Meryl Streep Criticizes Late Sydney Pollack For Lion Charge In 'Out Of Africa'  Meryl Streep |
Meryl Streep has criticized the late director, Sydney Pollack, for unleashing a lion on her while shooting for the Oscar-winner "Out of Africa" despite the denial of the late filmmaker.
Streep was assured the beast would be tied while she fought it off with a whip, but now, decades later the actress admits she still wonders how her life was put in danger, after Pollack devised a dangerous way to get the shot he wanted.
"It was the last day of shooting. They imported all the lions from California; they were kind of (lazy). They weren't charging me in the right way... this lion was sitting there (yawning) and she had a leash on. She was supposed to charge me with the camera covering her side with her leash. And she just wouldn't do it," Streep recalled.
"So the last take, Sydney told them to take the leash off because it was a wrap the next day - so if they got the shot, they got the shot. No (they didn't tell me). So I whipped and she kept coming at me. Sydney says that didn't happen, but it did happen," she said.
