HBO

Director Philip Kaufman Talks HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN Starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman

by Christina Radish    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 at 2:28 pm

Hemingway & Gellhorn – premiering on HBO on May 28^th and directed by Philip Kaufman (The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Right Stuff, Henry & June) from a script by Jerry Stahl and Barbara Turner – recounts the passionate love affair and tumultuous marriage of literary master Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen) and trailblazing war correspondent Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman), following their relationship through the Spanish Civil War and beyond.  As the two witnessed history, they covered all the great conflicts of their time, but just couldn’t overcome their own conflicts at home.  The film also stars David Strathairn, Molly Parker, Rodrigo Santoro, Parker Posey, Lars Ulrich, Santiago Cabrera, Saverio Guerra, Peter Coyote, Diane Baker, Joan Chen and Tony Shalhoub.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, accomplished filmmaker and multiple Academy Award nominee Philip Kaufman (whose writing credits include Raiders of the Lost Ark) talked about how this film was brought to him, making his first feature for television, how Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen came to the project, his decision to intersperse black and white and color footage throughout the film, and shooting entirely in San Francisco, which doubled for seven different countries.  He also talked about how he’s currently developing a number of projects, but doesn’t know which one he’ll do next.  Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Catherine Keener to Star in HBO Comedy Series Written and Directed by Charlie Kaufman

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 21st, 2012 at 7:52 pm

HBO’s current comedy roster is stacked with some of the best writers in the business: Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Lena Dunham/Judd Apatow (Girls), Armando Iannucci (Veep), Mike White (Enlightened).  If you count the hourlong The Newsroom, Aaron Sorkin seemed like the apex in terms of pure writers.  Yet HBO has outdone themselves, entering into development on a half-hour comedy series with Charlie Kaufman.  Even better, frequent collaborator Catherine Keener is set to star and produce alongside Kaufman.  The untitled series is described as “an exploration of one day in a woman’s life and how the events leading up to it can affect, or not, the reality in which she lives.”  What?  More after the jump.

Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Adam McKay Developing HBO Series for Rob Riggle

by Matt Currie    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 4:39 pm

Mark Wahlberg, Adam McKay, and Will Ferrell are gearing up to bring Daily Show alum and prolific bit-part player Rob Riggle to HBO. McKay and Ferrell (producers of the network’s black comedy Eastbound and Down) and Wahlberg (producer of seemingly everything else on HBO) will team with Riggle and fellow Eastbound producer Chris Henchy to develop a 1980s-set Wall Street comedy that Riggle will star in. He’ll be playing a successful bonds trader who, one assumes, will prove to be not unlike Kenny Powers in his repulsive yet enthralling overall approach to life. Hit the jump for more.

First Full Trailer for TRUE BLOOD Season Five Highlights Christopher Meloni Being a Badass

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 13th, 2012 at 8:42 pm

Following a slew of “mini trailers” and one brief teaser, the first full trailer for the upcoming fifth season of HBO’s True Blood has gone online.  The clip shows quite a bit of footage from the upcoming season, including the promise of a prolonged Bill/Eric team-up (please tell me a buddy vampire spin-off is in the works), the return of an old fan favorite character, and the promise of more of that weird clown face that apparently appears when witches get high or something.  However, the best part about this trailer is Mr. Christopher Meloni.  He joins the cast this season as the head of The Authority, a council made up of the most powerful vampires in existence.  If you remember the predicament that Bill and Eric found themselves in last season and compound that with the returning baddie, you should have some idea of where this promisingly badass Meloni character comes in.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and if you missed all the character posters that were recently unveiled, click here.  The fifth season of True Blood premieres on HBO on June 10th.

New Trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Series THE NEWSROOM

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 13th, 2012 at 7:57 pm

A new trailer for Oscar-winning screenwriter and The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin’s latest series, The Newsroom, has gone online.  This builds on the basic set-up introduced in the previous two trailers gets a bit more into what the plot may look like in the first few episodes beyond the pilot.  Jeff Daniels stars as the primary anchor of a floundering 24-hour news network who’s ready to break the monotony of lazy and gutless cable news.  I’m a self-professed Sorkin nut so I may be a bit biased, but I really like what we’ve seen from the series thus far.  My only concern is that the show could become too much of a soapbox for Sorkin’s worldviews a la Studio 60, but hopefully his knack for snappy dialogue and romantic characters reigns the preach-factor in a bit.  Moreover, this new trailer has 100% more David Krumholtz which is almost never a bad thing.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer (complete with Dave Krumholtz cameo!), and count down the days until The Newsroom premieres on June 24th on HBO.  The show also stars Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston, Jane Fonda, Alison Pill, Olivia Munn and Dev Patel.

