History Trivia / DeathBecomesHer

*** One draft of the script gave more depth to Lisle's character. Originally, she wasn't going to be merely 71, but old beyond imagination. Her deepest desire was to use the potion to preserve the greatest minds and creative talents of the world forever, such as William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln and Max Factor[[note]]founder of a cosmetics company and responsible for the first cosmetics intended specifically for film actors[[/note]]. Unfortunately for her, those great minds came to the same conclusion that Ernest ultimately did: eternal life is not a dream but a nightmare, and she killed them in retaliation. The fact that pretty much the only people interested in the potion were the vain, narcissistic personalities of Hollywood was a bone of contention for her. It brought her wealth, but not the collection of intelligent talent she dreamed of.

*** The second version of the screenplay, while far closer to the final film, had a subplot where Ernest befriends a kind female bartender named Toni (played by Creator/TraceyUllman). In the scripted ending, Ernest flees to Toni's bar (with the potion still intact) and she helps him escape Madeline and Helen by [[FakingTheDead faking his death]] before they run away and start a new life together. The final scene of the movie would have shown Madeline and Helen vacationing in the Swiss Alps, still young and beautiful, but completely bored and miserable. They snark at an elderly couple holding hands, who are revealed to be Toni and Ernest, with Ernest's right hand, which received the potion, still smooth and youthful -- showing that Ern has found true happiness in old age, whilst Madeline and Helen are still vain, unhappy, and stuck together. The ending was scrapped in favor of the darker theatrical ending; this was unfortunate for Ullman, as ''Death Becomes Her'' was intended to be her big return to film, plus Creator/GoldieHawn preferred this ending, finding it much more interesting and poignant, and was disappointed it wasn't used (although Streep, on the other hand, preferred the revised ending.)

** Amalgamated Dynamics created a working animatronic of Meryl Streep with her head twisted backwards, which was capable of movement, blinking and speech. Though the effect ultimately wasn't lifelike enough to be used for facial closeups (this being the early 90s, where most animatronics were still mostly creatures instead of humans, and used foam latex or fiberglass instead of silicone), the animatronic was used for a few shots showing Madeline from behind (Meryl's face was superimposed onto her back through blue-screen technology for the rest of the scene). Some of their work elsewhere was kept (mostly makeup prothetics), and co-founder Tom Woodruff Jr. accepted the award for best effects with the CGI team despite this.

*** The second version of the screenplay, while far closer to the final film, had a subplot where Ernest befriends a kind female bartender named Toni (played by Creator/TraceyUllman). In the scripted ending, Ernest flees to Toni's bar (with the potion still intact) and she helps him escape Madeline and Helen by [[FakingTheDead faking his death]] before they run away and start a new life together. The final scene of the movie would have shown Madeline and Helen vacationing in the Swiss Alps, still young and beautiful, but completely bored and miserable. They snark at an elderly couple holding hands, who are revealed to be Toni and Ernest, with Ernest's right hand, which received the potion, still smooth and youthful -- showing that Ern has found true happiness in old age, whilst Madeline and Helen are still vain, unhappy, and stuck together. The ending was scrapped in favor of the darker theatrical ending; unfortunate, as ''Death Becomes Her'' was intended to be Ullman's big return to film.

** While Creator/MerylStreep doesn't hate the movie as a whole, she did hate the filming process and having to tailor her acting to the special effects, like having to pretend a lampstand was Creator/GoldieHawn and reshooting scenes to line up with the effect used to make her body look twisted. Streep has since vowed never again to work on another movie that relied heavily on computer effects.

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage, Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw (and a side character). Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in exclusive beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into her body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited Liesel's body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age while his spirit remains). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs, Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body. After searching (unsuccessfully) for a solution amongst religious experts, Madeline and Ernest schemed to transfer Bert into the body of Madeline's young lover, only to have a crisis of conscience at the last minute; instead, Madeline made amends with Helen, asking her and Ernest's forgiveness for breaking them up and [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy urging them to get back together]]. The act of atonement purfied Madeline's soul and evicted Bert (allowing her to [[DyingAsYourself pass on peacefully as herself]]), and the screenplay ended with Ernest and Helen [[{{Bookends}} sitting together in a theater]], watching a tribute film about Madeline's life.

