Support NeoGAF

[berzeli]

The story of the legendary rivalry between actress Bette Davis and noted wire hanger hater Joan Crawford during their collaboration on "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and well after the cameras stopped rolling. The series explores how the two women endured ageism and misogyny while struggling to hang on to success and fame in the twilight of their careers.

Feud hails from the mind of Ryan Murphy and is based in part on the script Best Actress by Jaffe Cohen and Michael Zam. Other writers on the show includes Tim Minear who did that show you were sad got cancelled.
Feud starts March 5 at 10/9c on FX, if you're in the Nordics it airs the day after on HBONordic

Cast

Videos
Season 1 Trailer
Descent Promo
Vanity Promo
The incredible Saul Bass inspired Main Title Sequence

Reviews
The Failing New York Times: "“Feud” is big and broad, but it has a nuanced sense of how its characters internalize the values that work against them."
The Washington Post: "After a screening of “Bette and Joan” for critics at a theater in January, I tweeted that I couldn’t speak for everyone but that I personally came away from it feeling 19 percent gayer."
Variety: "“Feud” has a handle on the spectacular, with its A-list performers and curiosity about the underbelly of silver-screen glamour. But ... it feels like a cheaper, smaller version of cinematic glory."
The Hollywood Reporter: "the ample pleasures of watching four Oscar-winning actresses and a slew of other stars backstab, conspire and strive for excellence should make Feud: Bette and Joan another success for Ryan Murphy"
Vulture: "Feud fails to do either its actors or its subjects justice, and there are so many anachronisms and unbelievable moments that your eyes might ache from rolling."
The Atlantic: "Its deft and satisfying first few episodes should please both the voyeurs and the feminists, and more importantly highlight how the two groups can overlap."

 

[RedHill]

Vulture had a straight writer, clearly

 

[Bladenic]

Wait Kiernan Shipka is in this? Awesome. Most clips I've seen I wasn't too impressed by Susan Sarandon. I mean I'm sure she'll be good but it didn't seem like she tried too hard to imitate Bette Davis. Lange was better as Crawford. Still, hype!

 

[Master Thespian]

This isn't normally even close to the kind of thing I'd be interested in but the whole style of it and the cast has me intrigued. Count me in.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

Sarandon is so gorgeous.

 

[Vazra]

This isn't normally even close to the kind of thing I'd be interested in but the whole style of it and the cast has me intrigued. Count me in.

Just watch it!

Also watch Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

 

[Kelpie]

I'm looking forward to seeing this. Hope it's good.

 

[PeskyToaster]

Vulture had a straight writer, clearly

Either that or they watched a Ryan Murphy show

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Wait Kiernan Shipka is in this? Awesome.

And she's playing Bette Davis' I.N.S.A.N.E. religious zealot daughter! im screaming (though I imagine she's not a religious zealot in this. I think that came later in life)

 

[jb1234]

It sounds really entertaining.

 

[Rhaknar]

That cast, damn

 

[Reeks]

I can't think of two better actors to play them. But I really hate the ads. The font and the colors are all wrong. I see billboards all around LA for the show - why the fuck are they using a Flinstones-ass font? The ads seem like a real mismatch. That rant aside, I can't wait to see the show. I'm going to a hype viewing of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane at the LA Theater tomorrow. Can't wait!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

The series premiere is tonight!

Pilot

Spoiler

In the series premiere, Joan and Bette battle ageism, sexism and each other while making the film " What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

 

[Lord Frieza]

I feel like I'm missing some with the tagline and the Washington Post review? Why is this so 'gay?'

 

[Poor GRIMES]

I feel like I'm missing some with the tagline and the Washington Post review? Why is this so 'gay?'

Crawford and Davis are huge gay icons....

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I feel like I'm missing some with the tagline and the Washington Post review? Why is this so 'gay?'

The series features many "campy" elements - and camp is typically associated with the LGBTQ community, particularly gay men.

 

[Lord Frieza]

Crawford and Davis are huge gay icons....

I did not know this

The series features many "campy" elements - and camp is typically associated with the LGBTQ community, particularly gay men.

Ah, I see. That makes sense

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Tucci as Jack Warner? Jesus.

 

[Messofanego]

Crawford and Davis are huge gay icons....