A Batch of 12 New TRUE BLOOD Season Five Posters Say Everything is at Stake

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: May 10th, 2012 at 1:34 pm

Frankly, I gave up on vampires a long time ago, and it takes a lot for me to get interested in them, and that includes the HBO series True Blood. However, we know that there are plenty of True Blood-thirsty fans out there clamoring for every bit of hype as we lead up to the fifth season premiere on June 10th at 9/8c. Therefore, you’ll be happy to know that in addition to the most recent trailer and teaser poster, we now have a batch of 12 character posters (with Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard, Stephen Moyer and more) that have so much red on them they would make Shaun of the Dead blush.

Honestly, they’re not all that special, but for fans who have a favorite character (or enjoy seeing Christopher Meloni with fangs), they could make a cool iPhone background or something like that. Anyway, you can check out all 12 of the new posters, along with the most recent trailer, after the jump.

Seasoned: Matt Reviews THE WIRE – Season 3

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 4th, 2012 at 11:29 am

Up until the past 15 years or so, television series were firmly episodic.  Serialized TV (outside of mini-series) risked alienating viewers since it stopped anyone from coming in mid-season.  However, with the rise of DVDs, OnDemand, and digital downloads, serialized TV series have become firmly established.  Some shows still retain an episodic nature, but some series—particularly dramas—have been built around telling one long story over the course of an entire season.  Our new feature, Seasoned, will review a TV series by season rather than by episode.

Hit the jump for my review of the third season of The Wire; here are my reviews for season one and season two.

New Trailer and Poster for Season Five of TRUE BLOOD

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 2nd, 2012 at 1:41 pm

We shared three new trailers for the upcoming fifth season of HBO’s True Blood a little over a week ago, but another one has gone online that we thought was fitting to share simply because it revolves around everyone’s favorite duo Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten).  Additionally, HBO has released a pretty funny teaser poster for season five.  Though I haven’t been crazy about the show for the past two seasons, its soap opera dramatization has me hooked and I’ll most likely be finishing out the entire series.  Season five does have a few promising grabs, including Christopher Meloni as a powerful vampire (is there any other kind?) and the return of a fan-favorite character.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The season five premiere of True Blood airs on Sunday, June 10th.

HBO Passes on THE CORRECTIONS Adaptation Starring Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 1st, 2012 at 7:50 pm

I have a tendency to write a little too breathlessly about projects in development at HBO.  So it is important for me to learn that like every other network, HBO passes on some series, no matter how great the talent attached.  Variety reports the network passed on The Corrections, the adaptation of the bestselling Jonathan Franzen book about “the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to ‘one last Christmas’ together near the turn of the millennium.”  Writer/director Noah Baumbach (Greenberg) had assembled a stellar cast in Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Dianne Wiest, Chris Cooper, and Greta Gerwig.  McGregor, a man of taste and distinction, praised the scripts by Baumbach and Franzen, saying the “lovely writing” convinced him to spend four months of each of the next four years exploring this character.  They shot the pilot in February, but alas, the pieces apparently did not come together in a way that met the HBO standard.  For more on what we’re missing out on, hit the jump for the full book synopsis.

HBO Orders 8 Episodes of TRUE DETECTIVE Starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 30th, 2012 at 7:34 pm

When we first heard about True Detective, an anthology cop drama whose first season will star Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, Anonymous Content was still shopping it around.  Adam wrote, “I’m selfishly hoping it lands on HBO.“  I have great news for you Adam, and readers—it did!  It did land on HBO!  THR reports the premium cable network ordered eight episodes for the first season, scripted by Nic Pizzolatto (The Killing).  McConaughey and Harrelson play two detectives who are drawn into the search for a serial killer in Louisana: “The investigation of a bizarre murder in 1995 is framed and interlaced with testimony from the detectives in 2012, when the case has been reopened.” Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) will direct all eight episodes of the first season.  If True Detective is successful, the plan is to clean the slate in future seasons with a similar structure, but tell a new story with a different cast.  I am rooting for this and the American Horror Story season two reboot to work.  It opens up an exciting new model for American television—something more involved than a standalone miniseries, but still longform storytelling with a schedule suited for the likes of McConaughey, Harrelson, and Fukunaga.

