The Business
Ryan Murphy on how his Half Foundation led to 'Feud'
Ryan Murphy oversees a small TV empire on FX, with series including American Horror Story, American Crime Story and his latest effort, Feud. The first cycle of that show focuses on the rivalry between movie icons Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. On all his shows, Murphy now has a strict rule: at least half of the directors and crew members must be women or minorities.
By Kim Masters • • 28m ListenProlific writer-director-producer Ryan Murphy is on a mission: he has a lot of shows on FX-- American Crime Story, American Horror Story and his latest, Feud -- and he wants half the people working behind the camera to be women or minorities. He talks about the inspiration behind those efforts and his new series, Feud, the first season of which focuses on the bitter rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford on the set of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? He also explains why he's at work on series about Charles and Diana as well as Monica Lewinsky, and the 2016 election.
Photo: (L-R) Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis and Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in Feud: Bette and Joan. (Suzanne Tenner/FX)
In this episode
2 storiesHollywood news banter
Matt Belloni, editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter, joins Kim Masters to discuss top entertainment news stories of the week.
Read the story6 minRyan Murphy on the Half Foundation and 'Feud'
The new FX anthology series Feud focuses on two iconic actresses -- Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Crawford started her film career in 1925 and Davis in 1930, and for years it was known that there was no love lost between the two. Davis famously turned down the role in Mildred Pierce for which Crawford won an Academy Award in 1945.
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