Catherine Zeta-Jones Joins FX Series Feud From Ryan Murphy

Catherine Zeta-Jones joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX anthology series Feudas Academy Award-winning actress Olivia de Havilland.

“Thrilled that Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones is joining FEUD as Oscar-winner Olivia de Havilland,” Murphy announced on Twitter.

Ryan Murphy, the man behind Scream Queens, American Horror Story and American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson will now take on some of the most epic battles of Hollywood. And we’re not talking military masterpieces like The Longest Day. The new 8-episode series, called Feud, will take on “bouts and blows of epic conflicts” like the legendary backstage battle between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford when they co-starred in the horror classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

As befitting the stature of the stars, both roles will be played by Oscar-winning actresses. Crawford will be played by Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon will bat her Bette Davis eyes.

Zeta-Jones is one of Hollywood’s more modern legends, appearing in such films as The Mask of Zorro, Entrapment, Traffic and her Oscar winning role in the film adaptation of the musical Chicago. Feud will be her first major TV role since her appearance in the British dramedy The Darling Buds of May in the early nineties. She co-starred on the 1996 miniseries Titanic and had small roles on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Havilland is of the last living actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Best known for playing Melanie in Gone with the Wind, she paired with Errol Flynn in his iconic films like Robin Hood. Havilland starred with Davis in the films It’s Love I’m After (1937) The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and In This Our Life (1942). Havilland replaced Crawford In the 1964 thriller Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte. She put in a strong performance in The Snake Pit.

 Olivia de Havilland recently turned 100.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane got five Academy Award nominations and became a cult classic.

“The first installment of Feud  stars Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon and tells the story of the legendary rivalry between two of the greatest movie stars of all time—Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, and how they came together in 1962 to collaborate on a picture each hoped would revive their careers,” reads the official synopsis.

“The result, the critically acclaimed and box office smash What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? ultimately received five Academy Awards nominations and became a cult classic. But for its leads, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, the real horror was working together.”

Feud is being produced by Fox 21 Television Studios (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Homeland) for FX.

The pilot is based in part on the script “Best Actress” by Jaffe Cohen and Michael Zam. Feud will also feature Alfred Molina as the Robert Aldrich, the director of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?; Stanley Tucci as studio titan Jack Warner, Judy Davis as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and Dominic Burgess as Crawford and Davis’ co-star Victor Buono.

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Murphy will direct several episodes of the series.

“Ryan keeps re-inventing TV,” John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks and FX Productions, said in a statement. “Nip/Tuck brilliantly extended the boundaries of ad supported television. Glee re-imagined the television musical. American Horror Story pioneered the modern anthological series, which has rapidly transformed the television landscape and been widely copied. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story was recognized by many as the best and most talked about new show this year. And all of those shows have been award-winning ratings hits. Feud adds a third and equally ambitious franchise to Ryan’s unprecedented slate of FX anthological limited series and marks our third such collaboration with studio partner 20th Century Fox Television/Fox 21. The series will offer a seductive, insightful look at what lies behind legendary personality conflicts.”

“Ryan revolutionized the modern anthology with the American Horror Story and American Crime Story franchises, and he’s come up with another gem in Feud,” commented Fox Television Group Chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman. “With Jessica and Susan headlining, it’s already sure to be flawlessly acted, wildly entertaining and fiercely provocative. It’s a fantastic project which only Ryan Murphy could deliver.”

Jessica made her professional film debut in King Kong in 1976. She made her Broadway debut playing Blanche DuBois in the 1992 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. Other stage roles include the 2000 West End revival of Long Day's Journey into Night, which got her an Olivier Award nomination as Best Actress, the 2005 Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerieand the 2016 Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night. She won her first Screen Actors Guild Award, fifth Golden Globe Award, and second and third Emmy Awards for her performances in the first and third seasons of American Horror Story.

Susan Sarandon may still be best known as Janet from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but won  a Best Actress Oscar for Dead Man Walkingand nominated for lead actress Academy Awards for Thelma & Louise, Lorenzo’s Oil, The Client and Atlantic City. She was nominated for a Lead Actress Emmy for her role in the HBO film Bernard and Doris and SAG Awards for her role in You Don't Know Jack with Al Pacino for HBO. 

The first installment of Feud begins production this fall and will air in 2017 on FX.