HBO
Seth and Evan Make Another Porno
Apparently nonplussed by the failure of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Seth Rogen is heading back to the billion-dollar industry that no one likes to talk about... for Showtime. Mr. Rogen, along with his partner-in-comedy arms Evan Goldberg, is developing an untitled series for the cable network about three floundering twentysomethings who grapple with life and relationships while working in a pornography store. The duo's longtime assistant, Matthew Bass, is set to write and co-executive produce the series. We guess the hope is that by hanging around someone as funny as Seth Rogen, some comedy sensibility inadvertently rubs off. (And no, that's not a porn-related pun. read more »
Boxer, in Brief: Welterweight Wants to Soar
Last month, Paul “Magic Man” Malignaggi vacated the International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champion title, which he’s held for the past year and successfully defended three times, so that he may fight the welterweight world champ, the great pug-faced hope of Britain, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton. Nov. 22, MGM Grand, HBO. A seven-figure payday. He’s arrived.
Only Little Paulie doesn’t see that way. He wants the world to know his name.
Mr. Malignaggi, 27, has come a long way from throwing dice and cutting class at New Utrecht High School in Bensonhurst—starting with a pair of Golden Gloves in ’98—but the fact that everyone from back in the day had bet on him losing still weighs on him something awful. read more »
David Milch to End Deadwood Verbally
The Hartford Courant's Roger Catlin got a press release touting HBO's 19-disc box set for its critically-acclaimed series Deadwood.
According to Mr. Catlin, it will sell for $179.97, which would be pretty steep even if people weren't about to start boiling their boots for soup, but the 36-hour disc contains something fans have been desperately waiting for: An end to the series. (Then again, it's a heckuva lot cheaper than HBO's Sopranos box which retails for $399.99. And we all know how frustratingly that series en—)
Writes Mr. Catlin:
Among its two hours of bonus materials is something called "The Meaning of Endings" described as "creator David Milch's discussion on what would have happened had the 'Deadwood' series continued' read more »
Occasionally Awesome Entourage Gets Sixth Season
Up until last night, we'd been pretty pleased with the latest season of Entourage. The show, which lamely limped along for almost two full years has gotten its mojo back by having Vincent Chase decline into the Hollywood Bargain Bin. So it was a little disconcerting to watch the latest episode, which would have even been considered terrible by Medellin-era Entourage standards. Vince and the boys spent thirty long minutes tripping on mushrooms with Eric Roberts. And while on paper that sounds awesome, we assure you, it certainly was not.
Still, the news today that HBO has picked up Entourage for a sixth season makes us happy. read more »
AMC In Outer Space
At the September 21st Emmy Awards AMC cleaned up: Mad Men became the first basic cable series to win best drama (and won for writing, too), and Bryan Cranston had a surprise win in the best actor category for Breaking Bad. And the network is not stopping there. read more »
70s Icon Norman Lear Brings 70s to HBO
HBO is planning so many new series', that it seems like they may need to quit showing movies to make room for them all. The latest comes with the help of 70s super-producer Norman Lear. The man who brought us All in the Family, Maude and Good Times is partnering with HBO for the first time to produce Everybody Hurts. read more »
2004 Village Voice Cover Makes Cameo on HBO Vampire Series
Viewers of True Blood, HBO's Southern vampire gothic, may have noticed a politically loaded piece of background art this past weekend.
Prominently featured in a scene set at Fangtasia, a vampire bar, was a painting of George W. Bush sucking blood from the neck of the Statue of Liberty. (A version can be found here.) The image was created by comic book artist and illustrator Alex Ross and ran on the cover of The Village Voice in October 26, 2004 to accompany an article by Nixonland author Rick Perlstein. At the time, the image struck some on the right as offensive. read more »
HBO Signs Up Another Good One: Americatown
Dare we say that HBO is on a roll? Fresh off the news that Sarah Michelle Gellar has signed up for a pilot, the network announced over the weekend that it's developing a futuristic drama called Americatown. The series, produced by longtime Steven Spielberg collaborators Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy (the Indiana Jones films, Schnidler's List, E.T.), will focus on a group of Americans in the near future, who after a seismic decline in the United States, are forced to relocate to a major foreign city.
