‘Love Story’ show premiere – Stars talk costume backlash
For “Love Story,” some early criticism may have been a blessing in disguise.
Sarah Pidgeon, Paul Anthony Kelly and more stars stepped out at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 3, for the New York premiere of Ryan Murphy’s latest series “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.” The show, set to debut just before Valentine’s Day, dramatizes the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of President John F. Kennedy, and Carolyn Bessette, who became a tabloid obsession up until they both died in a plane crash in 1999.
On the red carpet, the team behind the show opened up about some of the initial criticism they received, as fans scrutinized the costumes and hairstyling in test photos.
“It really made us work harder,” Kelly, who plays John F. Kennedy Jr., tells USA TODAY. “It gave more fuel to the fire of creating this. We had to dive deeper. We got clothes on point. It really just finely tuned what we were trying to do.”
In June, Murphy released what were described as “stills from our ‘LOVE STORY’ camera test” showing Pidgeon and Kelly in the lead roles – and not everyone was impressed. In The Cut, fashion writer Danya Issawi argued the costumes were not up to snuff, saying “these garments look too much like modern-day replicas of their ’90s counterparts” and the hair isn’t “quite right,” either. Murphy quickly clarified to Variety that the images were simply test photos for lighting and color purposes and wouldn’t necessarily reflect the costumes in the final show.
“That is not the wig we’re using, that is not the purse we’re using,” he told Puck. “Those are just things we had to show the studio. It was a work in progress, but I released it, because sometimes you put things out and the paparazzi backs off, so your actors don’t feel attacked.”
Still, series creator Connor Hines tells USA TODAY that some of the negative early feedback occurred when there was still time to “course correct or make any necessary adjustments.”
For instance, Murphy previously said on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast that after seeing criticism of Pidgeon’s hair in initial photos, he decided she would need to dye her hair rather than wear a wig. The show also replaced its original costume designer weeks into production, according to Vanity Fair.
“Once we had it all figured out, we were like, ‘Oh, this was ultimately a blessing and for the best,'” Hines says. “And everybody ended up looking so fantastic.”
The “passionate” reactions from fans were heartening, as they reinforced how invested the public still is in the story, Hines adds.
“I, more than anything, was sort of moved by how strongly people still felt about them,” he tells USA TODAY, noting he initially thought “we weren’t going to have a sense of the public’s relationship or interest in John and Carolyn 25 years later until the show came out.”
Pidgeon says dealing with the criticism “was a new experience” for her, but she stressed that fans will be happy with where things landed.
“It was really important, not only to me but to the creatives and the whole team, to get her physically right,” Pidgeon says. “She’s so well-known through these photos. She is an icon of fashion. And I think if you watch it, you’ll see that we really got it right.”
‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette’ cast
“Love Story,” which also stars Grace Gummer, Alessandro Nivola, Leila George, Sydney Lemmon, Constance Zimmer and Naomi Watts, will premiere its first three episodes on Thursday, Feb. 12, on FX and Hulu at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Contributing: Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY
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