It’s been more than a decade since Burlesque released and Steve Antin’s passion project is still considered one of the most memorable musicals Hollywood has produced. The film stars Christina Aguilera as a Burlesque ingenue Ali, who gets a chance to be the star of a Sunset Strip Burlesque club owned by a woman named Tess, played by Cher.
This was Aguilera’s debut acting venture and though her performance was praised, the film got mixed reviews and experienced dismal box office earnings. Antin never returned to direct a motion picture although he did find success with his commercials. Years later, fans of the movie will still find the trivia just as interesting as it was in 2010.
Cher Got The Script From David Geffen
Cher actually got the copy of the script via her producer friend David Geffen who knew about the project since Culpepper and his boyfriend Antin had come up with the project on his yacht during a week-long vacation.
Antin, along with Culpepper and the couple’s producer pal Donald De Line met Cher at her Malibu mansion and after quite a bit of convincing, Cher agreed to be a part of a twenty-day filming schedule, although the production lasted about four months.
The Original Ending Was Quite Different
Antin switched the big romantic gesture-driven conclusion to a more grounded ending; the original ending was designed as an homage to Pretty Woman and the test audience reportedly found it quite derivative. It had Cam Gigandet’s Jack getting into a taxi as Aguilera's Ali climbed down a fire escape and called out his name before the couple reunited.
The revised ending had Jack and Ali reuniting backstage at Tess' club after a fight as Jack presents Ali with the finished version of a song he’d been working on.
The Film Has A Pussycat Dolls Connection
Many people may not know this but The Pussycat Dolls was actually a burlesque dance troupe and Antin’s sister Robin created a show at the Sunset Strip’s Viper Room that would also see quite a few celebrity performances. Antin revealed that he filmed these shows into a single movie which eventually inspired Burlesque.
“My sister was getting all these celebs to appear as guest performers. I got some cameras and shot the show over a few nights and edited together a little movie. That was the genesis,” Antin said.
Antin Shot Aguilera At His Sister’s Show For The Pussycat Dolls
Aguilera was also one of the celebrities Antin’s sister Robin directed for a cameo at The Pussycat Dolls’s Viper Room show. Antin filmed Aguilera’s performance too. A few years later Antin sent her the script for the movie.
“She was sweet and said she knew about the script, but hadn’t read it yet. She finally read it and agreed to a meeting with Clint and [then-Sony Motion Picture Chairperson] Amy Pascal. I wasn’t there for that meeting, and I believe Clint helped in getting her to say yes,” Antin revealed in the same interview.
Queen Latifah Was Considered For The Role Of Tess
Antin wanted a big, familiar face for the role of Tess, and Antin had considered Queen Latifah or Michelle Pfeiffer for the role of the club owner Tess. Culpepper, Aguilera, and Antin all agreed on Cher, but the issue lay with the star’s availability.
Cher was reportedly at a soundstage recording for Zootopia and when Culpepper found out she was there, he and Antin camped outside for quite a while, waiting for her exit, and eventually introduced themselves.
There Was A Reason Cher Mostly Wore Black Throughout The Film
Michael Kaplan who designed costumes for the film revealed in an interview that he wanted to assign a color to Cher’s character Tess and actually believed Tess and Cher to be alike in various ways, especially with respect to their professionalism. He revealed that he wanted Cher to wear black in the film but Cher bought her own styling prowess on set.
"Cher always put her imprint on everything she was wearing. I'd put clothes in her room every day and she'd walk out combining them in a different way than I thought she would. Cher and [her character] Tess are not that unalike — both are show business troupers,” Kaplan said.
Antin And Culpeppers Did Have Some Differences On Set
There were many reports that circulated during the filming of Burlesque which suggested that Antin and Culpepper would have fights on set and it delayed filming. But Culpepper revealed in an interview that though they did have disagreements, they were not creative in nature but were about scheduling issues.
“There weren’t creative differences. There wasn’t anything Steven wanted, creatively, that anybody disagreed with. The controversy on the set was the number of days and getting the movie done so it wouldn’t go over budget…. Steven got it and achieved his vision…. The disagreements came from, we didn’t have time, we have to move on,” Culpepper said.
Why Cher Really Accepted A Supporting Role
The reason Cher accepted a supporting role in a film was that she believed this may be her last opportunity to be in a starring role where she gets to sing.
“I wanted to sing, I’ve never been able to sing in a movie. I was offered Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep but I was on the road so I couldn't do it. And so I thought this may be the last time I will be able to sing in a film and I just wanted to do it,” Cher had revealed during the red carpet of the film’s premiere.
Juno Screenwriter Diablo Cody Revised The Script Uncredited
Many fans have wondered if Burlesque used an original screenplay. The film’s script was written by Antin but it was revised by names like Diablo Cody and Susannah Grant uncredited. In fact, Cody even opened up about how people ask her about projects she was only briefly involved with.
“You know what’s funny? Okay, so there’s a movie like Burlesque that came out a long time ago and I was one of 900 writers that worked on it, and people will still ask me about my involvement in Burlesque. I’m like, ‘That was a week of my life,” she remarked once.
Aguilera Has Always Been Familiar with Burlesque History
The reason Aguilera could seamlessly step into the role of the burlesque performer Ali was that she had already done her homework. The performer had in fact, been a collector of burlesque archive and had researched burlesque and drag culture vividly, specifically for one of her albums.
“I collected books, had played with burlesque style on my Back to Basics tour, and explored visual concepts and songs (including “Nasty Naughty Boy,” about a striptease),” Aguilera shared.