When we hear about bleak but realistic post-apocalyptic visions of the world, our minds immediately jump to Children of Men. read more »
Sarah Michelle Gellar to Return in New HBO Series
Everyone's favorite Vampire Slayer is coming back to television. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who's been way from the Farnsworth invention since 2003, is set to return for an HBO series called The Wonderful Maladys, Variety reports. Set in New York, the half-hour show will follow the lives of three siblings who lost their parents at a young age. Ms. Gellar's part was specifically written for her by show creator Charles Randolph (The Interpreter) and is described as someone who is "like a drug addict with a to-do list."
Even though her film career has never taken off the way we're sure she would have liked, we have always found Ms. Gellar to be an incredibly interesting actress. read more »
Tina Brown Catches Zeitgeist By Optioning Bush's Favorite Book From Four Years Ago for HBO
In May, The Observer's Felix Gillette looked at HBO's hiring of former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown and The New York Times' Frank Rich as "creative consultants."
At the time, he wrote:
Ms. Brown said that since January, she’s pitched two projects—an idea for a series and an idea for a movie—that the HBO executives liked and are in the process of 'taking a little further.'... 'If I collide with some interesting material, I’ll call or e-mail them. Sometimes it’s something I’m interested in doing. Sometimes it’s something I think they should know about. Richard wants to encourage people who have good relationships with the creative community to simply be thinking about HBO when they’re out and about.
According to Variety, Ms. Brown is honing in on some of that "interesting material," namely, a series based on Tom Wolfe's four year old novel, I Am Charlotte Simmons. read more »
HBO Hooks YouTube Stars for Web Series
HBO's online programming offshoot, HBOlab has plucked YouTube stars and videobloggers to hook up with eachother on a new 10-episode web series they're calling... Hooking Up.
Jessica Rose (a.k.a. lonelygirl15), Philip DeFranco (a.k.a. sxePhil) and Kevin Wu (a.k.a. KevJumba) will be in a kind of 90210: The College Years on the scripted show. They'll be acting as students in a university who miscommunicate through e-mail, instant message and Twitter. Each character will have their own Facebook page and the series will premiere on Oct. 1 on YouTube, MySpace and hookingupshow.com.
HBO executives told The Hollywood Reporter that this web show will succeed because there are so many internet stars on it. read more »
The Ladies of Entourage Are Not Hoochie Mamas, Thank You Very Much
At the Entourage season five premiere Wednesday evening at the Ziegfield Theater on 54th Street, attendees would have been forgiven if they assumed, incorrectly, that the premiere was being filmed for some meta-meta-upcoming episode. There were screaming fans, and the boys—Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and Jeremy Piven—were dressed in suits, and stopped to pose for photos and sign autographs. Two episodes from season five, which starts Sunday, were screened for an audience that included several guest stars from the upcoming season—Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights producer Peter Berg, Sopranos daughter Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and rapper Bow Wow. read more »
HBO's Bored to Death Sounding Even More Exciting!
Hey, we think HBO might be getting back on track! Our colleague at the Culture Czar recommends True Blood, the new show from Alan Ball, but we're actually more psyched about Bored to Death. We were thrilled about the prospects of the series just from hearing the premise: a struggling writer with a slight drinking problem, fresh off a break-up, decides to become a private eye. When Jason Schwartzman signed on for the lead role, our interest was immediately piqued. Schwartzman is perfect casting for a lovelorn writer-nebbishy and yet capable of being an everyman. Plus, we flat-out love him.
Hey, Look Who's on Entourage!
