Dr. DVD

If anyone feels this should be in "TV Talk", feel free to move it. Since it is kind of about both areas, I placed it here first.

HBO might offer movies after their theatrical and video release, but that's no longer its major attraction. The past decade suggests HBO has begun to get as much clout as a major Hollywood studio. While big spectacle action/adventure still comes out from studios, it seems that dramas driven by major actors (not to mention written and directed by rather famous directors) are now relegated to this network. Furthermore, whereas 80s/90s era efforts were mostly B-list talent, recent mini-series efforts boast A-listers. True Detective got major stars for both of its seasons, and the upcoming "Ballers" has Dwayne Johnson in a role while he is undoubtedly at the peak of his career. I figure this network must have something about it to draw so much talent , not to mention put on series of such spectacle (Game of Thrones).

Could the fact that it now offers itself independent of a cable TV service cause damage to it, or will it be more harmful to cable companies?

Troy Stiffler

I think so. In business, the real pissing contest probably comes in a yearly production budget. I wonder where HBO sits among the big studios.

I'd also be curious about FX (I know it's low, but their output is great) and AMC.

Why So Blu?

Time Warner owns HBO, so….

Solid Snake

Do they? Never paid attention to it.

Troy Stiffler

....what? That doesn't mean they have access to Time Warner's capital.

Why So Blu?

Fox owns FX, so….

Troy Stiffler

Yes.... Go on.....

Why So Blu?

AMC is the parent company and they own a bunch of others like IFC and Sundance Channel, etc.

Solid Snake

Why did the OP capitalize some of the first letters of a word in the title? Looks weird.

Dr. DVD

^ Because he wasn't paying attention

Defiant1

HBO has more prestige than the major studios these days. The major players are all about PG-13 big budget franchises these days. As fun as Marvel and F&F movies can be, they're not exactly taxing to a classically trained actor. Actors who are serious about their craft will happily sign up for an HBO project, knowing that it will be well done. The nature of the network means that they can do a classy miniseries or a short season and then go back to making big money with a studio film. HBO always leads everyone else in Emmy nominations and their higher budgets result in often beautifully done productions. The biggest actors and directors in Hollywood have been involved in HBO productions, often coming back to make more. Everyone knows that HBO is a nurturing environment for artists, giving them more freedom than the major studios.

bluetoast

Yes and No. Their original movies will still have that "made for TV movie" baggage, despite attracting top talent. Spielberg was saying that Lincoln was "very close" to being an HBO original film rather than a theatrical release, which would have greatly diminished its reach, accolades, etc. Movies based on their properties (Sex and the City), nobody cares. People will see Entourage, but it's not like that'll open any huge doors.

In terms of shows and mini series, yes, they're at the top, and have been since the late 90's.

PhantomStranger

I think most in Hollywood believe HBO is turning out more sophisticated entertainment and drama these days than any movie studio. Most in Hollywood loathe the summer blockbusters they churn out each year to meet quarterly targets. I'd rather see Game of Thrones than almost any new movie coming out.

While HBO is owned by Time-Warner, they function autonomously from their corporate parent. Since HBO has been making money the past decade, they've been left alone to run things as they see fit.

Solid Snake

Is that how the paperwork was laid out or is that how Time Warner operates them till they fuck up?

hanshotfirst1138

Digital is making the gap quite a bit smaller, but there's still a difference, IMO. Even high-budget shows that look really good still don't tend to be as cinematic as properly-directed big-budget releases. But I think the the trade off is the creative freedom, and that's drawing a lot more talent to TV.

Mark Kermode constantly uses that "televisual" epithet to criticize an insufficiently cinematic movie. I see what he means sometimes.

It's easy to see lots of lower budget features finding their natural home on TV now, especially since they now basically share the same ratio.

Apparently nudity is a requirement on HBO though, so maybe that'll be a hinderance for some though obviously not Lena Dunham .

Big blockbusters aside though, do even lower-budgeted films exceed TV budgets? I mean even a "smaller" movie like It Follows cost $2 million and was shot on location, or a smaller FX movie like Ex Machina was $15 million. Excepting very high-profile shows like GOT, does anything cost that per-episode?

I just wish HBO and Google would make nice with Sony I could use HBO Go on my damn Blu-ray player.

bluetoast

HBO Go is available on the PS3 (though not for all cable providers), not sure why it's not on their players.

hanshotfirst1138

I've contacted them about it, apparently it's an app through Google Play and Google Play isn't compatible with my brand of player. And the Amazon Instant Video Interface sucks and only shows the bitrate and not the resolution. And switching to the Chromecast means I have switch in the HDMI ports, and my new $1200 HDTV is so heavy that the stand can't support its weight and it balances precariously, making me not want to switch it. Fucking first world problems. And the YouTube interface sucks too. But yeah, I keep hoping for an update that will solo fix that, but I've pretty much given up. And it's region-free, so it'd be expensive to get a new one.

Sony's customer service's e-mails are barely grammatically intelligible. I actually had one once that told me "not to get rid of the Sony."

PhantomStranger

Yes, HBO could conceivably be New Lined if something catastrophic happened. That is what happened to New Line when their executives made several bad bets on poor movies.
It's less about budget and more about long-form storytelling. The economic pressures of Hollywood films demand two-hour films that can be franchised if possible. That has warped the storytelling process. It's amazing that any coherent movies come out these days. The most intelligent dramatic writing is almost entirely on premium cable these days. They've left the movies behind.

hanshotfirst1138

I don't really think that's necessarily fair. In terms of big franchise movies, yes, obviously, though even those tend to go way over 2 hours, usually to their detriment. But there are also all kinds of one-and-done stories that don't need to be stretched out over a season-long timespan. "Almost entirely?" I don't know, some pretty acclaimed films have come out in past few years . I mean yeah, lots of Hollywood movies are commercially motivated crap, but that's pretty much how it's always been. Good stuff will always get through. It's certainly easier for it to get through on cable now, but I don't think that negates as much cinema as you're saying. Most mainstream films, perhaps.

RichC2

I don't believe so, but they aren't far behind. The thing about it is while the gap has definitely shrunk, with Broadcast and other cable channels/Netflix getting closer to HBO, and HBO getting closer to Movies, the gap hasn't diminished entirely.

dhmac

How the title of this thread is worded is a little confusing. Is it about HBO Now or about HBO now?

Solid Snake

I was going to say that earlier but left it alone. Lol.

Mike86

I think a lot of HBO's original shows are close to being on par with big Hollywood productions at this point. A lot of their original films still feel like only a slight step above direct to video or made for TV films though.

RichC2

I heard one of the complaints with the GoT IMAX was that it made it that much more obvious that it was a TV show. Content wise, it may be a step up at this point though.

Ash Ketchum

I dropped the top tier of cable recently, including HBO and Showtime, because I've been paying for it for years and hardly ever watching anything on those channels. So what happens? Tons of stuff comes on that I now want to watch. (E.g. the Frank Sinatra documentary and that one-man film where David Oweloyo plays a crazy guy.) Why didn't I just make a point of at least once a week watching something complete on one or more of those channels just to make it worthwhile?