** Although Creator/GoldieHawn overall loved the film, she significantly preferred the original ending, finding it much more interesting and poignant, and expressed disappointment it didn’t test well enough to be used. (Streep, on the other hand, was partial to the revised ending.)

*** Madeline's lover was a [[LatinLover Latin]] cabana boy named Marcello, rather than the blonde frat boy Dakota. He was also given more screentime, included a scene where he and Madeline meet for sex after Ernest leaves for work (during which she discusses her feud with Helen) and another where Madeline calls him immediately after taking the potion to arrange a meetup.

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage, Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw (and a side character). Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in exclusive beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into her body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited Liesel's body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age or die while his spirit remains). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs, Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body. After searching (unsuccessfully) for a solution amongst religious experts, Madeline and Ernest schemed to transfer Bert into the body of Madeline's lover, only to have a crisis of conscience at the last minute; instead, Madeline made amends with Helen, asking her and Ernest's forgiveness for breaking them up, and urging them to get back together. The act of atonement purfied Madeline's soul and evicted Bert (allowing her to [[DyingAsYourself pass on peacefully as herself]]), and the screenplay ended with Ernest and Helen [[{{Bookends}} sitting together in a theater]], watching a tribute film about Madeline's life.

** You'd be excused for thinking Creator/TimBurton or Creator/TheCoenBrothers directed this, but nope, it was Creator/RobertZemeckis. The director of ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' and ''Film/ForrestGump'', everyone! (Like many of his movies, though, there's the AuthorAppeal of CGI SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome.)

* CreatorBacklash: While Creator/MerylStreep doesn't hate the movie as a whole, she did hate the filming process and having to tailor her acting to the special effects, like having to pretend a lampstand was Creator/GoldieHawn and reshooting scenes to line up with the effect used to make her body look twisted. Streep has since vowed never again to work on another movie that relied heavily on computer effects.

* DeletedRole: Creator/TraceyUllman, a long-time friend of Meryl Streep, had a supporting role as a bartender named Toni who befriends Ernest (and later runs away with him). Despite her character being cut (due to a last minute ending change), she appeared in much of the film's promotional material, including the theatrical trailer (see below) and at least one [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104070/mediaviewer/rm3743815680 promotional image]].

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage, Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw (and a side character). Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in exclusive beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into her body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited Liesel's body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age or die while his spirit remains). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs, Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body. Madeline and Ernest schemed to transfer Bert into the body of Madeline's young boyfriend, only to have a crisis of conscience at the last minute; instead, Madeline made amends with Helen, asking her and Ernest's forgiveness for breaking them up and urging them to get back together. The act of atonement purfied her soul and evicted Bert, sending him to hell, while Madeline [[DyingAsYourself passed on peacefully as herself]]; the film ended with Ernest and Helen [[{{Bookends}} sitting together in a theater]], watching a tribute film of Madeline's life.

* MissingTrailerScene: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ko2dB8Jk_o theatrical trailer]] includes several scenes that never made it into the film: a shot of Madeline driving her convertible down a sunny street, some dialogue between Madeline's agent and a young woman at the book party ("Is that someone?" "That's Madeline Ashton. She was a big star in the 60s." "I thought she was dead!"), and Ernest removing Madeline from a freezer and helping her up the mansion stairs ("I feel sweaty!" "That's not sweat, dear. I think you're defrosting"). The latter scene was also featured on the [=VHS=] (and later, [=DVD=]) [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104070/mediaviewer/rm1954962176 cover]]. Two scenes from the film's original ending (featuring Tracey Ullman) were also included: one with Ernest and Toni (Ullman) [[https://theentertainmentnut.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/dbh2.jpg?w=584 examining the body of a man]] slumped over the bar ("Now HE'S dead!"), and Madeline and Helen confronting a sobbing Toni (with Helen hysterically exclaiming, "He's dead? Ernest is dead? EVERYBODY'S dead!").

