The iconic movie Jane Fonda called a “terrible experience”
Hollywood in the 20th century produced some of the classiest and most stylish stars of cinema history, including the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Diane Keaton and Marilyn Monroe. Another icon that too often goes under the radar is Jane Fonda, an actor who thrived in the late 1960s and 1970s, working with such celebrated filmmakers as Sydney Pollack, Fred Zinnemann and Hal Ashby.
Rising to critical acclaim in the 1970s, winning Oscars for 1972’s Klute and 1979’s Coming Home, it would take a decade of hard work for Fonda to reach the top, entering the industry in 1960. Appearing in a great number of minor roles in forgettable flicks, it wasn’t until the release of the cult sci-fi favourite Barbarella in 1968 that Fonda would truly find her feet, gaining a popular following as a result.
Although it was loved at the time, it wasn’t entirely well-known, being more celebrated now than it ever was at the time. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a remake of the movie entering the works, with Sydney Sweeney taking the role from Fonda, giving some concern to the Hollywood veteran who “tries not to” think about the reimagining “Because I worry about what it’s going to be”.
Fonda reflected on the role that made her a star in an interview with Vanity Fair back in 2022, revealing that it was a difficult film to get through.
“So [producer] Dino De Laurentiis bought the comic book called Barbarella and offered, quite correctly offered, the part to Brigitte Bardot, who said ‘no’, to Sophia Loren, who said ‘no’, and [Roger] Vadim really really really wanted me to do this and really wanted to direct it. He was a science fiction aficionado and a sexual aficionado, and so we persuaded De Laurentiis to have me do this part,” she told the publication.
Continuing, she added: “I mean, here is this person, moi, who suffers from and suffered from body dysmorphia playing Barbarella, and I had to start off naked in the title sequence. It was difficult for me psychologically to do it, I got drunk to play the scene which had me lying on a thick pane of glass on the set that was turned upside down, me pretending to take off my spacesuit, wind blowing shot in slow motion”.
Reflecting on when she finally saw the film, she added: “Then I actually saw it, and I didn’t think it was sexy at all, but I thought it was fun and camp, and it was kind of a trip, it was a trippy movie, so looking back now I kind of enjoy it, but it was a terrible experience to make”.
Take a look at the full interview between Fonda and Vanity Fair below.
