Emily Longeretta SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for “The Master Beta,” Episode 4 of “Pam & Tommy,” now streaming on Hulu.For Lake Bell, working on “Pam & Tommy” in the middle of a pandemic was a dream. “This was the job that gave me creative sustenance in a time where we were all locked down,” says the director and actor, who directed Episodes 4 and 7 of the Hulu show.More than that, she was moved by the traumatic experience that Pamela Anderson went through, and the way that “Pam & Tommy” respected that.
Lily James and Sebastian Stan portray the “Baywatch” star and Tommy Lee, respectively, as they quickly fall in love, get married and make a private video tape that is stolen out of their home.
It quickly goes viral — before that was even part of anyone’s vocabulary. “To have some unknown entity called the worldwide web to suck up your own personal property and broadcast it to the entire world, I mean, it’s beyond salt in the wound,” says Bell of what happened in 1995.Despite how appalling the situation was that “Pam & Tommy” illustrates, James felt a sense of ease on set — especially working with Bell on two important episodes. “It was about really trusting the creative team involved,” James told Variety in our cover story. “I felt there were women involved that I trusted.
It just made me want to work even harder to try and portray [Pamela Anderson] not only authentically, but to do her the justice she deserves, I admire so much.
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