The first take of their on-screen kiss was faked.
Jane Fonda had a kiss scene with Richard Roundtree in the sitcom “Forward”, published on March 17.
Although the octogenarian co-stars were happy to lock lips—and eventually did—there were complications at first.
“The funny thing was that when that kissing scene came up in the movie, when it was supposed to shoot, Jane had a really bad cold,” the film’s writer-director Paul Weitz told The Post.
“So we actually faked it. They did everything but kiss.”
In the comedy, Fonda, 85, and “Shaft” actor Roundtree, 80, play ex-spouses who are reunited at a friend’s funeral.
“I was totally ready to make out with Richard,” said Weitz, 57.
“In a way, we recreated that just for the close-up, of the two of them kissing… on set later.
“So Richard came over one day just to kiss Jane Fonda.”
Weitz, a Big Apple native who grew up in Carnegie House, a luxury building at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue, said that Lily Tomlin, who plays Fonda’s college friend, asked him to write the film for the couple.
“She called me from the set of ‘Grace and Frankie’ one day, and she said, ‘I’m with Jane Fonda, just talking, and we think you should write us a movie,’” he explained.
He said that working with the duo, who are friends in real life, was fun, especially when they beat each other up.
“At some point when Lily was making a dramatic pause on something, Jane thought she had forgotten her lines, so she reminded her,” he explained. “And Lily said, ‘I’m acting here!’”
This project marks the 13th time Weitz has held the director’s chair. His directorial debut ”american foot”, which he worked on with his brother Chris, was not expected to do well at the box office.
“I didn’t know this at the time, but when the studio looked at the papers, they said, ‘This is going to be a bomb,’” he said.
The teen comedy grossed more than $235 million worldwide and spawned three movies and a spin-off series of five direct-to-video movies.
“It was a surprise,” he said. “It was really weird going to the theater the first weekend and seeing a line around the block.”
Weitz’s three sons, ages 19, 16 and 12, not only preview their movies before they’re released, but also provide commentary.
“They give me notes. My 16-year-old son, I showed him ‘American Pie’ … that was the only movie where he afterward said to me, ‘I’m proud of you, dad.'”
