Michael Peterson is also pretty pissed about HBO’s The Staircase
Peterson, played by Colin Firth in the series, is angry both at showrunner Antonio Campos, and original Staircase documentarian Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Aux News The Staircase
It’s starting to sound like nobody involved in the events depicted in HBO’s new fictionalized crime series The Staircase is especially happy about how the series has turned out. Specifically, Michael Peterson—whose trial for the murder of his wife Kathleen rests at both the heart of the HBO show, and the docuseries of the same name from which it takes inspiration—has issued several blunt statements about the show, including his anger at documentarian Jean-Xavier de Lestrade for “pimping out” his life story to showrunner Antonio Campos.
“We feel that Jean pimped us out—sold OUR story to Campos for money,” Peterson—who was convicted of Kathleen’s murder in 2003, and released from prison after taking an Alford plea that dropped the charges against him down to manslaughter in 2017—told Variety via emails this week. “What word other than pimped describes what he did?”
De Lestrade has previously also voiced his unhappiness with Campos’ depiction of both the Peterson family, as well as his own involvement in the case, which he meticulously filmed for years as part of the series that eventually became The Staircase. Among other things, he’s noted that Campos had told him that he would have made a show about the Petersons regardless, and, by his own account, signed on as a producer in part in hopes of shaping the narrative of the fictionalized series.
Peterson has a harsher take:
He released his archive to Campos who then created a fictional account of events, most of which trashed me (which I really don’t care about) and my children—which I really do care about. There are egregious fabrications and distortions of the truth in the HBO series, well beyond what may be considered “artistic” license.
Campos’ Staircase stars Colin Firth as Peterson, with Toni Collette as Kathleen. The series has drawn moderately strong reviews for its depiction of the case, with Firth and Collette both coming in for strong reviews. The limited series aired its final installment tonight.
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“Jean-Xavier de Lestrade” is an excellent villain name so I don’t know why he’s so surprised. At least the guy isn’t developing a weather domination device in a secret volcano lair somewhere.
At this point I say bring it, Lestrade.
Right? It has a 50/50 shot of being better than our current global climate. What’s the worse than can happen, a hole in the ozone layer?
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade?
How about Charles-Sherlock de Picard?
Do we know that for sure, though?
That’s actually an interesting thought-experiment/thing to ponder while you’re stoned: does a person actually own their own life story? On the surface it sounds easy enough. Of course you own it, it’s your life. But is it really?Let’s say I came across Tom Cruise at The Blue Oyster. We initially notice each other because we’re both wearing the same bedazzled codpiece, but then we start shootin’ the shit and he says he knows a much cooler place we can go. Yadda, yadda, yadda, it’s 3 days later and we’re both naked under a bridge in Montana. He says he’s gotta split because he’s shooting a movie tomorrow.Now then, do I not now own 4 days of Tom Cruise’s life? I was there, too, and I recorded it all. It’s my life. But it’s a two-party consent state, and so I need Tom’s permission to tell this story. Now doesn’t that mean I don’t have ownership of my own life story? I mean, if I can’t tell my own life without someone else’s consent, it stands to reason that I do not.So, who owns this part of our lives? This did not actually happen, by the way. I would never bedazzle my codpiece.
Thou doth protest too much, methinks.
You tell your story but make up a name for Tommykins. Later, when he’s ascended or whatever, you are free to spill.
In the US at least, you would absolutely and 100% be able to tell your story of Tom Cruise and codpieces. This is true in all 50 states, but does not preclude the possibility of getting murdered by scientologists.
Yes, you’re free to tell and even sell your story. The recordings are irrelevant except that you can use them in your defense if Cruise sued you for libel/slander.
I think Kramer v Peterson has already established that your life stories CAN be sold and owned by another.
The very pants I was returning. That’s perfect irony!
Hey you stole my ‘Tom Cruise and the Codpiece’ story!Also: Does anyone, like, really own anything, man?
Isn’t the Blue Oyster the place from the Police Academy films?
It is, and that’s exactly why I gave the comment a star.
This is way too specific to not have happened. Where in Montana?
Of course you can tell your story! I guess the only thing you shouldn’t do, to remain on moral high ground (IF it even exists) is to include scenes of Tommy when you aren’t there. Like, no scene of him masturbating to your hot body later on as he stares in the mirror like “American Psycho”. (Even if we ALL KNOW that absolutely happened!!)
well even if it really happened he can sue you for defamation right?
Can we do a fiction movie about the life and times of David Miscavige’s missing wife? And what she’s been doing for all this time? So many interest possibilities…
You clearly do not understand how life rights work in the entertainment industry and how narrative projects are created both with life rights secured and without.
Obviously, in the case of your purely hypothetical example, the answer is Scientology owns both of your life stories now, and if you disagree, you may wind up having an unfortunate accident, or else being legally harassed to oblivion.
Wait, is this Blue Oyster the same as in the Blue Oyster Bar from Police Academy?
This exact thing happens to me at least twice a week. I’ve never thought of capitalizing on it though. I mean, Tom and I pretty close, so I don’t want to do him dirty. He always forgets my name and acts like it’s the first time, but still.
Why even report on this? Who cares what this narcissistic asshole thinks? Being upset about his shitty life to seems to be his entire M.O.
Everyone who watches this shit, enables this shit. True Crime is trash. I’m watching my wife get pulled into this genre over the past year. Hours upon HOURS of these things. She watches the documentaries AND the dramatic adaptations. It’s really pulling down the energy in the house. I told her I wasn’t going to watch these with her. She can’t stop. A few weeks ago I left the house for about 3 hours and she had no idea I was gone.
