Euphoria Creator Sam Levinson on Balenciaga present, HBO drama

Sam Levinson by no means meant to be sitting entrance row at a Balenciaga trend present, a lot much less be intimately concerned within the staging of 1. 

But that’s exactly what transpired on March 7, because the Euphoria creator unveiled his collaboration with Balenciaga inventive director Pierpaolo Piccioli at Paris Fashion Week. Though the sartorial choices have been left to Piccioli, Levinson was tasked with designing the set up and cinematography for the present. The collaboration, which was a number of months within the making, performed out throughout a sea of video screens that featured never-before-seen footage from the HBO collection’ long-gestating third season, dropping April 12. The mash-up prolonged to the soundtrack and visitor listing, too, whereas stills from the present have been printed on the collection.

Piccioli, who has grown near the Euphoria boss and frolicked on his Hollywood set, defined that he’d chosen Levinson’s work for his sophomore assortment due to its “ability to convey a sense of our realities, through a prismatic representation of human fragilities and strengths.”

The star-studded occasion doubled as a well timed PR stunt for the culture-rattling drama, which has been off the air for greater than 4 years. Levinson was joined in Paris by his spouse and producing associate, Ashley Levinson, in addition to returning forged member Chloe Cherry (Faye) and new additions Danielle Deadwyler, Anna Van Patten, Priscilla Delgado, Darrell Britt-Gibson and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. The forthcoming season, which is able to bounce 5 years into the long run, sees Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer and Colman Domingo return as nicely.

Freshly again in Los Angeles, Levinson hopped on a Zoom to debate his foray into excessive trend and why the forthcoming season is each deeper and extra mature.

I keep in mind seeing the pink cloaked girls of The Handmaid’s Tale strolling Christian Siriano’s runway final yr, however I’m undecided I’ve ever seen a collaboration of this scale. How did this concept originate?

Pierpaolo and I met again in 2022 and we in a short time realized that we shared the identical form of visible language – simply the best way that we noticed a personality and the way clothes could be an expression of that character. When you’re watching a film or a present, characters are on display screen for a lot longer than they’re talking, so what are the layers to inform that story? He additionally has an actual love of cinema and folks, and we simply immediately clicked. I discover him to be a deeply inspirational individual, and this previous week stuffed me with a lot pleasure and creativity.

But to reply your query, he had reached out in October of final yr – we have been nonetheless capturing [season three] – and he talked about the thought of collaborating on one thing. As the conversations continued, it started to take form and we began to drill down into the specifics of it. But I like the best way that he thinks about issues. His concept was, “I want to create a fresco of humanity,” and I used to be form of overwhelmed and excited by that concept or idea, and we simply continued to speak about it. And it’s attention-grabbing as a result of he’s deeply impressed by Euphoria, however he wished to do one thing that was his personal interpretation of it. And so out of simply pure curiosity, I wished to see what that regarded and felt like. 

Did I learn that he had visited the set of Euphoria season two?

Yeah, he did. 

I think about you don’t invite too many individuals to your set, so what was that about?

I had rather a lot on my thoughts at the moment, however I feel we have been capturing Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) play and I simply keep in mind sitting within the auditorium seats with him as we have been lighting and simply speaking about motion pictures that we liked and life and household — after which we simply form of continued that dialogue. And you’re proper, we don’t have a ton of tourists on set, however we made an exception for Pierpaolo.

Pierpaolo has mentioned that with this present, he wished to “take a picture of this generation,” which is what he believes Euphoria has achieved—

But much more particularly, what I assumed was so attention-grabbing was his idea of “ClairObscur” and the way he believes that the core of Euphoria is non-judgmental, which I additionally consider very passionately. I attempt to by no means strategy a personality’s actions by a lens of fine or unhealthy; it’s simply what motivates them. And so this overarching concept of will we succumb to the sunshine or the darkish is a giant driving theme of the present, and I used to be immediately drawn to the truth that he was in a position to articulate that in such a robust means. But I’m sorry, I lower you off. 

