So right there, thats our rule.

We did a lot of research.

We looked at around 25 books.

In some cases, we spoke to people still alive who knew them.

In this episode, we have a very brief affair between Bette Davis and Robert Aldrich.

She slept with at least four of them.

And also most interesting to me is that Joan Crawford herself said they had an affair.

The champagne is getting flat.

So we know they were getting along at the beginning and Hedda was frustrated with how boring it was.

Then halfway through the picture, they actually started to physically and emotionally fight.

So our question as writers was, what turned south?

And what turned south was the press started to write about all this stuff that wasnt true.

Also based on our research was Jack Warner loved the catfight approach to the marketing of this picture.

So the catfight approach became part of the marketing.

We would take sometimes a little bit of dramatic license with scenes.

We didnt know what the dialogue was so we had to piece all that together.

What I gleaned from it was two things: how sad it was and how it still happens today.

I went online today and read two articles that Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon were fighting onBig Little Lies.

Now, I know that is an absolute lie because Im friends with both of them.

I also read articles that say how Jessica and Susan were fighting absolutely not true.

They could not have loved each other more.

Susan and I would talk on set.

The stuff that happened to Davis and Crawford has always happened in our culture.

I think the core bottom line is economic.

Its a cultural phenomenon thats disturbing but true.

We would decide what are we showing and whats the clip.

Wed freeze-frame the clip and give it to all the department heads.

Wed have costumes, wigs, sometimes eyelashes they all had to be custom-made.

She said, We found theBaby Janefurniture in storage.

It had not been touched since the movie but its covered in sheets and dust.

When we had to recreate theBaby Janescenes, it was hell.

Theres the scene in episode 2 where Susan has to go Blanch Hudson miss big fat movie star!

She was like, Oh my god, this is going to kill me!

It was a lot of fun, but we spent a lot of time getting that right.

We found bats crazy stuff wed use, not just onscreen but off.

Wed have the real hat molds Joan Crawford would use.

It was a labor of love.

Do you see those connections?I am always drawn to strong women.

Jessica loves to play tragic, emotional scenes, and she also loves a big monologue.

In this case, she was a true collaborator, because she read all about Joan Crawford.

So I would try and figure out a way in our narrative to put those things in.

Will Bettes daughter (Kiernan Shipka) come back?Oh yeah.

She runs through the whole run of the show.

In episode 5 of our show, Olivia goes from being a talking head character to having actual scenes.

She was really close with Bette.

She went to the Oscars with Bette and was Bettes confidante.

So starting in 5, Catherine becomes very heavy.

What can you say about the third episode?Its called Mommie Dearest.

I dont think she was a one-note, wire hanger creature that people think of her as now.

Look, I loved Faye Dunaways performance inMommie Dearest.

Its truly a work of genius.

She actually had a wonderful relationship with two of her daughters.

That side of that woman has never been explored.

Have you heard from any family members from Davis or Crawfords families?No.

The same thing happened when we were doingO.J.

The only person we ever heard from was Faye Resnick.

That was the only one.

Everybody else sort of waited to have an opinion on it.

I dont know what their families will think.

But I think its a very kind portrayal of them.

If they were men, that would have never happened to them.

I hope the families feel we loved these women.

Have you begun working on season 2?Charles and Diana?

You know we have!

Im casting it now.

The thing I was struck about was how real she was and how great she was with those kids.

She was an ordinary person put in an extraordinary circumstance.

I admire her a great deal.

I also think Charles is interesting too.

A lot of people want to do it.