The s*itshow that is Sam Levinson’s “The Idol” has just released its lengthiest trailer and it looks bonkers. A hot mess of narrative debauchery. I have to admit, I’m looking forward to this one. Guilty pleasure?
It looks like a self-indulgent piece of art. Sex, drugs, nihilism, narcissism and dancing. Also, notice how this is premiering right after the Emmy deadline has passed — HBO knows what they’ve got here.
The upcoming HBO series will world premiere its first two episodes at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Why did Thierry Fremaux decide to pick this TV show as part of his selection? Who knows.
The show, which was co-created by Levinson and Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) stars Lily-Rose Depp as an aspiring pop star (Depp) who falls for a self-help guru/cult leader (Tesfaye) and embarks on a journey of sexual self-discovery.
No doubt the world’s most traditional film festival, Cannes rarely includes TV shows as part of its selection — they did make exceptions for Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake” and David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return.” But that’s Lynch and Campion. Levinson, creator of “Euphoria,” now belongs in that camp. Impressive.
Levinson’s three features as a director — “Assassination Nation,” “Another Happy Day,” and “Malcolm & Marie” — were not very strong. He’s more of a TV phenomenon, especially with his generation-defining “Euphoria.”
“The Idol” was the subject of incredible scrutiny earlier this month. Rolling Stone had reported about major on-set issues after original director Amy Seimetz was replaced by Levinson. The production budget supposedly ballooned to $75 million.
Tesfaye’s complaints that the series focused too much on “the female perspective” completely overhauled the original vision of the show. Shooting went behind schedule and scripts weren’t finished on-time.
There was also intel about one scrapped scene where The Weeknd’s character inserts an egg into Depp’s vagina and refuses to “rape” her if she dropped or cracked the egg. That scene was reportedly cut from the final version, but only because the egg kept cracking.
A limited series about this show's production will be a must watch. “The Idol” debuts on HBO on June 4.
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