MartinScorsese-related stories
Posted Nov 18th 2009 9:34AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Gretchen Mol, who was last seen in last season's short-lived American television version of
Life on Mars and in the feature
An American Affair,
will be going to HBO for the series
Boardwalk Empire. She's scheduled to have a recurring role as a showgirl. The series is being produced by Martin Scorsese.
Gretchen Mol was on
Life on Mars with Michael Imperioli, who was also on
The Sopranos on HBO and was in Scorsese's
Goodfellas.
Boardwalk Empire star Steve Buscemi also appeared on
The Sopranos. In short, all these people know each other and it's definitely a case of cast inbreeding. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Seriously, Gretchen Mol is a terrific actress and was fantastic in
The Notorious Bettie Page. Given the talent already behind
Boardwalk Empire, it was likely to be a fantastic series. Now its volume just went up to 11.
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 10:04AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
We've been following the progress of
Boardwalk Empire here at
TV Squad for awhile now. Don't take my word for it; click that link if you don't believe me. HBO was waiting to get a look at the pilot, directed by executive producer Martin Scorsese, to see if they wanted to move forward with it.
Of course, all things were looking good, and who really expects Scorsese to hand in crap, but now it's finally official.
HBO has given a 12-episode commitment to Boardwalk Empire, including that pilot.
The series takes place in 1920s Atlantic City and features Steve Buscemi as an important city figure, as well as a bootlegger. I absolutely love it when HBO does period pieces like this. They seem to excel at authentically bringing these bygone eras to stunning life.
Prohibition was a tumultuous time in this country, and I can just imagine how intense things got in a hotbed for seedy behavior like Atlantic City. And then there's Buscemi. Brilliant, unpredictable, I can't imagine anyone better to play a character who's described as "equal parts politician and gangster." HBO's hit streak looks to keep on going.
Posted Jan 5th 2009 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, House, The Simpsons, NCIS, WGA Strike, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
A year ago at this time, who would have guessed that Jay Leno would be leaving late night and NBC would be handing him five hours of prime time instead? Who would have predicted CBS continuing to dominate in the ratings or that ABC's sophomore series like
Eli Stone and
Pushing Daisies would stumble and fall so completely after being off the air all last spring? Predictors from last January were on target about there being a
writers' strike; that did happen and it was definitely not a good thing.
Fortunately, I don't see a SAG strike in the future. However, here are ten things I'm betting will happen by the time the ball drops on December 31st.
1. Martin Scorsese will be the next big thing on HBO. He's producing a drama based on the book
Boardwalk Empire. HBO is overdue to launch another big series in
The Sopranos tradition.
Boardwalk Empire seems to have all the right elements: violence, sex, gambling, and Oscar-winning, iconic director Martin Scorsese.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Fearless predictions for 2009
Posted Jan 1st 2009 10:33AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV Royalty, Programming, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
I'm crazy for HBO, and one of the shows I'm really looking forward to is Boardwalk Empire, a pilot executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who's also directing), Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Terence Winter (who's also penning the pilot).
Based on the Nelson Johnson book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, the project chronicles the 1920s origins of Atlantic City, New Jersey. From what I've read, it sounds like a mix of The Departed, The Sopranos and Goodfellas -- all favorites of mine. And the cast they've got lined up couldn't be better.
Steve Buscemi plays Nucky Johnson, a businessman who runs a liquor distribution ring at the beginning of Prohibition. Michael Pitt (pictured) is in negotiations to play Jimmy Darmody, a bright, young, ruthless WWI veteran who serves as a flunky for Nucky, but yearns for more power.
Continue reading Michael Pitt in talks for Boardwalk Empire
Posted Dec 1st 2008 10:30AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Steve Buscemi
is in talks to star in Martin Scorsese's new HBO drama
Boardwalk Empire. The series chronicles the rise of Atlantic City as a gambling haven in the 1920's.
Buscemi has never been a leading man, to my knowledge; however he's an extremely versatile character actor and has always had a prominent supporting role in every drama or comedy in which he's appeared (my favorite still remains
Airheads. Yeah, I'm weird that way).
He's no stranger to HBO drama either, as he had a sizable role in one of its most critically acclaimed dramas
The Sopranos. He directed episodes of that show as well, before he even got in front of the camera. Martin Scorsese has also historically been attracted to mob dramas, so it seems like a good match.
The show itself has a lot of talent behind it (including Mark Wahlberg, who also executive-produces
Entourage), so this show has a better chance of being a hit than most others, particularly anything on network TV.
Posted Nov 28th 2008 5:01PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
What the hell is going on here? Have we entered the bizarro world? Is up now down? Has black become white? Was
The Simpsons canceled after the first three episodes while
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer went on to become the longest running and most award winning series in the history of television?
Variety reports that while the big four networks are cutting back on their sitcoms and dramas for more reality fare, cable networks have been ramping up their dramas, comedies and dramadies and are now in a position to compete for some real ratings.
And it's not just in quantity where cable has tipped the scales.
Continue reading Has cable become credible?
Posted Aug 8th 2008 12:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, Reality-Free
We have previously reported that Academy Award-winning film director
Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg were developing a series for cable. Now, it looks like Scorsese might be directing the pilot
of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire which chronicles the rise of Atlantic City in the 1920s. He's directed about
casinos before, so the subject matter should be old hat to him.
Admittedly, at this stage of his career this seems a bit like slumming. He has once before directed for television (an episode of Steven Spielberg's
Amazing Stories in the '80s). Honestly, where else is there to go? He's won the Oscar already. He's even directed
Michael Jackson. It's his series (he's the executive producer along with Wahlberg), so everybody wins with this deal.
I note how he has gone away from his native setting of New York City in his more recent work (for example,
The Departed took place in Boston), and now he's decided to cross the Hudson River into New Jersey. As a Jersey native, I can only say: it's about time!
Posted Jun 4th 2008 7:05PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Cable/Satellite, Reality-Free
It sounds like HBO is looking for another series in
The Sopranos tradition. Or maybe it was
The Sopranos that was in the Scorsese tradition? Either way, we recently told you about Oscar-winning director
Martin Scorsese's HBO project Boardwalk Empire (teaming with Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson of
Entourage fame), and now
we can report that they've hired Terence Winter to pen the script for Boardwalk Empire. That's the name of Nelson Johnson's book about the dark underbelly in the rise and fall of Atlantic City, on which this project will be based. Call me crazy, but this sounds like perfect material for Scorsese's sensibilities, even if he's producing rather than directing.
Continue reading HBO signs writer to Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire
Posted Oct 6th 2006 3:51PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Cable, Celebrities
Peter Bogdanovich has updated his 1971 documentary
Directed By John Ford for Turner Classic Movies. The new version, which will air on November 7 at 8 pm as part of a month-long tribute to the legendary director, will retain much of its original material, such as narration by Orson Welles, with new footage including interviews with Steven Spielberg (who was heavily influenced by Ford's
The Searchers), Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood and Walter Hill. Interviews from the original version with Henry Fonda, James Stewart, John Wayne and Ford himself will also remain. Ford's films will be shown on TCM throughout the month of November as part of the tribute.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