Explain why they're gay icons to a boring cis hetero dude. I get why Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, and Cher are.
No, wait, there's a wiki for this. Got it!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_icon

Actress Bette Davis' performance in Dark Victory (1939), was dubbed by queer theorist Eve Sedgwick as "the epistemology of the closet."[38] Davis' portrayal of the melodramatic Judith Traherne made her talent for playing someone with a secret revered and her "camp-worthy" dialog reflexive of the "flamboyant gay queen of the dramatic arts."[38] Ed Sikov, author of Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis, wrote that 20th century gay men developed their own subculture following Davis' example.[38]​

...

Joan Crawford has been described as the "ultimate gay icon—the martyr who suffered for her art and, therefore, enabled herself to bond with this all-important faction of her fanbase."[44] In Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography, author Lawrence J. Quirk explains that Crawford appealed to gay men because they sympathized with her struggle for success, in both the entertainment industry and in her personal life.[45] Though Crawford had been a notable film star during the 1930s and 1940s, according to David Bret, author of Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr, it was not until her 1953 film Torch Song that she was seen as a "complete gay icon, primarily because it was shot in color." Bret explains that seeing the actress' red hair, dark eyes and "Victory Red" lips linked her to "gaydom's other sirens: Dietrich, Garland, Bankhead, Piaf, and new recruits Marilyn Monroe and Maria Callas."[44]​

 

[berzeli]

I feel like I'm missing some with the tagline and the Washington Post review? Why is this so 'gay?'

I think I worked out that this is gay on at least five levels,

Davies is a gay icon.
Crawford is a gay icon.
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? is a camp fest popular within the gay community.
The era, setting, and overall aesthetics are also popular.
Not only is Ryan Murphy gay but his work is appealing to a gay audience.

(I'm probably missing some as well)

And when I say gay I mean it more in the "(male) gay culture" way rather than the "person who likes the same gender" way. But I'm not sure if this is the thread for explaining the differences between (male) gay culture and gay identity, and I don't have a good primer laying about.

They've been pretty blatant about pandering this one to the gay community, there have been preview screenings at gay clubs, my favourite example: The show got superbowl ads, but only during Lady Gaga's performance, and even things like how some of their promos could have been shot by James Bidgood (well, besides how I didn't need to crop the Feud pic before posting it here)

edit:Oh crap forgot that I should respond to this as well:

Explain why they're gay icons to a boring cis hetero dude. I get why Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, and Cher are.
No, wait, there's a wiki for this. Got it!

A lot of Hollywood Golden Age era actresses filled the same role as popstars do today, especially if they in their performances/public persona exuded certain qualities which appealed to a gay audience.
To expand on what wiki says (and seriously Davies>Crawford in icon stature, shame on you wiki), here is a pretty comprehensive blog post on Bette Davies and her relation to the gay community

 

[Messofanego]

edit:Oh crap forgot that I should respond to this as well:

A lot of Hollywood Golden Age era actresses filled the same role as popstars do today, especially if they in their performances/public persona exuded certain qualities which appealed to a gay audience.
To expand on what wiki says (and seriously Davies>Crawford in icon stature, shame on you wiki), here is a pretty comprehensive blog post on Bette Davies and her relation to the gay community

Good read, especially about the drag legacy! I just realised Elizabeth Moss looks a lot like Bette Davis, so if there ever was a biographical film...

This bit about Edmund Goulding getting it on with male actors as prep for the actress is hilarious:

"Specifically what he would do," Kennedy described, "is he would enact how he wanted a scene played by actually substituting for a female actor in a love scene. So this was how he got to smooch with Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, and other people that he worked with. There are some accounts of people joking about this technique of his on the set of The Great Lie. I try to imagine this scenario of Goulding saying to an actress, 'I'm going to show you how to play this scene' and then proceeding to stage this same-sex romantic scene with an actor. I would think an actress would be inhibited by seeing a director's re-enactment; but, many actresses said it worked well. There was much praise for this technique. But I've never heard of any other director doing that before or since."​

 

[berzeli]

Good read, especially about the drag legacy! I just realised Elizabeth Moss looks a lot like Bette Davis, so if there ever was a biographical film...

Oh god. I need this to happen.

 

[caliph95]

Didn't expect to love American Crime Story so i'm excited for this.

 

[Matty77]

I'll watch when it comes to streaming, I tend to enjoy most of Ryan Murphy's output, especially when it's campy.

 

[Fried Food]

just watched the season 1 trailer, if I wasn't told about the gay part of this I never would have thought it was "for" gay people.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Didn't expect to love American Crime Story so i'm excited for this.

Just so you know, American Crime Story was written by a completely different set of people than the ones who wrote Feud.

