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Mary Steenburgen says she misses her late friend Diane Keaton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
The actress shared how close she and her Book Club<\/em> costars became.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Steenburgen is preparing to reunite with Candice Bergen and Jane Fonda for Bergen’s birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Mary Steenburgen<\/a> instantly knew that she’d become close with her Book Club<\/em> costars, and she’s preparing for how much they will miss their late costar Diane Keaton<\/a> during an upcoming celebration.<\/p>\n Steenburgen, Keaton, Candice Bergen<\/a>, and Jane Fonda<\/a> first united for the 2018 rom-com Book Club<\/em>, before then coming back together for the 2023 sequel, Book Club: The Next Chapter<\/em>. As part of an interview with PEOPLE<\/a>, Steenburgen watched clips from the films.<\/p>\n “There’s just a million memories, and I’m having these two ladies over to my house in a few days for Candice’s 80th birthday,” Steenburgen said of Bergen and Fonda. She then pointed at Keaton and added, “I’m pretty sure we will be very much missing this lady.”<\/p>\n Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen in ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ Last October, Keaton died<\/a> of pneumonia at the age of 79. Al Pacino, Goldie Hawn, Keanu Reeves, and Rachel McAdams are among Keaton’s collaborators who have paid tribute to the Oscar winner.<\/p>\n Directed by Bill Holderman, Book Club<\/em> starred Steenburgen, Keaton, Bergen, and Fonda as four women who have been in a monthly book club for 40 years have participated in their monthly book club for 40 years, but their love lives are suddenly changed by their reading of Fifty Shades of Grey<\/em>.<\/p>\n “None of us had ever worked together before,” Steenburgen said of the group. “By the time we finished that [first] scene, I felt like something was happening. You could just feel, ‘These women are going to be friends of mine.’ And they became three of my life’s closest friends.”<\/p>\n She continued, “And [it’s] still very hard to look at this and know that Diane’s not here. But I feel very blessed to have the other two here and in my life.”<\/p>\n Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to Entertainment Weekly<\/em> ahead of Book Club: The Next Chapter<\/em>, Steenburgen reflected on the impact of the series.<\/p>\n “I’m amazed at how many young women watched the first movie,” she said<\/a>. “But they like to hear an alternate version of what their future’s going to be instead of this sad, losing everything [narrative]. It’s, what are you going to gain when you get older?”<\/p>\n
Credit: Focus Features<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n