HBO

[godardian]

Oddly enough, I get HBO Latin here... there are times when they're showing something good that I wish I spoke Spanish.

[GodDamnImDaMan]

Anyone else watch HBO?

No...no one else watches HBO...


You dumb fuck...

[E-Snizz]

You dumb fuck...

Fitting, when spelling racist with 2 i's for god knows how long til I pointed it out and 'writing' with 2 t's.

The list can go on but it's late.

[GodDamnImDaMan]

You dumb fuck...

Fitting, when spelling racist with 2 i's for god knows how long til I pointed it out and 'writing' with 2 t's.

The list can go on but it's late.

Straw man fallacy at it's finest.

[MacGuffin]

HBO will drop in on West
Source: Hollywood Reporter

HBO is developing an unscripted series from Larry Charles that will star rapper Kanye West, sources said.

The as-yet-untitled project is said to focus on a day in what is described as the crazy, hectic life of the Grammy-winning artist.

The project is from executive producer/director Charles; sources said the other executive producers will be record producer/label executive Rick Rubin; G Roberson, who is West's manager; and West.

HBO declined comment.

West, a music producer-turned-rapper, has released two albums -- 2004's "The College Dropout" and 2005's "Late Registration" -- that became multiplatinum hits and earned him six Grammys, including best rap album for the former and album of the year for the latter.

In March, West teamed with Anonymous Content and New Line Cinema to produce a feature film inspired by his music (HR 3/15). West also will appear in the film, which will create a multiperspective portrait of the U.S. as seen through the eyes of West and several filmmakers.

He is repped by WMA and Roberson.

Charles is a longtime executive producer and director of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," for which he has received multiple DGA Award and Emmy nominations. He also was the executive producer of "Entourage" in its first two seasons. On the big screen, Charles most recently directed the hit comedy "Borat," which earned Golden Globe noms for best musical or comedy motion picture and for best actor in a musical or comedy film for star Sacha Baron Cohen

[meatwad]

it had to happen one day, these two working together

[MacGuffin]

HBO, Playtone plan JFK miniseries
Hanks, Paxton set to produce 'History'
Source: Variety

HBO is near a deal with Playtone that will turn Vincent Bugliosi's 1,632-page book "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" into a miniseries.

Ten-parter will debunk long-held conspiracy theories and establish that assassin Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

HBO is wrapping up a deal to finance and air the mini, which will depict Oswald's journey to becoming an assassin and his subsequent murder on live TV by Jack Ruby.

Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will exec produce along with their "Big Love" star Bill Paxton.

The network will make a companion documentary special, with Bugliosi addressing myriad conspiracy theories, including those involving the Mafia, the KGB or Fidel Castro in JFK's assassination.

Project was hatched after Hanks, Paxton and Goetzman had a conversation about the shooting. They decided to look at Bugliosi's book, published last month by W.W. Norton, as the basis for a possible project.

"I totally believed there was a conspiracy, but after you read the book, you are almost embarrassed that you ever believed it," Goetzman said. "To think that guys who grew up in the '60s would make a miniseries supporting the idea that Oswald acted alone is something I certainly wouldn't have predicted. But time and evidence can change the way we view things."

Bugliosi, who prosecuted Charles Manson and wrote the book "Helter Skelter," was moved to write "Reclaiming History" after prosecuting a mock trial of Oswald for a British TV special. He walked away feeling the Warren Commission got it right and then spent the next two decades gathering evidence to prove it.

"Many more people will see the miniseries than will read the book," Bugliosi told Daily Variety. "With the integrity that Tom, Gary and Bill bring, I think that we will finally be able to make a substantial dent in the 75% of people in this country who still believe the conspiracy theorists."

Project comes along as Playtone nears a wrap on the seven-part HBO miniseries "John Adams" and preps for an Aug. 27 production start in Melbourne on "The Pacific," the 10-part WWII mini for HBO that Hanks and Goetzman are exec producing with Steven Spielberg. The Playtone-produced series "Big Love" begins its second season on HBO this Monday.

Playtone is in the early stages of developing as a series the Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex," the novel about a 41-year-old hermaphrodite that just became the latest choice of the Oprah Book Club.

[modage]

I wrote this rant on my blog about HBO.

Boardwalk Empire & The Problem With HBO


Boardwalk Empire looks to be shaping up as a good show.  It sure looks great and has the behind-the-scenes pedigree that should all but guarantee a success.

So why is it not that exciting?

I think it's because it just feels so safe from a network that used to be daring.  It's a show about organized crime, from one of the producers of The Sopranos, the most acclaimed series in HBO history.  Oh, and they hired Martin Scorsese to direct the pilot.  It feels like such a desperate attempt to recreate their previous hit that I almost feel like I'm being bought as a viewer.  Recreating past hits seems to be the way they do business these days and in that way they're no different from the networks.

How To Make It In America is Entourage set in New York.  Entourage is Sex and The City with dudes set in LA.  Sex And The City was an original show.

HBO used to mean something.  "It's not TV, it's HBO" wasn't just a slogan, it was kind of true.  But then TV caught up and now HBO is just another network with it's hits and misses.  Besides Curb Your Enthusiasm, I haven't really watched a show on HBO since Flight Of The Conchords went off the air and yet I've continued to subscribe.  I'm not even sure why.  Out of habit I suppose.  And I'm not the only person I know with this problem.  And let's get this out of the way too: True Blood is a terrible show.  You may watch it and you may enjoy it, but it's terrible and I'm not sure it's fans would even argue that it's a great show.