Given the continuing dearth of primetime options, we're pretty excited for Entourage to come back on the air this Sunday. So we couldn't help take a sneak peak at some of this season's guest stars, courtesy show creator Doug Ellin. In a chat with Broadcasting and Cable, Ellin notes that Mark Wahlberg (aka Entourage inspiration) will be back, and also that Tony Bennett and Phil Mickelson will make appearances. However, we're probably most looking forward to Giovanni Ribisi showing up in a non-cameo role. More about season 5 after the jump: read more »
Helen Thomas Goes Prime Time: It's Not CSPAN ... It's HBO
Tonight, HBO will air a documentary by Rory Kennedy about White House press room mainstay Helen Thomas called Thank You, Mr. President. While less sexy than other HBO fare such as Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal and probably less controversial than Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, it promises to offer journalism buffs some insight into Ms. Thomas' incredible 47-year (and still going strong) career.
The New York Times' Susan Stewart says:
Ms. Kennedy, who conducted the interview at her mother’s Hickory Hill estate, doesn’t ask the kind of hard-hitting questions that her subject is known for and never brings up the more extreme statements Ms. read more »
Report: NBC's Ben Silverman to Appear on HBO's Entourage
Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke is reporting that NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman will be appearing this season on HBO's glitzy Hollywood fantasia Entourage.
As Ms. Finke writes:
Fox mogul Tom Rothman and NBC mogul about to go-go Ben Silverman will appear in cameos this fall as well as ABC's The View and film critics Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips. Now exactly whose idea is that edgy viewing? Unless, of course, Ben is partaking of weed or worse on air.
Mr. Silveman, who is assumed by some to be the basis for B.J. Novak's temp-turned-ambitious executive on The Office, will probably not be toking any weed on HBO after Esquire"s Matthew Belloni read more »
David Simon Gets Familiar Wire Faces For HBO Pilot
David Simon is taking some old pals from thedark streets of Baltimore to the desperate landscape of New Orleans for his new HBO pilot, Treme. Wire veterans Wendell Pierce (who played endearingly drunk, yet straight and true detective Bunk) and Clarke Peters (everybody's favorite fatherly figure) will star in the drama following the reconstruction of Katrina-ravaged New Orleans through the eyes of its storied local musicians.
Pierce will play Antoine Batiste, an accomplished jazz trombonist who is now scratching for gigs, trying to support a live-in girlfriend and a new baby, while still carrying a torch for a failed marriage to Ladonna Batiste, the mother of his two children, who is single-handedly keeping her bar afloat. Peters will play Albert Lambreaux, a big chief of the White Feather Nation trying to bring the tribe's members home.
1 Out of 2 Flacks Agree: Jewish Channel A Lot Like HBO
Our sibling blog, The Culture Czar, drew our attention to a New York Times article about The Jewish Channel, a cable network devoted to Jewish interests.
As The Times' Joanne Kaufman writes: "The channel, which has been labeled the 'Jewish HBO,' relies mostly on pre-existing content."
What a pithy, perfectly formulated analogy: It really tells us everything there is to know about this little-seen network. Wonder who came up with it?
According to a July 25, 2008 article by Barbara Pash in the Baltimore Jewish Times:
Aaron Horning [sic.] calls it the 'Jewish HBO.' That’s a quick and easy reference for viewers to identify The Jewish Channel, a premium cable television channel that is now available in the Baltimore metropolitan area through Verizon FiOS. read more »
HBO Finds Their Hung Man
Thomas Jane, the chiseled actor who has had bit parts in Paul Thomas Anderson movies and a leading role in The Mist, will be HBO's well-endowed hunk in Hung.
The Hollywood Reporter tells us that HBO's new entertainment president Sue Naegle has made the pilot script by The Riches creator Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson a top priority at the network. That's no surprise. ... As we've reported, Alexander Payne's dark comedy pilot centers on Ray (Mr. Jane), a middle-aged high school basketball coach who figures out a way to use, um, his second brain, to his advantage.
