‘Idol’: Behind the Controversy and Negative Reviews

CNN
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A new big show is coming to HBO next month — about the music industry, fame and a lot of sex.

It’s called “Idol,” and while the show has yet to make a public debut, it’s already making headlines around the world.

“idol” from Abel Tesfayebetter known as The Weeknd, and showrunner Sam Levinson of another hit HBO show, “Euphoria” “Idol” Following an up-and-coming pop star, Jocelyn, played by 23-year-old Lily-Rose Depp, falls in love with Tesfaye’s cult leader and nightclub owner.The resulting romance has been a whirlwind to say the least – and has been labeled downright abusive and some reviewer porn. (HBO and CNN share parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)

While “Idol” premiered Monday at the Cannes Film Festival, controversy swirled around the production for months before people saw it.The first director left when the show was about 80 percent complete, Rolling Stone Report Earlier this year, sources were cited who spoke of a chaotic production environment.As of Thursday afternoon, the show had a 27% Approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

CNN has reached out to representatives for “Idol.” HBO did not provide the show’s projection crew for review, except for what was screened at Cannes.

With the show set to premiere on June 4, here’s a summary of the controversy surrounding “Idol.”

March, Rolling Stones published a report 13 unnamed sources interviewed about the production of “Idol” who claimed the show had gone “crazy, disgustingly off track”.

April 2022, directed by Amy Semetz left production That’s despite having done most of the six-episode series. At the time, the show was scheduled to premiere in late 2022. But Levinson took over production following her exit, and according to Rolling Stone, he decided to rewrite and reshoot the show, causing delays.

According to Rolling Stone, Levinson changed the heart of the show. While Semetz approached the story through the lens of Depp’s character — envisioning a story about fame and the twisting influence of the meat industry — Levinson’s approach focused more on toxic romance, the report said.

Producers who spoke to Rolling Stone claimed that the production was chaotic, filled with half-written scripts and reshot scenes.

HBO told Rolling Stone in a statement that the show’s “creative team has always been committed to creating a safe, collaborative and respectful work environment, and over the last year, the team has made creative changes that they believe are in the best interest of the production and the audience.” staff.”

In response to the Rolling Stone report, Tesfaye released a video show on twitter, Depp’s character turned down the cover of Rolling Stone because the magazine was too “irrelevant”. He captioned the clip with “(Rolling Stone) Did we upset you?”

critic Reaction to the script following its Cannes premiere this week was mostly negative. While some have praised the performances of some of the cast, Levinson’s direction — and the story as a whole — has been criticized.

“Levinson applies his efficient and stylish direction to each scene. Some of them are dynamic, others are contradictory, most are confusing,” The Hollywood Reporter pointed out. “Very rarely does a scene flash her breasts or her ass in the shot. You start to wonder if that’s building anything, and by the second episode, it seems like it probably isn’t.”

Variety calls the show a ‘dirty male fantasy’ writing: “Making Jocelyn stronger shouldn’t be regressive and painful. Viewers of The Thrill won’t be too surprised by the shameful way (Levinson) treats Depp’s character, as both she and the show seem to be beholden to The Control of the Weeknd.”

Others put it more bluntly, calling the show simply “Vulgar and sexist.”

But those involved stand behind Levinson and “Idol.”

“It’s always kind of sad and frustrating to see mean, false things about people you care about. It doesn’t reflect all of my experiences,” Depp said in response to the Rolling Stone article.

Tesfaye also In Defense of Cannessaid: “We originally wanted to take a dark, twisted fairytale with everything we knew about the music industry and everything I knew, and enhance it.”

Hank Azaria also called his time on the show the “antithesis” of chaotic scenes, while Jane Adams called Levinson “outstanding.”

“I’m very frustrated with this society,” Adams said. “Can we create? Can we get messy and think freely?”

For his part, Levinson didn’t publicly voice his concerns at the Cannes news conference. After his wife read him the Rolling Stone article, he told her, “I think we’re about to have the biggest show of the summer,” he said.

Levinson is best known for creating the hit Emmy-winning show “Bliss,” starring Zendaya, based on israel show same name.

Despite the popularity of the show, criticism has died down In Levinson, especially the show about teens, for its seemingly gratuitous and graphic depictions of nudity and sex.

But several cast members on the show said they were happy with the amount of nudity, noting that there are always intimate coordinators on set to check their safety and comfort.at least four more crew members – Sydney Sweeney, Minka Kelly, Chloe Cherry and Martha Kelly – have said they sometimes hold back when they don’t feel the need to be nude.

Sweeney, who plays Cassie Howard on the show, praised Levinson for making her feel comfortable.

“There are times when Cassie should be shirtless, and I’ll tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think it’s necessary.'” He says, ‘Well, we don’t need it,'” Sweeney 2022 told The Independent. “I never felt like Sam was forcing it on me, or trying to put nude scenes on the HBO show. He didn’t force me when I didn’t want to.”

“Idol” airs June 4 on HBO and on Max (formerly HBO Max).