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P E R S P E C T I V E | J U LY / AU G U S T 2 0 1 7 73 by Judy Becker, Production Designer Main image: Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in her bedroom set, onstage at Fox Studios in Los Angeles, along with Alison Wright (playing Pauline Jameson, a fictional composite character who is director Robert Aldrich's assistant). Far left, top to bottom: A set still of the dressing table and mirrors in Joan Crawford's vanity wing. A second photograph showing the bathroom section of the vanity wing. Note period mini-fridge. The interior of Joan Crawford's closet reflects her meticulous sense of order. This page: The plan of Joan Crawford's second- floor set (bedroom and vanity wing) on Stage 16 at Fox, drawn by Jean Harter. FEUD: Bette and Joan takes place mostly in the Hollywood of 1962 and 1963, which meant revisiting the same period I had worked in during Hitchcock, but now I had different characters, a different story and a different artistic vision. Joan Crawford and Bette Davis were two of the most famous actresses of their time, and Joan had a very glamorous life. It was really fun to dive in. Reaching back into the past to re-create reality is exciting. I've done it a few times now, and the overall challenge is always the same. How do you balance reality versus the world you're creating for the show, which has to appear real, but at the same time is an artificial creation. Reality doesn't always look real if you just reproduce it, so there's a fine line where to tweak reality, where to use poetic license and where not to, and then using all of that to create a unique and coherent visual world. Period work always begins for me with extensive research. Sometimes I'll discover a visual reference which hasn't been widely seen and that will inspire a whole look. Most Production photography by Suzanne Tenner © FX Network