Mr. Jane has such a quaint name. His character? Not so innocent.
HBO Ready to Show How to Make It In America
HBO is going to show us How to Make It in America with a new comedy pilot. Courtesy of Mark Wahlberg's production company, Closest to the Hole (also responsible for Entourage, In Treatment and the forthcoming Boardwalk Empire), writer Ian Edelman will reveal how to achieve the American dream through three 20-something New Yorkers. According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO-based producer Rob Weiss of Entourage has also signed on to offer insights from his experiences as a student at the Parsons School for Design.
"This show is a fun ride through the downtown scene, examining the cross section of people and how they relate to the relevant subcultures in NYC," Mr. read more »
Better Luck Next Year, HBO
The 60th Annual Emmy Awards nominations have been announced, and as Gillian Reagan points out on our sister blog, Culture Czar, quality television purveyor HBO was shut out of the Best Drama category. There wasn't even a spot for The Wire, which finished its final season beneath an avalanche of critical praise. read more »
That may not be such a shame according to Time's James Poniewozik, who writes, "Maybe it's more fitting that The Wire can go out with its purity of outrage and injustice intact. And at least an HBO-less drama category may be a little more interesting." HBO might've had a nomination in Mad Men had they not
Did Generation Kill Producers Give Credit Where Credit's Due?
Last week, former New York Times Hollywood reporter Sharon Waxman ran an item on her WaxWord blog about HBO's new mini-series, Generation Kill and if Evan Wright, the writer of the Rolling Stone articles and subsequent book upon which the series is based, might be losing some credit for the adaptation of his work. As Waxman wrote:
The series, debuting next Sunday, is a hard-driving, non-fiction tale of Marines on the front lines in Iraq, and it is drawn directly–in some scenes word for word–from the award-winning book of the same name by Evan Wright. Wright is credited as a consulting producer on the seven-part series, and has credit on two of the scripts. read more »
Generation Kill: Required, But Punishing Viewing
Critics who got an early look at Generation Kill, the new HBO miniseries about the first 40 days of the Iraq war created by Wire masterminds David Simon and Ed Burns, were treated to more than the first five (of seven) episodes on DVD. As part of a multipacket press kit, they also received a glossy, four-color guide explaining where each soldier ranks in the unit of elite Marines that is the show’s focus.
It’s unfortunate that such a guide doesn’t seem to be available on HBO’s Web site (though Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune has posted it on her blog), because unless you come in to Generation Kill with a strong grasp on Marine hierarchy, it won’t be until the third or fourth episode that most of the characters will differentiate themselves, or that any kind of chain of command seems clear at all. read more »
HBO Thinks Fat Sells
HBO's taking on the $46 million herbal weight loss industry with a new pilot, Fat Sells. The network just greenlit the Forest Whitaker-produced show, which will follow a fat cat in the industry whose life begins to unravel once the FDA begins investigating the company's claims, according to Variety.
The magazine also reports that the show will be written by Gren Wells, an executive producer of NBC's hit weight loss show The Biggest Loser. read more »
Jason Schwartzman Cast in HBO Pilot as Drunken Brooklynite
HBO has found an actor for anew pilot that we're actually psyched about! Jason Schwartzman will play "a struggling thirtysomething writer with a drinking problem in Brooklyn" in their comedy Bored to Death, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mr. Schwartzman is kind of stuck in this role as the resident weirdo/grumpy guy in movies but we don't mind. He'll play Jonathan, a guy who just got his heart broken by his ex-girlfriend and decides to become a faulty private detective. read more »
HBO Options Bipolar Memoir
Variety's Michael Schneider reports that HBO has optioned Terry Cheney's book, Manic: A Memoir, about a Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer struggling with mental illness. According to a video on Ms. Cheney's publisher's Web site, as a lawyer the author represented Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones.
