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This is going to be amazing
Long before Katy and Taylor or Mariah and J. Lo., there was friction between screen legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford on the set of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, the source material for FEUD: Bette and Joan, the first installment of the new FX anthology series from Ryan Murphy.
On the show, Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) spar, for sure, but they also endure ageism, sexism and misogyny as their careers wane. Feud also stars Sarah Paulson as Geraldine Page, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia De Havilland, Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell and Stanley Tucci as studio titan Jack Warner. What else can you expect?
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1. It's not going to be a pure camp spectacle
"When you hear about it," Murphy said at the Television Critics Association winter previews Thursday, "it's your natural inclination that it's going to be [camp]. Bette and Joan were both larger-than-life figures." But, he said, after having made a real commitment to diversity in his company -- hiring 50 percent women and minorities -- he saw an opportunity to do something meaningful. "I wasn't interested in a camp-fest. I was interested in something deeper and more emotional. What happened to them was painful," he said, as the women were unwillingly (and perhaps unconsciously) pitted against one another by a male-run system that had no regard for women once they'd aged.
2. The sets are very realistic
Designers did meticulous re-creations for the show, including a down-to-the-molding re-creation of Joan Crawford's home. They were even able to find actual pieces from the set of Baby Jane, including a dusty piano that had been discarded long ago.
3. Is there a reason that Bette's name appears first in the title?
"It's alphabetical," said Murphy.
American Horror Story renewed through Season 9
Feud: Bette and Joan premieres Sunday, March 5 at 10/9c on FX.