Image Source: IMDb, mxdwn Television
Yesterday, Hulu dropped the first look/trailer of the upcoming highly anticipated biographical drama miniseries, "Pam and Tommy," starring Lilly James and Sebastian Stan as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee from Motley Crue.
Initially, the series about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee was announced in 2018 by actor Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg developing the project under their production company, Point Grey Pictures. It was rumored that Seth Rogen’s close friend and actor James Franco was all set to star in the miniseries as Tommy Lee, but in December 2020, it was announced that Hulu had given the green light to the project and that James Franco had left the project.
Craig Gillespie has directed the miniseries, while Rob Siegel has written it. Megan Ellison, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Sue Naegle, and Dylan Sellers serve as the executive producers on the project. The filming of the series began on April 5th, 2021, and was completed by the end of July 2021 in Los Angeles. The miniseries is all set to be released on Hulu in February 2022 with eight episodes.
After marrying after a short courtship, the Mötley Crüe drummer and former Baywatch babe made headlines in 1995 when a sex tape they made on their honeymoon was stolen and leaked online. They won their copyright infringement lawsuit against the company that sold it online, Internet Entertainment Group, in 1998. Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee had two kids, Brandon and Dylan, but Anderson divorced Lee shortly after he was sentenced to six months in prison for spousal abuse.
Talking about the miniseries, 'Pam and Tommy', is a real-life story about the Hollywood rock star couple Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, who famously got married after knowing each other for merely 96 hours. The miniseries is going to follow their whirlwind romance and catastrophic breakup following their sex tape, which was leaked online after being stolen. The miniseries co-stars Seth Rogen as Rand Gauthier (a former porn actor) and Nick Offerman as Uncle Miltie. Taylor Schilling also joins the cast as Erica Gauthier, Mike Seely as Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner, and has a recurring role with Andrew Dice Clay.
The recently released trailer has managed to garner a lot of attention and create buzz among the industry, as the two talented actors have pulled off the looks of Tommy and Pamela in an uncanny way. In the trailer, the audience can see that Rand Gauthier, who was fired by Tommy Lee, seeks revenge and steals their safe, which happened to have the sex tape. The distribution of the tape itself was a convoluted nightmare for all involved, and despite multiple lawsuits filed, no one was ever charged with a crime. If anything, the entire incident makes for a more cinematic tale than a real-world one, which Pam and Tommy look to capture.
Since the first photos of Lilly James and Sebastian Stan were released in April, the actors' uncanny looks have piqued people's interest, especially those who are unaware of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's whirlwind romance.
Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee are not involved in the project anyway, and according to sources, Pamela Anderson’s close friends and family were not happy with the fact that there was an eight-episode series being made about the sex tape that almost ruined her career. Pamela’s friend Courtney Love spoke, "I find this so fucking outrageous. When Pam and Tommy's sex tape was out, myself, @pattyschemel, and @xmadmx were making a record. And the lone woman in many recording studios in LA. Where are all, ALL! The staff engineers, producers, and owners were watching the sex tape with a huge schadenfreude. Guffaws, It was disgusting. I banned anyone from discussing it. It destroyed my friend Pamela's life. Utterly. "
Courtney Love also shared that the makers wanted to use her image, which she declined. Love added, "Last week I was asked to approve using a Rolling Stone cover of mine, shot by Mark Seliger, in this piece of shit. That they had approved, I said, "Fuck no." The gentleman doesn’t approve of this sort of thing. My heart goes out to Pammy, further causing her complex trauma. And shame on Lily James, whoever the fuck she is. # vile. " Pamela Anderson has not commented on the miniseries, but a source close to the V.I.P. actress spoke to The Sun and said, "Pamela has no intention of watching this God awful show, absolutely not. Never. She’s never heard of the actors playing her or Tommy and doesn’t care to know them... She and her family think the show is a cheap knockoff. "
But when Tommy Lee was asked about the miniseries and his whirlwind romance being showcased to the world along with how the sex tape was leaked, Tommy said, "I know Sebastian, he's playing me. From what he's told me, it's a really beautiful story. I think a lot of people would think it's one thing, but it's really about privacy and how things got crazy then. There are different laws now. He also clarified that he has not seen the series, but with his contact with Sebastian Stan, he believes that the miniseries’ story is cool, but what happened to them in real life was not". When asked if he was surprised the story was being shared now, Lee stated, "Yeah, I feel like that was forever ago. It's a cool story, and people need to know. It's cool. I'm stoked. It's cool. "
There were a couple of pictures and videos of the two actors filming and carrying their iconic looks out on social media, after which the audience praised both of them for doing justice to the looks as of now, and for the part where they have to act like them, the audience has to wait till February 2, 2022.
Sebastian Stan told Variety, "I don’t remember who, I think it was probably Craig [Gillespie], who said, ‘Hey, let’s go out in the sun and why don’t we do that?’ We were like, "Oh, that’s fun." And then we just did it. " The actor, popularly known for his character Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, mentioned that he is relieved that people have seen him as Tommy Lee because he was always paranoid about being seen. He added, "Honestly, it was freeing because I was walking around in these hoodies and hats... just paranoid of being seen." I was like, "God, I hope they’re finally going to release something, so you know what we look like, so we can go on with our lives." Sebastian Stan is all set to star in a spy thriller, ' The 355'.
Craig Gillespie told the Hollywood Reporter, "It’s been an incredible journey for them to make that transformation, physically with their training, but also with what they’re doing as actors." It’s such a tall order whenever you’re taking on iconic characters in the media, and they’re going to be scrutinized a lot. And trying to take on a character like Pamela, who’s so familiar, and being able to do what is not just an impersonation, is a daunting task for an actor. I think audiences will be incredibly surprised by just how much Lily’s been able to bring that character to life as a fully formed person, as opposed to an impersonation. "