I used to be curious what you suppose Euphoria says about this era?

It’s attention-grabbing, I don’t suppose I ever got down to take an image of this era as a lot as I used to be concerned about people. I wished to create a mosaic of those outsider characters and individuals who have been on the fringes, who have been coping with dependancy and insecurities. These have been characters that I felt have been wealthy and I might actually mine, and that’s how I constructed it. I do suppose that there’s sure particular issues to this era or to this time period that make it a bit uncommon [compared to] previous generations, however I didn’t strategy it from an anthropological lens in that means. 

Talk to me about the way you translated your imaginative and prescient from a longform TV present to a excessive trend occasion?

We had shot for, I don’t know, 10-and-a-half months, from I feel February until November, and we shot 2.5 million toes of movie. It was a fairly large quantity of footage. So, there’s fairly a little bit of stuff that we’d movie, totally different landscapes and animals. We had coyotes on set and snakes, cows, chickens and there was plenty of footage of these moments when the solar simply sneaks behind the horizon and also you’re about to be plunged into evening, and I fixated on this concept that he had about “ClairObscur” — and likewise this thought that we’d all the time talk about, which is that the solar is all the time the identical, however the moon is ever altering.

So, I took plenty of that footage of the landscapes and the moon, and I began to construct out this montage of types with a really proficient editor, simply creating these sorts of dissolves the place one picture can go into the following picture. It ended up turning into this very lengthy 15-, 20-minute montage, after which I began to include among the new faces of Euphoria into it as a result of we’re working with some actually proficient individuals this season that the Euphoria viewers doesn’t know but: Darrell Britt-Gibson, Adewale [Akinnuoye-Agbaje], Anna Van Patten, Priscilla Delgado, Danielle Deadwyler.

Many of whom attended the present…

Yes, and I began weaving in these closeups with them, and these plot factors that can turn into extra vital because the present airs. Then we did a rehearsal on Wednesday [of last week], and Pierpaolo was sitting there and he’s like, “I absolutely love this but I wonder how we can start to merge some of the models into this world too, as if they become part of Euphoria as well.” I mentioned, “That’s a great idea. When are the models coming by the house?” “Tonight at 7:30 p.m., they’re coming for hair and makeup.” It was like 2 p.m., and I mentioned, “Great, let me find a cinematographer.” We ended up flying in a cinematographer from Berlin, and we had one gaffer and my spouse, Ash, was working the sunshine and we have been capturing within the backyard exterior of Kering until, like, three within the morning.

We ended up with the preshow montage, which is all Euphoria, the present montage, which is a mixing of the 2 worlds, after which we did the finale montage, which is the entire faces of the totally different fashions and among the garments. We labored until three, 4 within the morning on Wednesday and Thursday and received all of it prepared for rehearsal on Friday. You know what’s nice about trend? They’re one of many few industries that work as onerous because the movie enterprise, and it was thrilling. Plus, it’s a stay occasion, so the stress is simply thrilling. 

I do know you’re very accustomed to these late nights and eleventh hour pivots, however how frequent is that in Pierpaolo’s world?

Oh, he could be up there at three within the morning holding two materials up, two totally different colours and taking a look at them. And I’d be like, “Why don’t you take a break, come downstairs and see what we’re doing.” He would come and look ahead to 10, quarter-hour, get excited after which return up. He’s a tremendous individual — actually, deeply inventive and considerate. I walked away going, “This is one of the great experiences I’ve had in my life.” 

When the collaboration was initially proposed, did you view it as an opportunity to flex a special inventive muscle or just as a inventive strategy to reintroduce a present that’s been off the air for years?

I feel it could be each, however I like that it’s a form of left-of-center means into the tradition. But I’m pushed by what conjures up me artistically and creatively greater than I’m by the advertising of one thing. So, I led with my coronary heart on that one and I assumed, “Well, this feels like it’s going to bring me joy.” At the identical time, I feel it’s an attention-grabbing strategy to join the 2 audiences of movie and trend and to begin to inform tales in a bigger means. 

