Photo:Eddy Chen/HBO
Eddy Chen/HBO
HBO’sThe Idolis causing fans to draw parallels to the lives of some real-life pop stars — but is it based on a true story?
While the show previously made headlines forthe rumored controversy behind the scenes, including reports from production members aboutthe toxic set environment and creative clashes, most recently, the biggest chatter has been around whether the show has drawn inspiration from the lives of real celebrities such as Britney Spears.
Even so, that hasn’t stopped fans from noting similarities to real-life events throughout the series.
Read ahead to see what the cast has said about the real-life inspirations behindThe Idoland its main character, Jocelyn.
IsThe Idolbased on a true story?
“When … Abel ‘the Weeknd’ Tesfaye, Reza Fahim, and Sam Levinson brought usThe Idol, it was clear their subversive, revelatory take on the cult of the music industry was unlike anything HBO had ever done before,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO programming,said in a previous statement.
“We initially wanted to make a dark, twisted fairy tale with the music industry and everything I know about it and heighten it, and take inspirations from films that both me and Sam love — it was really our love for music,”Tesfaye added at the show’s Cannes Film Festival press conference.“When I found out how much Sam is involved in the music inEuphoriaand getting to work with him on the music on the show, that’s when it unlocked it for us," he continued. “Can we create our own pop star? Can we create somebody who is trying to find themselves, using my experiences, using his experiences, using Lily’s experiences … creating something special, daring and exciting and fun that will make people laugh [and] piss some people off?”
Is Lily-Rose Depp’s characterThe Idolbased on Britney Spears?
Steve Granitz/WireImage, Eddy Chen/HBO
The show makes various nods to Britney Spears on the show (thetrailer is set to a remix of “Gimme More” and the beauty team said Spears’s late-’90s look inspiredJocelyn’s makeup in the earlier episodes). However, Levinson maintains that the show isn’t meant to be her story.
“Look, I was a kid of the ’90s, and [Spears] is one of the greatest pop stars of all time,“Levinson said at Cannes Film Festivalwhen asked about whether Jcoelyn’s struggles in the show mirror Spears'.
However, he said, “we’re not trying to tell a story about any particular pop star. I think we’re looking more at how the world perceives pop stars, and the pressure that it puts on that individual. It’s a lot of pressure to constantly have to be on, and to have to be what everyone wishes you to be. I also think that it’s a lonely life.”
Depp added, “We’re not telling anyone else’s story,” noting that they wanted Jocelyn to “feel simultaneously like a pop star of our time, but one that is in her own plane.”
Though it’s unclear what their meetup was about, it was later revealed that Spears’ assistant Victoria “Vicky T” Asher was the one who connected them.
“So so glad I could make this beautiful moment happen,” Asher wrote on her Instagram story at the time, revealing that she and Levinson are longtime friends. “This was very special to me. Bringing legends I love together.”
Was Lily-Rose Depp’s character onThe Idolbased on any other stars?
HBO/ YouTube
Though her character wasn’t modeled after any specific person, Depp explained that she drew from the example ofanother famously controversial performancefor her character Jocelyn.
“We actually drew from a lot of other influences that are not pop stars,” she toldEntertainment Tonight. “We thought a lot aboutSharon StoneinBasic Instinctand theGene Tierneys andLauren Bacalls… all of these women that were very inspiring to me for the role.”
He continued, “I feel very fortunate to have made some of the right decisions in my life … I get to do what I love with the people I love, the people I trust. And Jocelyn is almost like an alternate reality if I had made some of the wrong choices in my life. It’s almost like I’m trying to show the world or teach young artists to make the right decisions.”
source: people.com
