and be angry and upset and everything, and then she goes in and she has to be a barracuda and smart and intelligent, you know, but its not using the emotions in the same sense, so I found that interesting. The thing I love about the show is that oftentimes you hear stories in Hollywood about how women arent supportive of other women. Women dont want to see other women succeed, and from what Ive seen of this show, its very supportive, and thats a great thing. Is that important to you? Yeah, it is, because we are trying to get them to do their best and were trying to tell them what theyre going to have to go through. And I think it is important because I think we need to pass on what we know. I think thats really important. Now, youve had an amazing career and youre working with fellow judge Vivica A. Fox who is kind of an up-and-coming actress, comparatively. What were the dynamics like between you two? She was great. At one point she really defended me to one of the girls, who was so lost in her fears that she became very aggressive towards me, and then [Vivica] was like, What are you doing? And she would not let her say things to me in any negative way. And the girl was just in a moment of fear, panicking, and she sort of was trying to handle too much attitude and didnt quite know what she was doing. I love [Vivica] because she has a real edgy, interesting talent. Shes a woman whos not afraid to go after something. And what else is on the horizon for you? Any chance the film version of Terrence McNallys Master Class is going forward? Yeah. I think were going to do it this year. Were looking at filming August, September, October. Were just about to start casting, and weve virtually got all the money.