You mentioned not too long ago, “What has been beautiful about this experience for me is that I’m in the service of Pierpaolo’s vision,” which you known as “freeing.” Did that shock you?

I imply, it’s been a very long time since I used to be working for another person’s imaginative and prescient.

Which is exactly why I requested…

It was exhilarating. It’s additionally as a result of I’ve a lot belief in him as an artist. I feel that’s why it was liberating as a result of I consider in him and I consider in his expertise and the best way he sees the world and so I labored my ass off. I’d sit there and earlier than he would are available for rehearsal, I’d get somewhat nervous, like, “I hope he likes this.” 

You additionally despatched him early episodes of the forthcoming season, no?

Yeah. I despatched him a bunch of early cuts of the present simply to listen to his ideas on it. I like screening the present for individuals who I respect however are in a completely totally different area. I feel that generally we will get insulated and so it might make sense to us, if we’re filmmakers in Hollywood, however how does it translate to somebody like Pierpaolo?

Did his suggestions shock you?

Yeah. I imply, I feel that form of evaluation of the best way we deal with characters, the non-judgmental nature of it did. Also, the music, Hans Zimmer’s rating is simply extraordinarily emotional and wild this season and owes a little bit of a debt to spaghetti Westerns and so simply listening to his response saved including gasoline to the fireplace. But I’m nonetheless in [the edit,] I feel we’re like six episodes down.

And presumably you’ll go proper as much as the wire once more?

Yes, however I’ll say we’ve had extra time this yr than another season. I imply, season two was robust as a result of our most important mandate was to air that January. I feel the final merger was taking place at the moment, and we needed to get it out. So, that was actually robust. This time, we’ve received somewhat bit extra freedom to sit down with it and actually comb by it and make it possible for every little thing is precisely how we wish it to be. 

How did the writing course of evaluate? 

To be trustworthy, I feel this season went smoother than another season. Now that we’re out of highschool, the scope of the universe might be as huge as I all the time dreamt it to be. And so, yeah, I felt an actual sense of freedom, I feel, in writing it. And I additionally suppose the present’s matured in a really attention-grabbing means that I’m excited for individuals to see. And I’m not saying “matured” within the boring means. It’s nonetheless very thrilling.

I’ve seen sufficient of your work to know boring just isn’t going to be an apt descriptor…

But I feel it’s deeper, and I feel the performances are actually astonishing. I’ve been working with the identical crew since season one. I feel it’s like, 90 p.c of our crew is similar. And so I’m actually pleased with the work throughout — from the hair, the make-up, the costume design, the manufacturing design, Marcell Rév’s work as a cinematographer. It’s a fairly expansive season of tv and it actually allowed us to dig deeper into these characters. I like speaking about Euphoria and I’m actually pleased with it, however I additionally need to keep centered on this Balenciaga factor.

Fair sufficient. How would you may have described your relationship to trend previous to this expertise, and the way has it modified?

Well, I like trend within the sense that I all the time think about it after I’m writing a personality. I sit down and I take into consideration what this character is sporting, and I need issues to have a sure iconography to them, whether or not it’s shade or design. And I’ve been blessed to work with actually proficient costume designers from Heidi Bivens in seasons one and two, and Natasha Newman-Thomas in season three. And so I consider it from a personality perspective, all the time. [Sydney Sweeney’s] Cassie, particularly, jumps out at me as a personality whose insecurities you’ll be able to see from the second she steps out in no matter she’s sporting. It’s such as you form of acknowledge every little thing she’s feeling simply by the best way she’s dressed. And so I consider it as a strategy to inform a deeper story – or it’s extra from that perspective than from a industrial perspective or a excessive trend perspective. But being up shut and seeing the method of Pierpaolo and the way detailed and the way meticulous it’s was extremely stunning. And he additionally does it with a kindness and a grace, however they get right down to actually the smallest particulars when designing this assortment.

So, are we going to start out seeing you pop up at extra trend reveals? Is that the long run for you?

Only for Pierpaolo. (Laughs.)