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Lily James defends sex scenes with Sebastian Stan in Pam & Tommy

Photo credit: Jeff Spicer/BFC - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jeff Spicer/BFC - Getty Images

A whirlwind romance of epic proportions, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's relationship pretty much encapsulated the chaotic yet glam vibe of the mid-90s. Naturally, we're thrilled that Hulu/Disney+ are releasing a miniseries about the couple, called Pam & Tommy, following their infamous legal battle over a honeymoon sex tape. A word of warning: Lily James and Sebastian Stan's transformation into Pamela and Tommy is really something to behold.

Here's everything we know about the adaptation so far, from release date to trailer and more.

What have the cast said about Pam & Tommy?

Lily James has opened up about how she almost pulled out of her Pam & Tommy role a week before filming started.

In a new interview with Variety, she told the publication, "I really wanted to pull out of this a week before."

Lily went on to explain how she felt, describing her thoughts as, "'I can’t do it. I can’t do it,'" before adding, "It just felt too frightening. But I think that’s a good place to work from because it keeps you growing and getting better, I hope."

Photo credit: Jeff Spicer/BFC - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jeff Spicer/BFC - Getty Images

Still, the project (of course) went ahead with Lily in it, with the actress describing how she researched the real Pamela Anderson in order to get into character. She explained, "She [Pamela] talks really fast, and I would watch her interviews over and over again and annotate them, learn them and parrot along with her. I wanted to get that energy and that impulsiveness and that spirit that she has when she’s in front of the camera."

Lily has previously spoken out about inhabiting the role (and drastically different appearance) of the Baywatch star, detailing how she got into character both mentally and physically.

The actress told Porter magazine, "I’ve never worked so hard. I read the books [Anderson] has written, I read her poetry, I can parrot along to all her interviews."

Speaking about her physical transformation, Lily continued, "Slowly, our incredible team found a balance where I resembled Pamela but also felt like I could act through it," revealing that she would start four hours of hair and makeup at 3:30am. Ouch.

"I’ve never done anything where I look very different from myself before," she added. "And I’d really like to continue in this vein, because I felt there was something very freeing and liberating in it. There was a bravery that came from that. A courage that came from… disappearing."

Lily went on, "I’d really enjoyed the physicality and the sensuality, even down to the long fingernails. There was just so much character to hold on to – it was really thrilling."

Photo credit: Disney+
Photo credit: Disney+

Just a few days before release Lily James was spoke out about the film's sex scenes featuring James and her costar Sebastian Stan.

After early viewers of the film mentioned that some of James and Stan's intimate moments are about as steamy as it gets, she told an interview the scenes were "essential."

"We really felt that the sex scenes had to be a part of the story and had to be essential to the script and progressing their relationship and looking at what happened," she told The Sun.

"It was a really great constant conversation and nothing was set in stone."

Well that sounds like a healthy and happy set, doesn't it?

What do Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee think of Pam & Tommy?

Tommy Lee has reportedly shared his thoughts on the whole thing, joking that he and Pamela "broke the internet" before the Kardashians.

Photo credit: Paul Archuleta - Getty Images
Photo credit: Paul Archuleta - Getty Images

A friend of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy, Guerin Swing, told The Sun, "Tommy said to me the other day, ‘Let everyone know we did it first. Before the Kardashians, before anyone else. Let the mother-f***ers know, we broke the internet first’."

Swing went on, "It’s essentially them just being kids, goofing with a video camera, a new toy. Tommy never showed me or anyone the video. He never talked bad about Pam. It wasn’t for anyone else to see."

Meanwhile, Pamela Anderson's apparently not particularly happy about the show. A 'close friend' told The Sun the Baywatch actress had no interest in watching the dramatisation of her relationship, and didn't know who the actors in it were. Savage.

