U.S. actress Olivia de Havilland poses during an Associated Press interview, in Paris, Saturday, June 18, 2016. She may be losing her sight and hearing, but the mind of the indomitable actress Olivia de Havilland, who turns 100 Friday, remains as sharp as a tack. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Legendary Actress Olivia De Havilland turns 101 years old on July 1, but she got a head start on the holiday fireworks by filing a massive lawsuit against FX and Ryan Murphy over her depiction in the new television series “Feud”!
This terrific new series spent an entire season looking at the feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford – but according to de Havilland, the show’s portrayal of her was made up!
Here is the report from Deadline.com:
“Seeking a jury trial, sweeping damages and unplugging the potential Emmy-contending show with an injunction, the two-time Oscar winner says her portrayal by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the anthology series damaged her “professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity.”
“Olivia De Havilland did not give her permission for FX Defendants to use her name, identity, or likeness in Feud or any of the promotional materials used by the FX Defendants to advertise themselves, their products and services,” states the complaint charging infringement of right of publicity, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment that was filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. “FX Defendants knew that they did not obtain Olivia De Havilland’s permission to use her name, identity, or likeness in their documentary or the advertisements of their products and services,’ the 33-page filing adds.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones was terrific as the Actress, who shows up in the series as a participant in a documentary about the two Actresses…but according to de Havilland, she never did any such thing.
According to Deadline.com:
“Throughout Feud, the Zeta-Jones played de Havilland appears in a mock documentary from 1978 taking abut the relationship between the adversarial Crawford and Davis. She also shows up at the 1963 Oscars as a supporter of Davis’ and makes numerous remarks about the nature of Hollywood and being an actress in the dirty business of show business.
“Olivia De Havilland did not give any such interview and never made these statements about Miss Davis and Miss Crawford or their relationship,” says attorneys for the self-described “living legend and unique role model for multiple generations of actors and fans” in the complaint.”
This is fascinating – did the show make up all of de Havilland’s material?
Deadline.com has the entire 33-page filing you can link to – check it out here:
This will be interesting to see as it develops. I was a huge fan of the “Feud” TV series, as it really took us inside the story of the Davis/Crawford feud, and Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange were terrific.
The movie they made together was a huge hit, and sparked a revival in films with older Actresses in the leads – but they were all horror films!
See more about this genre of film here:
https://johnrieber.com/2017/03/28/bloody-grannies-epic-hollywood-feud-camp-old-lady-horror-classics/
I will post updates as this progresses!
U.S. actress Olivia de Havilland poses during an Associated Press interview, in Paris, Saturday, June 18, 2016. She may be losing her sight and hearing, but the mind of the indomitable actress Olivia de Havilland, who turns 100 Friday, remains as sharp as a tack. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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johnrieber 
Good for de Havilland. She has always been one of the greater greats!
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Good news from over here. The BBC has taken this series, and will show it later in the year. Hooray!
Best wishes, Pete.
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