{"id":49721,"date":"2024-04-17T13:51:33","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T11:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1982484"},"modified":"2024-04-17T15:26:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T13:26:52","slug":"feud-capote-vs-the-swans-true-story-cast-discuss-shocking-scandal","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/feud-capote-vs-the-swans-true-story-cast-discuss-shocking-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Feud: Capote Vs The Swans true story \u2013 Cast discuss shocking scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naomi Watts, Tom Hollander, Diane Lane and Molly Ringwald weigh in on the events of the show. <\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 17 April 2024 at 11:51 AM<\/p>

\n\n

After a long wait, Ryan Murphy\u2019s series about the life of writer Truman Capote has finally landed on UK screens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the book Capote\u2019s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era<\/a> by Laurence Leamer, Feud: Capote Vs The Swans<\/a> follows writer Truman Capote (The White Lotus<\/a>\u2018s Tom Hollander), who is friends with the \u2018Swans\u2019<\/a>, a group of high society women.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Capote writes a thinly veiled account about them in a chapter of his book, the women soon cotton on \u2013 and set out on a journey to seek revenge against the writer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The events are depicted with all the style and glamour you\u2019d expect from a Murphy<\/a> production, with a line-up of true Hollywood legends playing Capote\u2019s so-called \u2018Swans\u2019.<\/p>\n

But how accurate is it? Read on for everything you need to know about the remarkable events that inspired Feud: Capote Vs The Swans, as well as what the show\u2019s cast<\/a> had to say on the matter.<\/p>\n

Feud: Capote Vs The Swans true story \u2013 How much of the series is accurate?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Truman\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Tom Hollander stars in Feud: Capote vs the Swans.<\/span><\/figcaption> FX Networks<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Truman Capote began to embed himself in the world of high society following the release of his 1966 novel In Cold Blood (first published in serialised form in The New Yorker).<\/p>\n

The non-fiction work, which focused on a quadruple murder in Holcomb, Kansas, proved a major success, and paved the way for the scandalous events that followed.<\/p>\n

Capote began to surround himself with wealthy, glamorous socialites \u2013 nicknamed his \u2018Swans\u2019 \u2013 and proved an important emotional support for some of them, accumulating their salacious gossip in the process.<\/p>\n

Feud producer Ryan Murphy explained how the women were highly educated and quite shrewd businesspeople, particularly Nancy \u2018Slim\u2019 Keith (Diane Lane) \u2013 but their opportunities and recognition were severely restricted by the attitudes of the time.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe tragedy of that generation, which I would include my mother in, is a generation of women sort of caught between The Dick Van Dyke Show and the pill. I think [they were] very frustrated a lot of times with the misogyny of the society.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all of those women in our show were so brilliant in their personal lives and so intelligent that I do think, 10 years post, they all would have had successful businesses or brands.\u201d<\/p>

Murphy continued: \u201cIf you look at Slim, the tragedy is that she was behind so many incredible business deals that she helped put together professionally, that she was not given credit for. So I think the frustration and the sadness was baked into that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

These feelings, in the opinion of Murphy and star Naomi Watts (Babe Paley), are what drove the Swans to Capote \u2013 who listened to them, understood their problems and enraptured them with his stories.<\/p>\n

Watts added: \u201cBabe is someone who\u2019s well calloused by this point\u2026 But when she shares all of her secrets with Truman, someone who actually cares about her wellbeing, she feels seen and listened to for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe fell into this relationship as if it was the deepest romance she\u2019d ever had, minus the sex. But I think that allowed her to go deeper. And so, when the betrayal occurs, she just comes undone. And they all do, because they trusted him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paley was particularly close with Capote until November 1975, when a chapter from his long-delayed novel, Answered Prayers, was published in Esquire \u2013 and featured several thinly veiled depictions of the Swans, as well as their personal dramas.<\/p>\n

Did Capote expect the Swans to discover his betrayal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Babe\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Naomi Watts plays Babe Paley in Feud: Capote Vs The Swans.<\/span><\/figcaption> Pari Ducovic\/FX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

It remains up for debate whether or not Capote expected the consequences of La C\u00f4te Basque 1965, which deeply wounded the women he had called friends and decimated his social standing in the group.<\/p>\n

Several of the them feature in the story in embarrassing, exposing ways, while a substitute for Slim (named Lady Ina Coolbirth) is the person disclosing their secrets in the text to the point-of-view character (partly inspired by Capote, naturally).<\/p>\n

Actor Diane Lane speculates this might be why she was so ardent about shunning the author, particularly after she had helped him secure lucrative deals for his works in the years prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did empower him and nurture his growth and was there for a lot of his formative time,\u201d said Lane. \u201cThey travelled the world together, and she did seem to have a sixth sense about not trusting him with too much of her secrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when she was chosen to be the person quoted about other people\u2019s indiscretions in the infamous Answered Prayer article in Esquire, as though she were the one betraying the ladies who loved him to everyone else\u2026 she was really baffled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did Capote ever reconcile with the Swans?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Most of the Swans never spoke to Capote again, including his once-close friend Babe Paley, who died of lung cancer before any reconciliation could take place.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, his addiction to drugs and alcohol became increasingly severe, which led to a career decline involving some distressing public appearances, and continued languishing with Answered Prayers, which was never finished.<\/p>\n

When and how did Truman Capote die?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Joanne\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Molly Ringwald plays Joanne Carson in Feud: Capote Vs The Swans.<\/span><\/figcaption> Pari Ducovic\/FX<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Capote died in August 1984 at the home of Joanne Carson (played by Molly Ringwald in the series), who was never considered a member of the Swans and stood by the author despite his erratic behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was really like his last friend,\u201d said Ringwald of her character. \u201cI think one of the reasons why she stayed friends with him \u2013 because he wrote things about her, too \u2013 is she was in love with his genius. I think she really thought that he was a genius.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Capote\u2019s merciless ousting from a glamorous world he valued so highly, co-star Tom Hollander added: \u201cI think maybe they didn\u2019t really think he was one of them. And he didn\u2019t believe that he was one of them, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew that he was a sort of, at some level, a tourist in their world. And at some level, they thought he was lucky to be there. So when he turned or when they felt he turned, they were vicious \u2013 [they thought], \u2018From you?! You were the adornment in our house. You were not our equal.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think, at some level, he probably knew that, which is why he writes C\u00f4te Basque in the way that he does, because at some level he\u2019s enraged at his own position.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we learn, he\u2019s somewhere between them and their staff. He\u2019s not quite at the same level as them \u2013 that was my instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n

[squirrel-affiliate-playlist squirrel_playlist_id=\u201d612\u2033 \/]<\/p>\n

Feud: Capote Vs The Swans is available to watch on Disney Plus UK. <\/strong>Sign up to Disney Plus for \u00a37.99 a month or \u00a379.90 for a year<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what\u2019s on. <\/strong>For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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