Photo credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT - Getty Images
Photo credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT - Getty Images

They said, "Pamela has no intention of watching this godawful show, absolutely not. Never. She’s never heard of the actors playing her or Tommy, and doesn’t care to know them. She and her family think the show is a cheap knockoff. The whole thing is a joke to them."

Is there a trailer for Pam & Tommy?

Hulu has finally dropped the official trailer for Pam & Tommy, showing stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan in full Pamela and Tommy mode - and it's very exciting.

The full trailer sets the scene for the scandal at the heart of the show: Pamela and Tommy's leaked sex tape, which we see Seth Rogen's character, Rand Gauthier, helping to steal and then distribute. We're then given more insight into how the aftermath unfolds and, to be honest, we're already gripped.

Hulu previously released a teaser trailer on 18 November, and it was every bit as wild as we expected.

When will Pam & Tommy air?

It's official: a release date is here. Disney+ will stream Pam & Tommy in the UK from Wednesday 2nd February, while the show will also be available on Hulu. The first three episodes will drop on the same day, before new episodes are released weekly. We're already excited.

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Do we have any teaser pics?

Yes, and every time a new one emerges of Lily James and Sebastian Stan in character as Pam & Tommy, we are a little bit more surprised.

In one set of photos, snapped on 8 June 2021, Lily is wearing a latex-style, deep red dress, reminiscent of what Baywatch star Pamela Anderson wore the year she and Tommy tied the knot. She's also been spotted holding onto a pair of glitzy pink platforms while walking around barefoot.

Previous behind-the-scenes pics, which were taken on set on 14 May 2021, show Lily serving up serious 90s vibes in Pamela’s iconic red swimsuit. She's recreating Baywatch’s memorable slow-motion run, as she jogged along the sand. Originally, fans of the show were sceptical that Lily would be able to pull off Pam’s look. But now it’s honestly getting hard to tell the two apart, thanks to Lily’s convincing blonde wig, glowing tan, and prosthetic breasts.

Speaking of the infamous red swimsuit, last year Pamela confessed she actually still has it, and wears it too. “I have one right here in my top drawer! It still fits,” she told Fox News in May 2020. “I have worn it on occasion just to be funny with friends [and] just around the living room,” she added.

Photo credit: Kypros - Getty Images
Photo credit: Kypros - Getty Images

Sebastian and Lily also shared a behind the scenes pic on 2nd June 2021:

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

What is Pam & Tommy about?

Okay, you guessed it, it's about Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee's relationship and all the drama said relationship entailed. The official synopsis describes it as, “a comedic limited series on the true story behind the release of the first ever viral video in history — the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.”

The eight-episode series follows Pamela and Tommy's relationship from when they married less than a week after they first met in 1995, to the fallout after a sex tape from their honeymoon was stolen and distributed online. The distributor, Internet Entertainment Group, was sued by Pamela and Tommy resulting in a settlement where the tape was made public again.

Who will star in Pam & Tommy?

As we know, Lily James (Cinderella, Downton Abbey), plays Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl, Once Upon A Time and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) takes on the role of Tommy Lee.

On 8 May 2021, the show's official Instagram account shared two photos of Lily and Sebastian in their Pamela and Tommy get-ups. The first shows Lily looking like a mirror image of Pamela: from the dramatic cat-eye eyeshadow to her signature blonde curls. The second image recreates the famous photo of Pamela and Tommy in which Pamela bites his nipple ring.

For reference, here's the original. Consider me shaken to my very core.

Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz - Getty Images

Here's another of Sebastian as Tommy, which the actor posted to his Instagram with the Tommy Lee's quote, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing," as the caption.

The cast also includes Seth Rogen, who stars as Rand Gauthier, aka the guy who stole Pamela and Tommy's sex tape. Seth is also an executive producer for the series alongside his Point Grey partner Evan Goldberg.

Make sure to also keep an eye out for Nick Offerman as Uncle Miltie, Taylor Schilling as Rand’s wife and Pepi Sonuga as Pam’s best friend.

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