‘Feud: Bette And Joan’ – Everything We Know About Ryan Murphy’s Next Hit Series
The truth behind Joan Crawford and Bette Davis’ high-profile feud is the subject of Ryan Murphy’s newest project, Feud: Bette and Joan. With the premiere less than a month away, here’s everything we known about Murphy’s latest masterpiece.
According to ET Online, Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon are playing the iconic roles of Crawford and Davis. The show will center on their harsh and sometimes violent feud during the making of the 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Despite their constant fighting on set, the movie received no less than five nominations at the Oscars and won a gold statue for Best Costume Design. The film was also a huge success at the box office and served to reboot both Davis and Crawford’s careers.
Although details about the show are still slim, TV Line is reporting that FX just released the opening credits for the new series. The retro appearance of the credits perfectly matches with the show’s time period. Not only do the credits feature paper-doll animation, but the background jazz music plays homage to the Baby Jane.
In addition to the opening credits, the Daily Mail is reporting that producers released a short teaser clip for Feud. In the video, Sarandon is shown as Davis telling Lange’s Crawford, “I barely touched her,” highlighting the physical nature of their intense rivalry.
Per Entertainment Weekly, Feud: Bette and Joan will also explore Davis and Crawford’s early acting careers in the ’30s and ’40s. Even then, their rivalry reached epic proportions. In fact, Davis once slammed Crawford by claiming she “slept with every male co-star at MGM except Lassie.” Crawford didn’t let the comment slide. She once said that Davis looked like she “never had a happy day – or night – in her life.”
When it came to portraying the women on the small screen, Sarandon admitted that actually found a lot in common with Davis.
“I never saw myself as being one of the beautiful girls… So I kind of understood and related to that,” she explained.
Lange didn’t share the same sentiment about Crawford. The actress was brought up in a poor and abusive environment and never stopped obsessing about her status in Hollywood. Despite her success, Crawford always seemed haunted by her upbringing.
“She lived with that always,” Lange shared. “That great fear of poverty. She used sexuality as comfort, as a bargaining tool, as punishment.”
Lange was surprised to discover that Crawford really did take ice and witch hazel facial treatments every day. As fans will recall, the beauty regimen was famously included in the 1981 movie about Crawford’s life, Mommie Dearest.
“The witch hazel was my shout-out to Mommie Dearest,” Murphy said about the decision to feature the scene in Feud. “Jessica Lange has never seen Mommie Dearest. She’s like, ‘What the f**k am I doing?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m telling you, Joan Crawford did this!'”
While Feud focuses on the rivalry, it also explores the story of two actresses victimized by men, their careers, and the media. “I wasn’t interested in just doing this broad, campy [show],” Murphy explained. “I was interested in the idea of sexism, ageism, misogyny. Turning 40, 45, 50 and feeling like you’re at the height of your powers and people saying, ‘Well, you’re done.'”
Apart from Sarandon and Lange, the new series stars Alfred Molina (director Robert Aldrich), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Olivia de Havilland), Judy Davis (Hedda Hopper), Sarah Paulson (Geraldine Page) and Kathy Bates (Joan Blondell). No word yet on how many seasons Murphy is planning on producing.
Feud: Bette and Joan is scheduled to premiere March 5 on FX, check out a sneak peek below.
[Featured Image by FX]