This right here. These things stoke negative energy and paranoia.
I don’t think this one is true crime in the same sense as many of the others. As the initial review on the AV Club noted, this show is more about how stories are told and how narratives can be twisted to serve a particular interest. The fact that the documentarian and Peterson are both upset indicates to me that the show did a good job of indicting them both.
Boo-hoo! My wife won’t cook my meals and do my laundry! Whaaa! Whaaa! She has interests that don’t match my own! HOW DARE SHE!Nobody cares if you hate true crime or think it’s trash. You’re a man and your opinion doesn’t count. HTH.
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What do you with your free time that makes you better than others?
I don’t miss things in my life because I’m glued to hour… after hour… And series… after series… of murder porn. I could watch videos of Ukrainian rape stories all day. I’m sure you could imagine how that might not be the best way to spend your time. Just a mainline of suffering right into the veins, a solid four hours per weekday, a solid 5 to 7 hours every weekend day. Fuck that shit. Do literally anything else.
Watching “true crime” has literally been around as long as humans have. This is not a new trend in the history of humanity, it just has more outlets and voices now. And, pray tell, what are your personal interests that you view to be superior? Bird watching? Live sports?
Exploitative garbage. I stayed with it until Collette had to perform ‘Kathleen’s’ gruesome (accidental) death. I don’t think it’s brave or genius to do a scene like that. It’s just pandering to people who can’t get enough of Ted Bundy or Joe Exotic or all of the other murderous legends.
She had to do it THREE times. UGH. I gave up. I think an owl did do it, but that doesn’t absolve Peterson of the first staircase murder. Or being a shitty person in general.
What true life murders scenes are you cool with in movies and TV?
the son that Patrick Schwarzenegger has the oddest instagram out there.
Patrick Schwarzenegger has a son old enough to have an instagram account?
hahaha sorry I meant the son that he plays.
I still can’t believe there’s a Mexican little Arnold on this Earth from a house maid.
He looks more like Arnie than any of his other kids. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was cheating.
Maybe Michael Peterson shouldn’t have pushed his wife down the stairs. Again. YES I SAID IT.
lol everyone knows it was a rogue owlRogue Owl: My ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’ cosplay band that only plays Star Wars covers.
That’s the thing about true crime – once you focus intently enough on a single murder, the whole situation becomes remarkable and atypical. At that point, nonsensical explanations become plausible, since the murder itself appears so atypical. Bonus points if the murderer is a moneyed, well-mannered white guy.
But was it a superb owl??
lol yes no sympathy for this murderer. it sucks that they smeared him for being queer, but he definitely killed the woman by bashing her head against the stairs repeatedly.
What did Peterson’s kids do?
Guilt, blame, innocence, whatever, aside… can you imagine having one if these series done about the absolute worst and most traumatic moment of your life, having to rehash it and basically live through it ON TELEVISION FOR ENTERTAINMENT?!?!? These series are absolute trash, and they literally always suck.
In principle, I agree that true crime is trash that sells ghoulish rubbernecking as upscale entertainment. That last bit is what gets me – if people viewed true-crime narratives in the same vein as Faces of Death movies or the 90s website rotten dot com, I would have less issue. With that said, if the absolute worst and most traumatic moment of my life was the moment I murdered my wife, I seriously hope people would ignore my public statements.
People will overlook it in cases like this because they believe the guy might be guilty, but a lot of stories are told about real surviving victims of crimes who aren’t even consulted about the way their experience is recreated as entertainment. Not even ASKED permission, because they don’t care. Survivors already feel so powerless in so many ways – taking their story away from them on top of it is just evil.
I’d say The Staircase is more complicated than most True Crime trash, because it’s largely about questionable police conduct and the trial system. Those are things that need to be examined and critiqued, and there’s not many fruitful ways to do that without examining real life cases.
Early on I just had to decide that the series was fiction and leave it at that – it diverges so significantly in several ways and by necessity has to invent so much to fill time that it can’t reasonably be expected to feel like an accurate story. I also just think it’s written abysmally but that’s just me.
I have no idea whether or not Michael did it; I tend to think he may actually be innocent but I’d find it equally likely that he for-sure did it (I don’t think he’s guilty of the first murder they tried to attach to him at all, however). What I do find somewhat frustrating is how often I see people commenting about this show saying that this is what solidified their opinions about him. I guess it doesn’t matter – who gives a shit if a random stranger thinks “aha, this HBO series really made me decide about the guilt of a person who already took an Alford plea anyway” – but it’s a little vexing, I guess.
There’s definitely something to be said about a series luxuriating in the genre to the point where it presents three equally horrifying death scenarios. Mainly I just wish Toni and Colin had picked a different project. Hope they got paid well.
Making a documentary about this case is one thing, but making a movie out of it is downright ghoulish.
If you had to make a movie about this case, instead of focusing on whether he did it or not, why not focus on whether or not he got a fair trail the first time around? I watched the entire documentary and my take away was he probably did it, but I don’t think he got a fair trial. He is clearly a narcissist and very unlikable (as depicted in the documentary), but what DA put on trial on was his sexual orientation and what kind of nasty porn they found on his computer.
That’s pretty much what the show is. You obviously didn’t watch it, but you expressed your opinion anyway.
The Firth/Collette series is much more interesting than the docuseries. Maybe that’s why Peterson is pissed. Or maybe it’s just because he’s a weird freak who seems to be pissed at everything, even before this shitshow happened.
hbo is a buncha old white guys and 50-something white bitches just nodding to everything jordan peterson says