If Beyoncé wants something, more than likely she’ll get it. At least, that was the case when the Grammy Award-winning singer called out the marketing team for manipulating her image on a movie poster for “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and essentially making the “Break My Soul” singer appear much skinnier than she actually was.
In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary, Vulture is celebrating with an oral history devoted to the actress’ role as Foxxy Cleopatra, the Pam Grier-inspired FBI agent opposite Mike Myers’ titular international man of mystery, courtesy of the cast and crew members who worked alongside her. According to the movie’s makeup artist Kate Biscoe, the 40-year-old star was unhappy about her look.
Biscoe told the outlet, “When we were shooting, someone brought her a poster that would be promoting the movie. He showed it to her, like, ‘Do you like it?’ And she was kind of like, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘What’s the matter?’ And she says, ‘You made me too skinny. It’s not me.’ Then she did this hourglass shape. And he said, ‘Okay, we’ll fix that.’ ”
Biscoe also claimed that the request was not cheap. She continued, “She walked away to go do the scene, and I looked at him and smiled, like, ‘Is that the first time that you’ve ever had an actress ask to make her body bigger?’ He was like, ‘Yes. It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars, but I am going to do it.’ ”
The “Single Ladies” singer has since starred in several more films, including “Cadillac Records” and “Obsessed,” before going on to direct her own visual in her musical career. While talking to Harper’s BAZAAR in September 2021, about getting behind the camera more and producing her music videos the singer shared, “I was very interested in filmmaking, and my first project was directing my concert film, I Am…World Tour.”
She added, “I learned how to edit the cut myself in Final Cut Pro, and it was the beginning of a newfound love and creative expression, which led to creating the visual album with my self-titled album, “Beyoncé,” then “Lemonade,” “Homecoming,” and “Black Is King.” Her latest project, “Renaissance,” will debut on July 29.