HBO Renews VEEP and GIRLS for Second Seasons

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: April 30th, 2012 at 1:13 pm

Let’s hear it for the ladies! HBO’s freshman comedy series Veep, from In the Loop writer and director Armando Iannucci and starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Girls, written, directed by and starring Lena Dunham, have only aired a handful of episodes between them, but EW reports each of the series has just been renewed for a second season. Both hit completely different comedic styles and tones, but they have each found their own audiences and seem to have quality writing, directing and performances among them.

There’s been a lot of buzz round Girls (both good and bad as the female sex tries to figure out whether they love or hate the depiction of their particular demographic) and Veep, while not as divisive, certainly brings the laughs (read my review of the series premiere right here). HBO now has a strong slate for their female audiences again for the first time since Sex and the City, so that’s something to be happy about. Maybe people will stop complaining about all the nudity on Game of Thrones now?

New Trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s THE NEWSROOM

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 29th, 2012 at 7:53 pm

A new trailer for Aaron Sorkin‘s upcoming HBO series The Newsroom has gone online.  The first trailer played to the dramatic aspects of the series, but the new one hits on Sorkin’s whip-smart dialogue almost to the point of self-parody (when Alison Pill‘s character talks about mixing up Georgia the state with Georgia the country, I could easily hear the dialogue coming out of Donna Moss’ mouth).  The new trailer also does a better job of laying out the plot and establishing the different characters and their relationships.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The show stars Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, and Sam Waterston.  The Newsroom premieres June 24th at 10/9c.

3 New Trailers for TRUE BLOOD Season Five

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 23rd, 2012 at 6:21 pm

The fifth season of True Blood still doesn’t begin for over a month, but HBO is attempting to make the wait less/more painful by releasing a series of teasers fittingly titled “Waiting Sucks.”  You’ve probably seen this trailer format before (I think they did it for season four as well), but they show a behind-the-scenes/on-set view of a pivotal scene being filmed.  These three trailers center on Terry & Patrick, Sookie & Alcide, and Sam & Luna.  The Sookie & Alcide one is particularly enticing as it teases the return of a fan favorite character.

I felt that the creative juice for the series started to wane during the third season and I didn’t really see it back in full-force last year, but hopefully things are more fun this season.  The addition of Christopher Meloni to the cast is certainly promising.  Creator Alan Ball has stated that season five will be his last as showrunner, so it’ll be interesting to see how the show adjusts for the very likely season six.  Anyway, hit the jump to watch three new teasers for the show.  Season five of True Blood premieres on Sunday, June 10th.

VEEP Series Premiere Review

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: April 22nd, 2012 at 8:52 pm

For those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of enjoying In the Loop, a British comedy from Armando Iannucci, based on the series The Thick of It set in British government, finally the writer and director is bringing his comedic stylings to American politics. Julia Louis-Dreyfus continues her run as the second most successful cast member from Seinfeld to keep her career going strong with the HBO comedy series Veep. If Aaron Sorkin was a little more of a natural comedic writer, he would have written Veep instead of The West Wing. However, the political satire seems to be a bit less prevalent than the situational comedy, making it slightly less witty, but still very smart. Read my full take on the series premiere of Veep after the jump.

Seasoned: Matt Reviews THE WIRE – Season 1

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 18th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Up until the past 15 years or so, television series were firmly episodic.  Serialized TV (outside of mini-series) risked alienating viewers since it stopped anyone from coming in mid-season.  However, with the rise of DVDs, OnDemand, and digital downloads, serialized TV series have become firmly established.  Some shows still retain an episodic nature, but some series—particularly dramas—have been built around telling one long story over the course of an entire season.  Our new feature, Seasoned, will review a TV series by season rather than by episode.

And we couldn’t think of a better kick-off to this feature than HBO’s The Wire.  Hit the jump for my review of the groundbreaking drama’s first season.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design