 

[caliph95]

Just so you know, American Crime Story was written by a completely different set of people than the ones who wrote Feud.

Dude why did you have to ruin it for me ACS was the only Ryan murphy show i watched in full.

 

[TJ Bennett]

Thank you to everyone who gives the show a chance. I hope you like it. Episode 5 is phenomenal.

 

[TheSeks]

Someone let me know if this is worth watching. I still need to watch American Crime Story. But after how dismal American Horror Story was, Ryan Murphy lost the plot with me.

I'm only interested in this due to Sarandon and Lange.

 

[PsihoPerihelion]

I'd love to watch this but I made a promise to never watch anything with Sarandon ever again. I'll wait until the next Feud without ver, I guess.

 

[Garret]

Thank you to everyone who gives the show a chance. I hope you like it. Episode 5 is phenomenal.

We need more Scream Queens!

 

[Lord Frieza]

Watching the first episode and several f bombs and a cunt. Didn't know you could have that language on FX.

 

[SunDimension24]

Watching the first episode and several f bombs and a cunt. Didn't know you could have that language on FX.

Ever since the people vs. OJ Simpson, FX has been allowing f bombs more and more. Atlanta had a lot of f bombs, taboo had a few and always sunny started dropping f bombs during this current season.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Just watched it. Sarandon is great as Bette Davis - she's got her mannerisms and speech patterns down pat. Lange is a bit iffier as Joan Crawford - the costumes and hair are spot on, but her performance definitely isn't as evocative as Sarandon's.

The pilot was a little exposition heavy, but I'm excited to see where things go now that the heavy lifting is presumably done with.

I still need to watch American Crime Story. But after how dismal American Horror Story was, Ryan Murphy lost the plot with me.

Ryan Murphy didn't write any of the episodes of American Crime Story, so don't count it out!

 

[Reeks]

I went to a promotion of Feud and special screening of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? at the LA Theater on Saturday. I can't wait to see the first episode!

 

[Lord Frieza]

First episode really didn't grab. Interesting premise, but it felt a little too stretched out.

 

[BewareTheBatsie]

That cast line-up is absolutely amazing.

 

[TJ Bennett]

We need more Scream Queens!

Highly unlikely, sorry to say!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

New episode tonight!

The Other Woman

Spoiler

With production on "Baby Jane" underway, Bette and Joan form an alliance, but outside forces conspire against them.

 

[Zousi]

Knowing almost nothing about the roots of this "feud" i'm certainly interested to find out if it goes deeper than some petty jealousy concerning their men from the past etc. I also just happened to watch Baby Jane for the first time recently so i remember all the scenes and such.

 

[The Illiterati]

As a heterosexual lover of classic film, I am enjoying this very much.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Another solid episode this week. Sarandon and Lange continue to do great work.

 

[A Serious Man]

Two episodes in and I don't feel any gayer. Maybe it's not working?

 

[Guzim]

This show is great.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

New episode tonight!

Mommie Dearest

Spoiler

As the production of Baby Jane reaches its climax, the feud becomes physical. Also: Bette's relationship with her daughter becomes strained when she bonds with a new cast member and Joan reveals an intimate detail about her past.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

It's crazy how much Keirnan Shipka reminds me of Betty Draper in this.

 

[Meowster]

Jessica Lange was fantastic in this last episode. That was probably the best one so far - the way they paralleled the motherhood of these two women versus the upbringing they both had as children and how that shaped them into who they were. Bette loves her children but is purposefully distant because she wants them to succeed without help, while Joan needs her children close by to be an attachment of her own persona, fitting an image she desperately craves.

 

[Bladenic]

It's crazy how much Keirnan Shipka reminds me of Betty Draper in this.

My mom and I thought the exact same thing.

Is it just me or is Susan Sarandon running circles around Jessica Lange? I thought from the previews Lange was more seeming of Crawford while Sarandon wasn't Davis enough. But in the show proper, I'm getting the opposite viewpoint. I mean, they're both great though.

 

[jb1234]

I've only seen the first two episodes so far but Bette Davis comes across as slightly more sympathetic. They're both unpleasant people but I find it easier to sympathize with Davis' love and devotion to her work as opposed to Crawford's love of herself.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

New episode tonight!

More, or Less

Spoiler

On the eve of its release, bad word-of-mouth plagues Baby Jane; Bette and Joan brace for failure; Pauline tries to break gender barriers; and Oscar nominations are announced.