Shutting it down. The Weeknd fired again after Rolling Stone printed a scathing report that claimed his upcoming HBO present, The Idol, has gone “off the rails.”
The “I Can’t Feel My Face” singer, 33, took to social media on Wednesday, March 1, to share a clip from The Idol that seemingly responded to the journal’s claims. The scene options Dan Levy’s character pitching Lily-Rose Depp’s Jocelyn a possible cowl shoot for Rolling Stone. The Weeknd — who portrays Tedros, a self-help guru/chief of a modern-day cult — calls the outlet “irrelevant” and turns down the provide on her behalf.
“Rolling Stone has 6 million followers on Instagram, half of them probably bots. And Jocelyn has 78 million followers, all real I’d assume,” his character explains. “So she does a photo shoot, she tags them, they get her followers. More money for Rolling Stone, nothing for Jocelyn.”
While Levy’s character insists there’s “a lot for Jocelyn,” Tedros replies, “Not in Rolling Stone.”
The Weeknd (actual identify Abel Tesfaye) captioned the video, “@rollingstone Did we upset you?”
The Idol, which is pitched as “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood” per the present’s official social media, was ordered to sequence in November 2021 and facilities on Jocelyn (Depp), an aspiring pop idol whose nervous breakdown results in canceling her tour. The story follows the singer as she tries to reclaim her standing and navigate a romantic relationship with Tedros.
Rolling Stone’s story, which was printed earlier on Wednesday and titled “The Idol: How HBO’s Next Euphoria Became Twisted ‘Torture Porn,’” highlights 13 interviews with sources who work for the six-episode sequence. The exposé claims that the present is being “delayed” attributable to a poor working atmosphere and last-minute script rewrites.
Production hit its first snag in April 2022 when Amy Seimetz abruptly stepped down as director after a number of episodes have been already filmed. Sam Levinson, who’s co-creator of the undertaking with The Weeknd, changed her within the director’s chair.
While Rolling Stone reported that The 38-year-old Euphoria creator’s takeover led to a “weaken[ing] of the show’s overarching message,” Depp, 23, informed Variety in a press release that Levinson is the “best director” she has labored with.
“Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued,” she defined on Wednesday. “Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way — it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it. He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.”
HBO, for his or her half, defined the present’s delays and personnel modifications in their very own assertion to Variety later that day.
“The initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change,” the assertion learn. “Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew.”
HBO has launched three teaser trailers for Idol, which is about to premiere in late 2023, however has but to announce a launch date for the sequence.
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