Posted in: Hulu, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: craig gillespie, hulu, lily james, pam & tommy, Pamela Anderson, preview, sebastian stan, Tommy Lee

Pam & Tommy Director On Internet Reaction, Stan Transformation & More

Yesterday, we checked in with editor Tatiana S. Riegel (Cruella) to get her thoughts on how things are going with Hulu's upcoming event series Pam & Tommy and it sounds like viewers should be expecting something both "outrageous" and "emotional" from the Lily James (Baywatch star Pamela Anderson) and Sebastian Stan (Motley Crew band member Tommy Lee)-starring project. Now, viewers are getting a chance to hear from director Craig Gillespie (Cruella) about what to expect during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter– here are the highlights.

On The Positive Response Those "Pam & Tommy" Preview Images Received: "I was in the middle of shooting that day on Pam & Tommy, and every time I stepped out of the set, everybody was kind of going nuts about the response that was happening. I didn't expect it at all. I actually wasn't even sure they were dropping photographs. But they were the photographs that I had wanted them to drop, particularly that black-and-white one. I just so felt that it encapsulated their relationship, in the show as well. So it's been an incredible journey for them to do that transformation, physically with their training, but also 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 to be 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 [James] been able to bring that character to life as a fully formed person, as opposed to an impersonation."

On Stan's Transformation Into Tommy Lee: "He's so talented and is absolutely killing it. Tommy Lee has this energy and this spontaneity to him that I just haven't seen in Sebastian's work, necessarily, before. It's a completely different version of anything I'm familiar with in regard to him. But innately, I felt like he could get there, and he's done so much work, even physically transforming himself to get to that place. It's been so much fun to do, I've got to say. The two of them in scenes together, I'm finding them quite electric."

On Similarities With "I, Tonya": "Actually, I honestly did. There are similar parallels to the journey of this. There's this very public persona of what that was, and people kind of know it and think they know the story. So we're able to delve into it and actually really look at them as human beings in this. The true story was so destructive to their lives, and we're able to hold a mirror up to ourselves as being culpable in the way that we devour media and people's lives without any concern for the repercussions that it's having on those individuals. The showrunners, Rob Siegel and D.V. [DeVincentis], have done a really interesting job. And so in a similar way, I think you come into this show because of the salacious nature of it, and then you get to realize that we're culpable in even watching it for those reasons."

Joining James and Stan are Seth Rogen as Rand Gauthier, the man who stole the tape; Nick Offerman as Uncle Miltie, the man who helped distribute the sex tape; Taylor Schilling as Erica Gauthier, Pepi Sonuga as Melanie, Andrew Dice Clay as Butchie, Spenser Granese as Steve Fasanella, and Mozhan Marnò as Gail Chwatsky. Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Alex McAtee executive produce via Point Grey; as do Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, and Ali Krug via Annapurna; Chip Vucelich, Sarah Gubbins, Dave Franco, and Dylan Sellers. The eight-episode series is helmed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) and written by Rob Siegel and DV DeVincentis, and tells the true story of how the first-ever viral video came to be: Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape. Now here's a look at Rogen sharing his timely fashion sense:

Though many will focus on the couple's infamous leaked sex tape and the national conversation it created over celebrity and privacy (as well as Tommy Lee's muti-tasking abilities when it comes to piloting a boat), the series will begin with Anderson and Lee's 96-hour "courtship" in 1995 that resulted in the two getting married. While there are still unanswered questions surrounding how the tape was obtained, Anderson would go on to sure video distribution company Internet Entertainment Group (IEG). The matter would be settled via a confidential agreement, with IEG returning to making the video available through its website. Though reports are that both Anderson and Lee are aware of Pam & Tommy being in development since earlier this year, neither are currently involved.

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