Trivia / The First Wives Club

• All-Star Cast: Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Stockard Channing, Sarah Jessica Parker, Heather Locklear, Bronson Pinchot, Victor Garber, Stephen Collins — oh, and Dame Maggie Smith.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Elizabeth Berkley only took her part to "work with the best actresses around".
• Cast the Runner-Up: Bette Midler originally auditioned for the "more glamorous role" of Elise Eliot-Atchison before being cast as Brenda Morelli-Cushman.
• Completely Different Title: In German, the film has the title "Der Club der Teufelinnen" - "The Club of the She-Devils".
• Deleted Role: Jon Stewart was cast as the boyfriend Elise is mentioned to have acquired towards the movie's end, but his scenes were cut.
• Hostility on the Set: In a 2009 interview with Nathan Rabin, Bronson Pinchot stated that Bette Midler had mistreated director Hugh Wilson on the set:
  [She] was such a bitch to him. While he was directing, she would be rolling her eyes, pantomiming with her favorite actors, and she made it very difficult. And he was at his wit's end. He was actually a very nice man, but she was very unkind to him on that movie.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Diane Keaton has never been married and Bette Midler has been married since 1984.
• Stillborn Franchise: Bette Midler mentioned that all three main cast members wanted to make a sequel, but the studio was not agreeable, as they viewed the success of this movie as a "fluke".
• What Could Have Been:
  • Scott Rudin originally wanted Jessica Lange for Elise Eliot-Atchison. Sally Field was also considered.
  • Mandy Patinkin was originally cast as Aaron Paradis but dropped out when he decided to focus on his musical aspirations.
  • Héctor Elizondo was up for the role of Morton "Morty" Cushman.
  • Jenny McCarthy turned down the role of Phoebe LaVelle.
  • As mentioned above; Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton were down to make a sequel, but the studio wanted nothing to do with it.

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