Burstyn with joy! ELLEN'S CAREER REVIVAL

Starring in new movie Queen Bees. the actress is still buzzing about being in demand at 88

- Fleur Guthrie

Cinema legend Ellen Burstyn might be 88, but the Oscar winner is busier than ever. The actress chats to the Weekly from New York about growing up with an abusive mother, coping with the loneliness of Covid lockdown, and starring in her new movie Queen Bees, where she plays a senior citizen coping with everything from cliques to romance in a retirement village.

Did it make a nice change to read the script for Queen Bees about sassy older women still having interests in life?

Yes! It’s rare to have an upbeat romantic comedy about women in their 70s and 80s. I read so many scripts after I turned 50 that was all about putting grandmas in the nursing home. I enjoyed shooting with the other women in Queen Bees so much, like the scene where we decide to smoke marijuana. It wasn’t real, of course, but we had a lot of fun playing it. It brought back some of my wilder times.

Tell us about reprising your role in the new Exorcist trilogy.

That came out of the blue. The film is not a remake of the original. Instead, it’s a continuation of the 1973 horror classic. I’m getting more work now than I’ve ever had in my life.

And there’s obviously no desire to retire?