*** The second version of the screenplay, while far closer to the final film, had a subplot where Ernest befriends a kind female bartender named Toni (played by Creator/TraceyUllman). In the scripted ending, Ernest flees to Toni's bar (with the potion still intact) and she helps him escape Madeline and Helen by [[FakingTheDeath faking his death]] before they run away and start a new life together. The final scene of the movie would have shown Madeline and Helen vacationing in the Swiss Alps, still young and beautiful, but completely bored and miserable. They snark at an elderly couple holding hands, who are revealed to be Toni and Ernest, with Ernest's right hand, which received the potion, still smooth and youthful -- showing that Ern has found true happiness in old age, whilst Madeline and Helen are still vain, unhappy, and stuck together. The ending was scrapped in favor of the darker theatrical ending; unfortunate, as ''Death Becomes Her'' was intended to be Ullman's big return to film.

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage, Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw (and a side character). Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in exclusive beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into her body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited Liesel's body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age or die while his spirit remains in their body). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs, Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body. Madeline and Ernest schemed to transfer Bert into the body of Madeline's young boyfriend, only to have a crisis of conscience at the last minute; instead, Madeline made amends with Helen, asking her and Ernest's forgiveness for breaking them up and urging them to get back together. The act of atonement purfied her soul and evicted Bert, sending him to hell, while Madeline [[DyingAsYourself passed on peacefully as herself]]; the film ended with Ernest and Helen [[{{Bookends}} sitting together in a theater]], watching a tribute film of Madeline's life.

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage, Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw (and a side character). Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in exclusive beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into her body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited Liesel's body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age or die while his spirit remains in their body). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs (after finding out about her boyfriend), Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body. Madeline and Ernest schemed to transfer Bert into the body of Madeline's young boyfriend, only to have a crisis of conscience at the last minute; instead, Madeline made amends with Helen, asking her and Ernest's forgiveness for breaking them up and urging them to get back together. The act of atonement purfied her soul and evicted Bert, sending him to hell, while Madeline [[DyingAsYourself passed on peacefully as herself]]; the film ended with Ernest and Helen [[{Bookends}} sitting together in a theater, watching a tribute film of Madeline's life.
*** The second version of the screenplay, while was far closer to the final film, had a subplot where Ernest befriends a kind female bartender named Toni (played by Creator/TraceyUllman). In the scripted ending, Ernest flees to Toni's bar (with the potion still intact) and she helps him escape Madeline and Helen by [[FakingTheDeath faking his death]] before they run away and start a new life together. The final scene of the movie would have shown Madeline and Helen vacationing in the Swiss Alps, still young and beautiful, but completely bored and miserable. They snark at an elderly couple holding hands, who are revealed to be Toni and Ernest, with Ernest's right hand, which received the potion, still smooth and youthful -- showing that Ern has found true happiness in old age, whilst Madeline and Helen are still vain, unhappy, and stuck together. The ending was scrapped in favor of the darker theatrical ending; unfortunate, as ''Death Becomes Her'' was intended to be Ullman's big return to film.

*** When Ernest entered the morgue to look for Madeline, he was supposed to be distracted by a drawer holding the body of a dead priest, which eerily rolled open on its own (repeatedly). This explains the strange, crying nuns in the hallway, as well as Ernest's sudden conviction that Madeline's resurrection was a "miracle" and a sign from God. (It's unknown whether the scene itself was actually filmed, as the deleted scenes have never been released.)

