The Weeknd says he chose to reshoot his The idol to adhere to the same standards he has for his music, but at the cost of his “health and home.”
The singer spoke with HBO series director Sam Levinson and co-star Lily-Rose Depp about the upcoming show in a new cover story for W magazine, which was published on Monday. In it, Abel Tesfaye digs into his musical future as The Weeknd, what was behind that canceled SoFi concert, and why he’ll be okay with his headline-grabbing new series being “damn awful.”
While discussing the show, which first received its series order in November 2021, Tesfaye briefly explains his decision to do those now-infamous reshoots in which members of the production, including Depp, have defended the HBO show against reports of alleged anxiety.
“Film and TV is a new creative force for me. I don’t release my music until I love it. Why should this be any different,” he told the magazine. “I realized I need to know that I’ve made the best version of whatever I’m making. It was a challenge to redo The idoland honestly i sacrificed my health and home to make it work.
He added that while there’s a possibility “it’s coming out, and it’s fucking awful”, from what he’s seen, “the show is great” and said that ultimately he knows he’s doing his “absolute best” in the series did. “Everything is a risk. If you did your best, I’d call that a happy ending.”
In April 2022, it was revealed that the show was getting an overhaul and would be redesigned with Levinson taking over from Amy Seimetz, alongside a number of cast and narrative direction changes. Then in March, almost a year after HBO announced the adaptation, Rolling stone released a report citing 13 sources close to the show claiming that the series was facing a number of last-minute revisions, frequent delays and production changes.
Those adjustments were due in part to unfinished scripts when Seimetz was the show’s director. But Levinson also reportedly “scrapped the nearly-completed $54-$75 million project to rewrite and re-record the whole thing,” a move that reportedly stretched the expected two to three months of filming into five. .
Sources told Rolling stone that with Levinson’s arrival there were tonal shifts in the writing leading to what they described as more disturbing scenes written—although not filmed—depicting sexual assault. One source described signing up for “a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century” that “moved from satire to the thing that made it satirical”.
During the W magazine cover shoot, Levinson spoke about his vision for the series and Tesfaye’s influence on it. “Abel came to us with a pitch. He said something I’ll always remember: “If I wanted to start a cult, I could.” What he meant is that his fans were so loyal and devoted that they would follow him everywhere. That was the germ of the idea for it The idol: what happens when a pop star falls in love with the wrong man and no one says anything.”
During the interview published Monday, Depp also spoke about her own role and influences on the series, saying she changed her character Jocelyn’s hair to blonde because it meant she could be “good; she could be bad” and that it offered “beauty mixed with an ‘I don’t give a fuck’ energy” from other pop stars such as Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé, who informed her performance.
In response to the March report, HBO and Depp released statements, with the network defending the decision to retool the show, noting that it was a result of early episodes and that the series’ initial approach failed to meet its ” HBO standards”. Sources also denied claims that most of Seimetz’s work was reshot and that the production wasted $50 million worth of work.
“Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative and mutually respectful work environment, and last year the team made creative changes that they believed were in the best interests of both the production and the cast and crew .” it continued.
Depp, meanwhile, defended Levinson, stating that the Euphoria maker was a true “collaborator” and had made her feel “respected” by providing a “working” environment where I felt seen, heard, and valued.
In other parts of the W interview, Tesfaye – who said he wants to “kill” (his) The Weeknd alter ego and end making music under his stage name after finishing his current album – talked about how his work on the HBO show has been canceled SoFi influenced concert in Sept.
The Idol star said the role forced him to “take off the Weeknd outfit, put on Tedros’ wig, shoot with Jocelyn, and then go back to being The Weeknd.” It was a series of actions that led to him losing his voice while singing “Can’t Feel My Face”.
“There was no vote at all. That has never happened before,” he continued. My theory is that I forgot how to sing because I was playing Tedros, a character who can’t sing. I may be looking too deep into this, but it was terrifying. As The Weeknd, I’ve never skipped a concert. I performed with the flu. I will die on that stage. But something very complicated was going on with my mind at the time.”