The show will be a one-hour drama, executive produced by Janet Tamaro, a news correspodent-turned-writer (her IMDB bio says she "produced investigative stories for long-form newsmagazine shows and won several journalism awards for her work," but fails to note which shows or awards; her credits page includes shows like Lost, CSI:NY, Bones and others) and Gavin Polone, who executive produces Curb Your Enthusiasm and Tell Me You Love Me for HBO and previously brought the world Gilmore Girls. read more »
HBO Officially Orders More Treatment
It's official. HBO has ordered a second season of In Treatment. This time they'll be shooting in New York, making it an easy commute for Gabriel Byrne, the star of the show, who lives in the city.
HBO had been widely expected to greenlight a second season of the show, but it took some time for the paybox to cut a fresh pact with Byrne, biz insiders said.
“In Treatment” is also due for a fresh influx of supporting cast members, as most of Weston’s patients from season one will not be returning other than possibly for brief appearances in a handful of episodes. An HBO rep said deals with new and potential returning cast members were still being worked out. read more »
Sloane Crosley's Book Gets HBO Treatment
TV rights for I Was Told There'd Be Cake, the best-selling essay collection by Vintage publicist Sloane Crosley, have been sold to HBO for series development. This according to an announcement posted on the Publisher's Marketplace bulletin board over the weekend.
That's all we know for now, except that CAA did the deal. Watch this space for an explanation from Ms. Crosley herself; we will update when she returns our call.
HBO Slates Bored to Death
HBO is is practically boring us to death with their recent projects. Hung, a new show about a man and his second brain, looks kind of cheesy. Snorefest In Treatment is probably getting renewed. And that Scorsese project about the Atlantic City boardwalk? Zzzzz. Appropriately, HBO has just greenlighted a new show called Bored to Death. read more »
Sopranos Scribe to Write Scorsese's HBO Show
The Sopranos alum Terence Winter, a Sopranos writer, is coming down to the dark, seedy Atlantic City boardwalk for Martin Scorsese. He'll be writing the director's new HBO project Boardwalk Empire, which will be produced by Entourage bros Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson. The drama is based on Nelson Johnson's book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City, which revolves around the now-gambling mecca's early 20th century origins, according to Variety. Ohh, this reminds us of Deadwood! Sweet. read more »
Kim Cattrall Brings More Sex to HBO
HBO is bringing back a kind of Samantha Jones doppleganger for their new comedy series Sensitive Skin. The Los Angeles Times' Dish Rag blog notes that Kim Cattrall herself will play, wait for it, "a middle-aged wife/mother who rediscovers her sexuality and begins to question her life choices." read more »
HBO's Recount Off to Sluggish Start
HBO's smart, new, original movie "Recount," about the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida, may be a hit with critics but according to the Hollywood Reporter it has yet to catch on with HBO subscribers.
From the Hollywood Reporter article: read more »
Lineup for May 28, 2008
Now that HBO has hired Tina Brown and Frank Rich for consulting gigs, Felix Gillette wonders, "So what’s next?" He also notes, "the truly free-range journalist-consultant—one with a broad editorial mandate to roam here and there gnawing lustfully on some projects while trampling others willy-nilly—remains a rare and exotic beast."
Speaking of television, Doree Shafrir meets Bravo's Flipping Out host Jeff Lewis, "a deeply neurotic man who treats his staff like a dysfunctional family and has managed to turn his obsessive-compulsive disorder to his advantage."