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage; Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw (and a side character); Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into Madeline's body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited her body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age or die while his spirit remains in their body). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs, Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body, with Bert wanting to capitalize on Madeline's fame and beauty by starring in a movie, while Madeline became increasingly weak and unable to control her body. Madeline and Ernest schemed to transfer Bert into the body of Madeline's young, handsome boyfriend, but had a crisis of conscience; instead, Madeline made amends with Helen, asking her and Ernest's forgiveness for breaking them up. The filmed ended on a sappy note, with God purifying Madeline's soul and sending Bert to hell, Madeline [[DyingAsYourself passing on peacefully as herself]], and Ernest and Helen getting back together and watching a tribute film of Madeline's life.
*** A subplot where Ernest befriends a kind female bartender named Toni (played by Creator/TraceyUllman). In the scripted ending, Ernest flees to Toni's bar (with the potion still intact) and she helps him escape Madeline and Helen by [[FakingTheDeath faking his death]] before they run away and start a new life together. The final scene of the movie would have shown Madeline and Helen vacationing in the Swiss Alps, still young and beautiful, but completely bored and miserable. They snark at an elderly couple holding hands, who are revealed to be Toni and Ernest, with Ernest's right hand, which received the potion, still smooth and youthful -- showing that Ern has found true happiness in old age, whilst Madeline and Helen are still vain, unhappy, and stuck together. The ending was scrapped in favor of the darker theatrical ending; unfortunate, as ''Death Becomes Her'' was intended to be Ullman's big return to film.

*** In its earliest incarnation, the screenplay bore little resemblance to the final film, being somewhat closer to a [[GenderFlip gender flipped]] ''Film/AllOfMe''. Madeline was an aging Broadway star with a (young, male) entourage, Helen was ''Doctor'' Helen Shaw, and Ernest was a successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. Liesel was an ordinary woman who specialized in beauty treatments, and she made Madeline (and ''only'' Madeline) immortal not through magic, but by transferring a {{Curse}} -- in the form a foul-mouthed ghost named Bert -- into Madeline's body (explaining that he had [[BodySnatcher inhabited her body 130 years earlier to prevent himself from going to Hell]], and that one cannot age or die while his spirit remains in their body). When Madeline died by Ernest pushing her down the stairs, Bert reanimated her body and prevented her from decomposing. The rest of the script saw Madeline and Bert fighting for control of her body.

** A form of tongue in cheek, where the 71-year-old Lisle is first assumed to be 38 by Madeline (and gets a dirty look for that assumption). Creator/IsabellaRosselini was actually 38 when she filmed her part.

** Amalgamated Dynamics created a working animatronic of Meryl Streep with her head twisted backwards, which was capable of movement, blinking and speech. Though the effect ultimately wasn’t lifelike enough to be used for facial closeups, the animatronic was used for a few shots showing Madeline from behind (Meryl’s face was superimposed onto her back through blue-screen technology for the rest of the scene).

** Creator/KevinKline was cast as Ernest, yet asked for too much money. Creator/JeffBridges auditioned but was turned down.
** The original script has a number of scenes and plot elements that never made into the film:

* CreatorBacklash: While Meryl Streep doesn't hate the movie as a whole, she did hate the filming process and having to tailor her acting to the special effects, like having to pretend a lampstand was Goldie Hawn and reshooting scenes to line up with the effect used to make her body look twisted. Streep has since vowed never again to work on another movie that relied heavily on computer effects.
* CreatorInJoke: Helen says she drank the potion on October 26th 1985. This is the date that Marty [=McFly=] travelled back in time to 1955 in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', which was of course directed by Robert Zemeckis.

** Bruce Willis playing a cowardly, bumbling HenpeckedHusband back when he was in the full swing of badass action heroes. Bonus points for the character being literally impotent.

* RealLifeRelative: Robert Zemeckis's then-wife Mary Ellen Trainor appears as Vivian Adams, the woman who thanks Ernest for how he made her great aunt look, and is then appalled when he reveals he uses spray paint.

** Meryl Streep likewise was only 43 playing the 50-something Madeline.
** A form of tongue in cheek, where the 71-year-old Lisle is first assumed to be 38 by Madeline (and gets a dirty look for that assumption). Isabella Rosselini was actually 38 when she filmed her part.

** Creator/KevinKline was cast as Ernest, yet asked for too much money. Jeff Bridges auditioned but was turned down.