At one point, HBO truly were the leaders of television, making groundbreaking shows you wouldn't find anywhere else on TV.  But that was a long time ago and the landscape of TV has changed.  Now great shows can be found almost anywhere on TV: AMC, Showtime, FX, even network television.  The problem is: HBO hasn't seemed to recognize this and it's making them irrelevant.  Their series have been mostly forgettable and unfortunately their hits are terrible.  Instead of thinking of HBO as the network with The Sopranos and The Wire, now I think about it as the channel that airs campy vampire soap operas and Entourage: Season 8(!)

What's worse is that they seem to have forgotten what even makes a great show.  Hint: it's not cursing and nudity which seem like they have been mandated by the network to be included in every drama it airs.  I think HBO needs to get off it's high horse and embrace being the underdogs again.  Quit thinking that they can solve it's problems by repeating what worked before and recognize they're not the only ones making interesting tv these days.

Even their promos are in denial.  "Winner of 25 Emmy's, more than any other network".  Yes, for your miniseries!  Completely shut out of any award for their actual series, they have discovered their saving grace is the made-for-tv movie.  And that's just sad.

When I think about a series like Boardwalk Empire or Rome or The Pacific, I don't think "What a daring network!"  I think "Wow, they spent a shitload of money on this!"  With infinite resources at their disposal they seem to think if they spent enough money on something (both making and marketing) they can buy their way into a good series.  But that's really not what it's about.  It just all feels too calculated.

They're trying so hard to find the "next Sopranos" that they've created another show about organized crime, from the producer of The Sopranos.  What they don't realize is the next Sopranos, ie: most engrossing drama on television, had already been made.  It's called Mad Men and it's on AMC.  HBO passed on it.

I don't know why the network passed on Mad Men but it might've been the final nail in the coffin of thinking of the network as leaders in anything.  While watching Friday Night Lights recently I was thinking about how it was a great show, but could never be on HBO because it doesn't fit their criteria.  They're still stuck in the mentality that their viewers expect nudity and language you can't find on regular TV. 

I'm not saying HBO doesn't have watchable shows, Eastbound and Down is very funny and Boardwalk Empire does have potential.  But this is the network that gave us The Larry Sanders Show and The Sopranos, arguably the best comedies and dramas of all time.  And it might take somebody else knocking them down to realize they have something to prove again.  TV is competitive now and it's time they realized the competition might be winning.  For a network that prides itself on being groundbreaking, it's been a long time since they broke any new ground.

[squints]

mod, have you still never watched the wire?

[modage]

I watched it.  It was good.  It's not on anymore though.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I would normally be inclined to agree, but Life and Times of Tim is pretty outstanding.  I'm surprised it got a second season, and I'm glad it did, it got a lot of great voice actors and cameos.

I highly recommend this series to those who have not yet seen it.

[pete]

so mod's angry not at the actual quality of the shows, and not at the high concept-driven manner in which TV shows are produced on HBO, but that the latest high concepts aren't as high as the high concepts from about 10 years ago.

You can't boo both content and the high concept - Curb never would've blossomed under your watch because it would've sounded like Seinfeld with cussing on paper.  But you admit, base on its content, that it's a great show.

[modage]

I did not think Life And Times Of Tim was very funny.  It's also the ugliest looking animated show on TV.  It belongs on Adult Swim at best, not HBO.  

Curb never would've blossomed under your watch because it would've sounded like Seinfeld with cussing on paper.  But you admit, base on its content, that it's a great show.

That's not what I'm saying at all.  

My main argument is: HBO used to be leaders in television.  There wasn't anything else like it.  Now you can find great shows anywhere but HBO still kinda presents itself like some kind of "premium" brand that is above the competition when it's simply not true anymore.  And the ways in which they're trying to differentiate themselves (like spending more money than anybody else) don't seem to be adding up to better shows.  

I want HBO to be great, they just need to step up their game because everybody else caught up and they're standing still.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I did not think Life And Times Of Tim was funny at all.  It's also the ugliest looking animated show on TV.  It belongs on Adult Swim at best, not HBO.  

The animation is lackluster, but the style of comedy I often find hilarious.  I like shows where things go from bad to worse, and it goes in really bizarre directions as a result.

It is definitely more of an Adult Swim show, though, I'll give you that.

[pete]

I want HBO to be great, they just need to step up their game because everybody else caught up and they're standing still.

but what you're saying is very abstract.  a "leader in television" wasn't made because it decided to be the leader; what you described sounded like HBO just had more original programming than the other channels.  otherwise, it doesn't sound like you have problems with the show's overall programming (not the premise or the content) so much as to how they're perceived.  they're not viewed as the cool network anymore because the other networks are cool too.  I'm not sure if that's an actual problem.  so they make these shows - some are great while others sound great.  like I said, Curb and The Wire didn't sound very original on paper, but proved themselves to be so, but you're not giving the new shows the same chance because you don't think HBO is cool anymore.  I'm not sure if that's anything HBO can actually do.