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Nyad Stars Annette Bening and Jodie Foster Recall Wearing a Similar Dress at the Oscars:

Annette Bening and her “Nyad” co-star Jodie Foster share similar tastes – Bening Foster over with a dog and Christmas decorations. And they once were wore similar gowns to the Oscars.

Considering they are two of the greatest actresses working today, one might assume Bening and Foster were friends – or knew each other – prior to working together on the Netflix film. The two are both Oscar nominated for portraying swimmer Diana Nyad (Bening) and her best friend/coach Bonnie Stoll (Foster.) In a Q&A at the Aero Theatre for the American Cinematheque, the pair revealed they had only met in passing and Bening was a bit intimidated when she heard Foster was being offered the part of Stoll. You can view the Q&A below.

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Said Bening, “I thought, “Oh, she’ll never do it. Because she’s selective, and she’s got class, and she doesn’t know me.” To which Foster added, “[She’s] lazy…”

Bening went on to say that when she heard Foster was interested, “I was really excited.” Foster came to her house “and sized me up.” Foster was won over early by the décor. “She had a lot of Christmas tchotchkes. I knew we were on the right track.” Bening added that her pet – a 130-pound Newfoundland – also impressed her future co-star, who loves dogs.

The actors spent time with their real-life counterparts Nyad and Stoll and how the longtime friends razz each other. “Diana will tell a story and Bonnie will say, ‘That never happened,’” Bening said. “Diane is a charismatic storyteller. And anybody that’s a storyteller has to embellish it a little bit, right?

“My husband certainly does – not to name drop!” Bening joked of actor/filmmaker Warren Beatty. She added, “He’ll tell his story and I’ll think, ‘Oh, that’s a little different this time, isn’t it?’”

Also during the conversation, the actors discussed which projects people most want to talk to them about. Foster replied, “I always get the fava beans and the chianti,” citing the Oscar-winning “Silence of the Lambs.”

Bening said it varied based on the place and the people. She recalled a few years ago when she was at an airport in Cuba and a man came up to her and spoke about how much “The Kids Are All Right” had meant to him. “He was talking about how in his community, they had all watched it and how much it meant to them,” Lately, she said, she’d been getting a lot of “Nyad” viewers. Including one man on a plane who said his wife made him watch it – before adding that he thought she did a great job.

After starring in “Nyad” together, the actors reflected on how they had run into each other in passing over the years – and Foster remembered how a potential scandal once arose.

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“We were both at the Oscars at the same time and we were both wearing the same dress, or some version of the same dress. And it was like an international incident!” Foster said as Bening gasped. “I got a call and they were like, ‘You’re going to be wearing the same dress!’ I was like, ‘I don’t give a shit.’ And apparently Annette said, ‘Well I don’t care either.’ And then we both went, and it was just fine. We all lived. Nobody died.”

“That was our connection!” Bening laughed.

An exhaustive online search suggests they’re referring to the 1996 Academy Awards where they both wore long-sleeve fitted gowns with a mock turtleneck style collar and brocade/floral detailing (see below) but this could not be confirmed.

At the end of the Q&A, I suggested the two show up in the same dress at this year’s Oscars ceremony. “Let’s do it!” Bening joked. Or was she joking? We’ll find out March 10.

Watch the Q&A below. Footage courtesy of American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre.

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