Did Elizabeth Olsen’s ’80s do in WandaVision inspire her Candy casting?
I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s noticed the uptick in competing true-crime projects, often for cases that went down quite some time ago. Most recently, we have the three Chippendales shows to look forward to and two dramatic adaptations of the Candy Montgomery matter*, both cases from the 1980s.
I think none of us are surprised when everyone rushes to adapt an ongoing story like the collapse of Theranos, or when studios see the success of a project like Tiger King and hustle to jump aboard. But what is it about these older cases that suddenly catches everyone’s attention at once?
This Vulture piece from 2018 is somewhat illuminating, as it suggests that everyone is scanning the same feeds for ideas. All it takes, perhaps, is one influential commentator (should I say “true-crime influencer”? is that a thing) to mention a long-ago case and the race is on. Is it that simple, or do you think that in these cases of big-name competition, there are more cultural factors at play? I know for a fact that there’s plenty of crime for everyone, so I’m legitimately curious about why actors, directors, and studios would bother with a long-stale story that someone else is already working to adapt. — EB
*OMG, I just realized something weird: both the Chippendales and Candy stories saw dramatic adaptations decades ago, with Naveen Andrews and Barbara Hershey starring, respectively…and Hershey and Andrews were also a couple for over ten years. I don’t have a thrilling kicker to this observation, just an odd fact.
A couple of factors: I think when there's been a big shift in the wider narrative that was part of the initial story: hence crimes around gendered violence, racism,.and sex work are of new interest. Then there is a weird form of, not nostalgia, but the part where we were exposed to a crime when we were young and doofy, and now we want to look at it again. I think the rise of the long read archive has brought a lot of great journalism back into easily accessible public "domain" has helped, too. Same with old tv movies of the week going on YouTube.
Wonder if it is also to do with new acting talent emerging which isn't just endless boring white dudes and ingenious, so there's a need to find roles for them?
I wonder this, too! One of my favorite podcasts is Crimelines. Charlie is so good at choosing cases. It's extraordinarily rare for her to do a case I've heard about already. She does many missing & murdered indigenous and other POC, especially women and LGBTQ+ people. I wish more creators would take a page from Charlie and explore these cases that are not the same old crimes everybody's already discussing. If you go to Murderpedia or Charley Project for even 5 minutes, you can find a hundred crimes you've never heard about -- so why retread the same ground? Is it because not just the Crime Junkies are plagiarists?
Nothing to add save that, eons ago, I was at the Nuart (an art house movie theater one block west of the Santa Monica freeway where the lack of adequate parking is the true crime) and saw Barbara Hershey canoodling with some hunky guy. Hunky Guy was not as into smooching in public as she was. Later, I learned who Hunky Guy was and readjusted my assessment. If I was in a dimly-lit theater, waiting for a movie to start, I'd want to canoodle with Naveen Andrews as well.
A couple of factors: I think when there's been a big shift in the wider narrative that was part of the initial story: hence crimes around gendered violence, racism,.and sex work are of new interest. Then there is a weird form of, not nostalgia, but the part where we were exposed to a crime when we were young and doofy, and now we want to look at it again. I think the rise of the long read archive has brought a lot of great journalism back into easily accessible public "domain" has helped, too. Same with old tv movies of the week going on YouTube.
Wonder if it is also to do with new acting talent emerging which isn't just endless boring white dudes and ingenious, so there's a need to find roles for them?
I wonder this, too! One of my favorite podcasts is Crimelines. Charlie is so good at choosing cases. It's extraordinarily rare for her to do a case I've heard about already. She does many missing & murdered indigenous and other POC, especially women and LGBTQ+ people. I wish more creators would take a page from Charlie and explore these cases that are not the same old crimes everybody's already discussing. If you go to Murderpedia or Charley Project for even 5 minutes, you can find a hundred crimes you've never heard about -- so why retread the same ground? Is it because not just the Crime Junkies are plagiarists?
Nothing to add save that, eons ago, I was at the Nuart (an art house movie theater one block west of the Santa Monica freeway where the lack of adequate parking is the true crime) and saw Barbara Hershey canoodling with some hunky guy. Hunky Guy was not as into smooching in public as she was. Later, I learned who Hunky Guy was and readjusted my assessment. If I was in a dimly-lit theater, waiting for a movie to start, I'd want to canoodle with Naveen Andrews as well.