Gus Van Sant is Back With ‘Feud: Capote vs. the Swans’

In the ‘90s and ‘00s, there weren’t many American filmmakers as hot in the world scene as Gus Van Sant.

The Portland-based filmmaker won the Palme d’Or in 2003 for “Elephant” and dished out other notable films like “My Own Private Idaho,” “Drugstore Cowboy,” “To Die For,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Paranoid Park,” “Gerry” and “Milk.”

Actually, ever since 2008’s “Milk,” Van Sant has been in a creative slump. His “Sea of Trees” got panned and booed at Cannes, “Restless” was a strangely schmaltzy departure, the more commercial “The Promised Land” didn’t hit the mark and I wasn’t at all taken by his Joaquin Phoenix starring “Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot.”

It’s been five years since his last film, but Van Sant is now dabbling in TV directing for what, to my eyes, at least, looks like an interesting project. It’s being produced by FX and is titled “Feud: Capote vs The Swans.”

Tackling the rivalry between New York City socialites, ‘Feud’ centers on Truman Capote’s inner circle of “swans,” a term he coined to describe his wealthy female socialite friends. The series stars Tom Hollander (as Capote), with Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, Molly Ringwald, Calista Flockhart, and Diane Lane as the close friends who exploited him.

Capote ended up writing about this sordid affair in the short story “La Côte Basque 1965” for Esquire, which was published in 1975. Tony and Pulitzer-nominated Jon Robin Baitz adapted it for the screen and wrote all eight episodes; As mentioned, Van Sant is directing the series.

“Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” premieres in 2024 on FX and will stream on Hulu.