John Koblin looks at this past week's New York Times Magazine and writes, "Sex sells, of course—but this was not Maxim. And women writers in Manhattan could be forgiven for a slightly sickly feeling as they regarded the images. This again?" Plus: Slicing the SATC Pie. read more »
The Hire
Over the past few weeks, HBO has announced a series of moves to stem the tide of speculation that the network is faltering. After canceling 12 Miles of Bad Road, a series starring Lily Tomlin, HBO announced deals with Oscar winners Alexander Payne (of Sideways and Election fame) to develop a dark comedy called Hung, about a man who divines power from his generous equipment; and Alan Ball, the creator of Six Feet Under, who is working on not one but two shows for the network. read more »
Alan Ball to Take on Bad Girls for HBO
Look out, Oz! Move over, Prison Break! It's time for some imprisoned Bad Girls to take over HBO thanks to Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball. Mr. Ball is reuniting with the network to executive produce and oversee writing for the show, which will be an American version of the long-running British drama about the staff and inmates of a women's prison. Don't be expecting a "Cell Block Tango"-like performance... read more »
Surely Not What Jim Baker Intended
Jim Baker was so tickled by his portrayal in the new HBO film Recount that he actually scheduled an advanced screening of the fictionalized Florida recount retrospective at the Houston public policy institute that bears his name.
In some ways, he should be. While the movie makes clear that the facts at the heart of the disputed election mostly favored Al Gore, it can’t suppress its respect for Baker’s shrewd and cutthroat pragmatism. read more »
A Rendition of Bush-Gore That's Long Overdue
So maybe history isn’t always written by the winners.
In the fall of 2001, after George W. Bush mounted a pile of debris at ground zero and came up with one brilliant rejoinder to a skeptic’s taunt, the prevailing public attitude toward the previous year’s disputed election was: So what? The guy who was supposed to win won, and there was probably more than enough malfeasance to go around anyway. read more »
Report: Frank Rich to Join HBO as Consultant
Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily brings news that Frank Rich has been hired as a consultant for HBO. read more »
HBO Hung On to Alexander Payne
Put down the merlot! Alexander Payne, director of wine-snob favorite Sideways, has signed on to direct HBO's dark comedy Hung. Apparently the main character is, um, well-endowed. "Think of him like Spider-Man," show creator Colette Burson told Daily Variety last month. "He's an average guy who gets in touch with his innate superpowers." Okay, wait maybe we should keep drinking to watch this one. Variety reports: read more »
The Week in Music: Ashlee Perseveres; What Is a Tokyo Police Club? Blind Melon Album Raises Ontological Questions
When Ashlee Simpson began her rise to fame (and later infamy) in 2004, the last thing the world needed was another pop star in her sister's mold—which was lucky for Ashlee, who does not have Jessica's vocal range (nor, need it be said, her Barbie looks). Packaged and primed, Ashlee was groomed to be the anti-Jessica, the Pat Benatar to Jessica's Olivia Newton John. With dark brown hair and that nose, she even managed to look the part. She was always more spunk than anything else, which was made abundantly clear when she was caught lip-synching on Saturday Night Live. read more »
Declaration of Ignorance
All kinds of people are watching HBO’s seven-part miniseries John Adams, which airs its fifth installment, "Unite or Die," on Sunday night at 9 p.m. Some are HBO loyalists, who will try anything the network puts on the table at least once (even John From Cincinnati, the network’s most glorious failure). Others are people like my parents, who prefer the BBC and PBS and (at least in my dad’s case) war documentaries over edgier network fare. And still others are people more like myself: avid fans of the television, in general, who are bored out of their skulls wandering the post-writers'-strike wasteland of nighttime programming. Is everything on hiatus? Brothers and Sisters, we await your return!
Still, though many young people confess that they are watching the show, nobody seems to talk about it the way they talked about The Sopranos. read more »
HBO Cancels Tomlin's Bad Road
HBO has dropped its Lily Tomlin-fronted dramedy 12 Miles of Bad Road. They had produced six episodes of the show, which starred Ms. Tomlin as the matriarch of a Texas real estate family, according to Broadcasting & Cable. But this death can't be blamed on the writers' strike. HBO executives ultimately deemed it a poor match for the network's sensibilities, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The show's pilot was executive-produced by Designing Women's Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband, Harry Thomason. The plot, pilot showrunners, and leading lady all seemed a little moldy for HBO, especially when the channel is struggling to fill a schedule left by shows like The Wire (and their new show John Adams seems like a snore too). read more »