Sam Levinson and his stars Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd definitively deny the rumors spread by Rolling Stone about the “torture-porn” series The Idol, clarifying the themes of the show presented in Cannes 2023 and the high rate of sex in it content.
A Cannes 2023 all we do is talk about The Idol. Some for better, some for worse, but everyone was impressed by the new one serie of the creator of Euphoria Sam Levinson for HBO which will be available exclusively on Sky and streaming on NOW from 5 June. The series, which has been talked about for months due to the rumors raised by Rolling Stone on the dysfunctional set and the quarrels between filmmakers, but also for the very high erotic rate and for the nude scenes involving the protagonist Lily-Rose Depptells the story of a pop star named Jocelyn who, in a moment of psychological fragility, falls in love with Tedros, a night club manager embroiled in a cult who has the face of the singer Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd.
Smiling and bright, Lily-Rose Depp is keen to deny rumors of problems on the set and admits that “it hurts to read false things, which do not reflect my experience while working on the series at all”. Sam Levinson intervenes, accused by the same rumors of despotic attitudes and lack of respect towards his actresses: “We know we’ve made a provocative series. When my wife read me the Rolling Stone article I looked at her and said ‘This is going to be the biggest show of the summer.’ The magazine’s accusations are foreign to me, I know who I am. My job is made up of the part of the real work and the management of the character that doesn’t attract me at all because it subtracts energy from the artistic work. I feel free to write what I want”.
The ambition to be a better artist at the heart of the Sam Levinson series
The Idol was born from the encounter between Sam Levinson and the Canadian artist The Weeknd. Abel Tesfaye explains that he wanted to make “a black fairy tale set in the music industry. When I found out how much Sam loves music and is involved in the soundtrack of ‘Euphoria’ I proposed my idea to him and we decided to use our experiences as artists to create something special , irreverent and funny. At least, someone in the room laughed yesterday”. Per Sam Levinson, “this is a dream come true. When I was ten I didn’t know Cannes, but I knew Quentin Tarantino and ‘Pulp Fiction’, and the fact that it had won an award at Cannes made me dream of coming here for a long time”.
As for the connection to The Weeknd, “I saw him perform at the Hollywood Bowl in 2012 and was blown away by his live performance. I traveled with him, I saw his ambition, his focus, his dedication in singing lessons, his passion for giving the greatest show possible. I saw him perform at a big festival. He wasn’t the headliner, the audience wasn’t there for him. After three days they were tired, dehydrated, wanted to go home, but after the first song I had them I’ve seen him rapt. I’ve seen his charisma, how much he’s grown in ten years, he’s gone from a shy guy behind the mic to this incredible star. And that’s what ‘The Idol’ is about, the ambition to be a better artist“.
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No connection to Britney Spears
In Cannes, Abel Tesfaye is keen to make it clear that he has nothing in common with the character he plays, the obscure Tedros, whom he rather sees as a sort of villain: “For Jocelyn he is an obstacle, I am lucky to have never met anyone like him. When I think of a possible model, ‘Dracula’ comes to mind, and the character of Lily-Rose is his prey”. The singer admits instead of being reflected in the character of Lily-Rose Depp, the pop star Jocelyn: “Obviously it was inspired by my experience as an artist. I feel lucky to have made the right decisions in life and to be here today surrounded by people I trust. Jocelyn is an alternate reality that shows what would have happened if I had gone wrong”.
Sam Levinson is keen to deny the theory that the true source of inspiration of The Idol would be Britney Spears: “She’s one of the biggest pop stars of all time, I remember the cover on Rolling Stone. I was in high school at the time. But I wasn’t interested in talking about a particular star, I wanted to investigate the world’s perception of pop stars and about the pressure they are under all the time to please the public. I think it’s a lonely life, fame corrupts and it’s easy to surround yourself with profiteers and sycophants. I find all of this scary.”. Raised in the limelight in a family of superstars, Lily-Rose Depp knows the price of fame and had no problem embodying the frailties of her character: “She is alone, she is sad, this is the effect of the lifestyle she leads. Always at the center of attention, but no one really knows her. With the show we tried to dig under the surface of a phenomenon we are witnessing I continue. For Jocelyn I was inspired by divas like Gene Tierney, Jeanne Moreau, Lauren Bacall or Sharon Stone in ‘Basic Instinct’, aware of causing discomfort in others, but who had no intention of compromising”.
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Reality permeates fiction
And according to the first reactions to The Idol, explicit sex scenes are present in abundance to cause discomfort. But as Sam Levinson specifies, “We live in a sexualized world. I can’t speak for other countries, but in the USA, the influence of pornography on the psyche of young people is strong. We see it in pop, which reflects the underbelly of the internet. We talked at length with Lily about how sexuality is an integral part of the character. You risk underestimating him since you don’t know why he acts like this, but at the same time it’s what attracts people. And today almost every pop star is betting on sex.”. Lily-Rose Depp appears perfectly comfortable with this aspect of her character and clarifies: “Jocelyn is a performer in every aspect of life, not just professionally. The way she dresses tells us something all the time, it sends clear messages”.
Both Depp and The Weekend confirm their involvement in the creation of the characters and their evolution and reiterate that they have placed their trust in Sam Levinson. On the other hand, the creator of The Idol himself admits that he asked for an act of trust from his entire cast which includes Hank Azaria, Jane Adams, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Elizabeth Berkley and the late Anne Heche: “I asked the actors to accept the show before finalizing the script. I had nothing to read, but I told them ‘If you trust us we will do it together’. Somehow this spontaneity allowed reality to enter the story, giving a realism boost to the show”.
