Scorsese, Simon get HBO greenlights
Parker to exec produce 'Washingtonienne'
By STUART LEVINE

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

HBO has greenlit three pilots, including David Simon's next project for the pay cabler and a period drama from Martin Scorsese and "The Sopranos" alum Terence Winter.

HBO toppers Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo said Thursday during the net's presentation at the Television Critics Assn. press tour that they are ramping up pilot development at a furious pace. Lombardo confirmed there are conversations about a "Sex and the City" bigscreen sequel and that HBO would be up for a feature rendition of "The Sopranos," if series creator David Chase is willing.

In addition to the drama pilots in the works from Simon and Winter, the paybox is about to begin lensing the half-hour comedy pilot "Washingtonienne," based on the novel by Jessica Cutler, who had written a saucy blog based on her sex life with real-life figures on the D.C. political scene. Sarah Jessica Parker is exec producing, and shooting will begin in the fall.

Simon, co-creator of HBO's "The Wire" and the steward of its upcoming Iraq war mini "Generation Kill," is set to begin work on "Treme," an hourlong drama concerning the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Pilot will be shot on location in New Orleans.

Winter, an exec producer of "The Sopranos," will return to the HBO fold as the creative force behind the drama "Boardwalk Express," about the birth of organized crime in 1920s Atlantic City. Scorsese and the "Entourage" team of Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson are also set to exec produce.

HBO came to TCA having recently renewed Gabriel Byrne starrer "In Treatment"; net will launch its newest series, the vampire-themed "True Blood," from "Six Feet Under" creator Alan Ball, in September. While viewership of "In Treatment" and "Tell Me You Love Me," which is also returning, has been modest, Lombardo said both shows have drawn a loyal aud, making the decision to renew these series fairly simple, particularly for "In Treatment."

Massive hits, such as "The Sopranos," are always the goal, but big audience totals aren't what HBO defines as a hit.

"You have to have quality first," Lombardo said during the Thursday afternoon sesh at the Beverly Hilton. "You define success as differentiation and quality. It's a huge mistake to try to find the next big thing. You have to put quality first."

Plepler added: "It would be a mistake for us to be swinging for home runs and then you don't deliver on the quality. If they're done well and have a sizable (aud) that's unbelievably loyal, that's fine. We are not selling CPMs, we're selling a brand."

Following the tremendous success of the pic rendition of HBO's long-running series "Sex and the City," Lombardo said there's a major push for a sequel.

"There's enormous interest by Warner Bros. and New Line, and we're trying to put that together now," he said. "Everyone associated with the project was liberated by the enthusiasm of the fans."

As for a possible and often discussed film based on "The Sopranos," HBO is aboard if creator Chase is up for it. Chase's past statements about the prospect of tackling a theatrical "Sopranos" project haven't been particularly encouraging.

Plepler and Lombardo also discussed the changeover earlier this year in the programming department from longtime HBO Entertainment prexy Carolyn Strauss to Sue Naegle, who was on hand to intro a few show panels but did not address the assembled reporters.

The projects that the net is greenlighting nowadays aren't all that different from those in the past, but there's more of them, Lombardo noted.

"I don't know if the strategy has changed. Sue's style is different from Carolyn's," he said. "She's done a lot in 2½ months. We've had to be more proactive and reach out. We want to chase people with other points of view. We've ramped up the volume a bit."

HBO also announced that "Entourage" will return for a 12-episode fifth season on Sept. 7. Larry David has agreed to another season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and comedian Chris Rock will star in a standup special on Sept. 27.

Other items of note from the sesh: Plans for a "Deadwood" telepic are now officially dead, and the Linda Bloodworth-Thomason series "12 Miles of Bad Road," which HBO began filming and then scrapped, has not been picked up by another network.

Well, that Deadwood news seems pretty anticlimactic. I think all of us gave up on that pipe dream a long time ago.

Some of the new series sound encouraging, though. Let's hope they get treated a little better than Deadwood and Carnivale.

Nice example of hypocrisy:

Gee, if quality over viewership mattered, wouldn't we have seen a fourth season of Deadwood? Fuckers. So glad JFC fell flat on its face.

I have to admit I'm not really keen on watching a series about post-Katrina New Orleans, but since it's Simon I'll check it out. We'll see if Spike Lee doesn't get his panties in a bunch over it (see his rants about Eastwood).

The 20's mob thing could be good, but we all know what happens to HBO period pieces which cost a lot yet don't hit a "home run".

Finally, is it that fucking hard to type "session" in print"? Sesh? Really? We are turning into the idiocracy - I can see it coming.

It's not JUST quality that matters...it's quality AND affordability. Not necessarily in that order.

I think for the first time in a long time, SHOWTIME has better original series than HBO...by far.

This was expected.

I was hoping for news about A Song of Ice and Fire somewhere in there.

I dont give a shit about hurricane Katrina. In Treatment was lame. Tell Me You Love Me made me want to slit made me want to slit my wrists after one episode. I've heard nothing but bad things about True blood. This is a really crappy time for HBO. Really all they have left for me is Big Love and Generation Kill which is only a mini. The 20's mob show might be alright I guess.

Agreed. In fact I just signed up for Showtime to see S4 of Weeds. Also loved Californication on DVD and look forward to more.

Considering George RR Martin is nowhere with A DANCE OF DRAGONS and theres still 3 to go, I wouldnt expect anything, anytime soon

Any word or new info on Preacher?

Was Deadwood even a profitable franchise? I heard the episodes costed well over $5M an episode and the DVD's are anywhere from $50-80 a set....which is quite expensive for an average DVD buyer. Were the DVD's even big sellers?

Considering the show aired on HBO, I'm just wondering if the network really made any money off this show. If it was a money losing franchise, then I don't blame them for not wanting to shell out the money for the TV movies.

Sad to hear about Deadwood...again. But I am really looking foward to Boardwalk Express

I've heard it's dead at HBO, which is a shame. I believe it's now being pitched around town as a series or potential film.

It's Variety.

Damn that sucks.
SHowtime would be my hero forever if they ended up making Preacher.

I've read previously that "Fire and Ice" and "Preacher" was passed over by HBO. I remember reading somewhere that Sci-Fi channel has been looking at both properties, but don't know whatever came from that.

I'm glad to hear about a "Sex and the City" sequel. I loved the movie and would love to see more from those characters - as long as its done right. Although a "sopranos" movie leaves me skeptical.

All three new series sound interesting, but like the article says, HBO needs a new hit and neither seem like the right material. Although after seeing the pilot for "True Blood" and watching the promotional campaign HBO has going for the series, that could easily become a sleeper hit like "Six Feet Under."

I think it could be winner.

It would start with "Don't Stop Believin'" slowly fading in over black. After a few seconds, the picture pops on with MOG (Members Only Guy) pulling a gun on Tony from behind. Tony sees MOG's reflection in the front window, turns at the last second, wrestles MOG, obtains the gun and splatters MOG's blood and brains all over the onion rings. With everyone stunned, Tony quips "Wha, you wanted KETCHUP on your onion rings?

Then back to business as usual.

HBO is a fucking joke now.

They've canceled great series -- with wonderful writing, acting, and design -- like Deadwood and Carnivale in favor of cheap, schlocky crap like John From Cincinnati and Tell Me You Love Me.

HBO also floated doing a couple of Carnivale movies to wrap it up, which went nowhere. Then they pulled the same thing with Deadwood. You'll have a hard time convincing me that they weren't just floating that out to placate angry viewers and had no intention of following up on them.