Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1513369
Naomi Watts as Babe Paley Swan Song P erhaps one of the greatest bits of news we heard in 2023 concerned Ryan M u r p h y 's u p c o m i n g Fe u d d o c u d r a m a T V series based on Truman C a p o t e 's s w a n s , h i s immensely rich and beautiful circle of female friends, which premieres on FX on January 31. Yes, we did a double take when this scrumptious tidbit came up on our screens. Just in case you haven't heard of the veritable mastermind of modern media, Murphy has been behind bingeable series for more than two decades. His salacious and scandalous titles include American Horror Story, Feud: Bette and Joan, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Nip/Tuck, and the American Crime Story anthology (season one dove deep into the O.J. Simpson trial, the second on the killing of Gianni Versace, and the last on Bill Clinton's indiscretion). The first Feud anthology launched in 2017 and focused on the infamous and combative relationship between two of the OGs of Hollywood diva-dom: Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. After a seven-year hiatus and some initial rumblings that the storyline for the second installment would be about the Royals, it was announced in April 2022 that Capote and his lovely ladies would be Feuding in 2024. Here are three reasons we'll be watching Feud: Capote vs. The Swans: (1) The fashion. The swans were known for their soigné style and frequently appeared on the best of the best-dressed lists. If you are like us, you've lost yourself occasionally googling their outfits that were designed by Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, and Halston. Did we mention that Murphy also did the Halston series on the '70s icon starring Ewan McGregor as the designer. (2) The gossip. Capote lived for some juicy tea. It was likely the reason for all his lunch dates at La Côte Basque or being on the phone with his swans for hours on end gathering all the intel. His so-called fictional retelling of these stories in his u n f i n i s h e d b o o k , A n s w e r e d P ray e r s (an excerpt titled "La Côte Basque" ran in Esquire), led to the demise of his relationships with many of these Park Avenue birds of prey. ( 3 ) T h e c a s t o f s w a n s . W h o e v e r w a s i n c h a rg e o f assembling the who's who of Hollywood talent to play these larger-than-life characters deserves a million clapping emojis: Naomi Watts as Babe Paley (and, what a treat for us, her handsome husband Bill Paley is played by Treat Williams); Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill; Chloë Sevigny as style icon C.Z. Guest; Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson, wife of the famous womanizer and late-night talk show host Johnny Carson; Diane Lane as Slim Keith; and Demi Moore as Ann Woodward, who was suspected of shooting her husband, mistaking him for a burglar. Billy Fong Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill Tom Hollander as Truman Capote Demi Moore as Ann Woodward Chloë Sevigny as C.Z. Guest PARI DUKOVIC/FX