Big Little Lies Season 2 is coming to an end, but the show is still surrounded by controversies involving its British director Andrea Arnold. Allegedly, the 58-year-old filmmaker has "lost her creative control" that resulted in the second installment's unrecognizable style and editorial tension. But despite the claims, HBO said it is proud of the former actress' work.
"There wouldn't be a season two of Big Little Lies without Andrea Arnold. We at HBO and the producers are extremely proud of her work," HBO said in a statement after emerging reports about the director, via ScreenDaily. "As with any television project, the executive producers work collaboratively on the series, and we think the final product speaks for itself."
IndieWire reported sources close to the production revealed Arnold had lost her creative control of Big Little Lies Season 2 when it was handed over to executive producer and Season 1 director Jean-Marc Vallée. With the transition to the new director, the move intended to inject some familiar approach that Vallée made in the first season, unifying the two seasons' visual style.
The insider close to the executive producers, on the other hand, revealed it had always been the plan to yank the creative control from Arnold and gave it to Vallée. But, the former reportedly had no idea that Vallée would get involved again, knowing that she is now the new season's director.
The publication noted that when the executive producers and HBO offered Arnold to direct Big Little Lies Season 2, they wanted it to be her version, and it was what exactly happened. From the pre-production to the production itself and into post-production, Arnold got the show's full control. However, HBO and showrunner David E. Kelley's plan, which was to give the creative control to Vallée allegedly, was not told to Arnold.
Kelley believed shows should have a unified style instead of directorial voice. With his work with Vallée in Season 1, he trusted and appreciated the distinct tone and visual form the first director put in the series. So, he wanted Big Little Lies Season 2 to have the same style that made the show established.
But as Vallée already committed to doing Sharp Objects at the time, HBO and the show's executive producers couldn't afford to wait for Vallée to start working on Big Little Lies Season 2. Hence, they decided to replace him with Arnold, believing Vallée and his Season 1 team could work out on injecting the new season with the same distinctive style in its post-production process.
But like what HBO said, "executive producers work collaboratively" to deliver the best show that they could ever make. Big Little Lies Season 2 is about to conclude on Sunday, July 21.
