HBO
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Reality, Boxed and “The New China”
Dropkick.sh Our lives are becoming a game of measures and countermeasures, our daily journeys an assortment of micro-decisions as we alternately dispense and protect our most private information. But while some of us may consent to Internet tracking in order to improve our “advertising experience,” none of us wants to be recorded taking a shower or having sex in an Airbnb. Linux and Mac users can download Dropkick.sh, a script that disables the webcams some hosts have installed to keep tabs on their apartment renters. (https://julianoliver.com/output/log_2015-12-18_14-39) Google Cardboard With Oculus Rift slower to take hold in the consumer world and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2016 -
Watch: $5.15/Hr., Richard Linklater’s Rejected HBO Pilot From 2004
HBO is normally very serious about making sure no commissioned and rejected pilots ever make it into public view, so I’m not sure how Richard Linklater’s rejected 2004 pilot made it to Vimeo or how long it’ll stay there. $5.15/Hr. was, per its title, intended to be an immersion into the lives of underpaid restaurant employees slacking around Austin. I recall seeing an uncharacteristically acerbic Linklater presenting the pilot at SXSW in 2004, with the words “You know how they say it’s not TV, it’s HBO? It’s TV.” If only television had been so good in those days as it reportedly […]
by Vadim Rizov on Sep 15, 2015 -
“We’re Not Very Good at Sharing in This Country”: David Simon on Show Me a Hero, Public Housing Today and Moving from Journalism to Television
David Simon (Homicide, The Wire, Treme) has a new miniseries on HBO, Show Me a Hero, and it’s about the fight for public housing and desegregation in Yonkers, N.Y. in 1987. And if you think that doesn’t sound dramatic or exciting, you’d be dead wrong. I watched all six hours straight through and found the series riveting from the first scene to the last. After watching the series I read the book (of the same title, by Lisa Belkin and equally riveting). The book has been out of print, but is being re-released with an introduction by Simon, in which […]
by Alix Lambert on Aug 30, 2015 -
Trailer Watch: David Simon’s “Show Me a Hero”
The Wire creator David Simon moves up the East Coast for his latest drama, Show Me a Hero, that’s set in Yonkers in the 1960s. Based on a true story, the six-part miniseries portrays a young mayor, played by Oscar Isaac, who, amidst the civil rights movements, fights local powers to build low-income housing in his borough. The cast is impressive and includes Alfred Molina, Bob Balaban and Winona Ryder. The series debuts August 16 on HBO.
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 3, 2015 -
“What I Once Felt Guilty About Doing… Is Now My Job”: Amanda Trokan on Film Programming
I’m having dinner upstate with my grandparents indulging the Labor Day weekend – food, books, sleep, repeat. Embracing their rigid routines and schedule is a fascinating escape, one that is also mildly horrifying. “Growing old is not for the faint hearted,” my grandfather tells me, and while I can only theoretically understand the sentiment, this sort of elder wisdom is his bread and butter. “Always have fun and fill your life with experiences and adventure, but also remember to plan for the future,” he says. I’m conscious of this temporal pressure even while feeling comparatively young in my grandparents’ house, […]
by Taylor Hess on Nov 11, 2014 -
“The only place to execute some kind of power was the film set”: Agnieszka Holland on her career
Agnieszka Holland’s first taste of Hollywood was a roller coaster ride. Literally. It was 1986 and her war drama Angry Harvest was up for an Oscar. “When you’ve been nominated for a foreign Oscar in those times,” the 65-year-old Polish-born director recalled, “one of the attractions that the American Academy gave the nominees was a free trip to Disneyland.” It was an unexpected reward after toiling on a film that she and her crew made for “no money, no money,” she explained to an appreciative audience at Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox earlier this week. The shoot was so difficult that Holland […]
by Allan Tong on Apr 3, 2014 -
Azazel Jacobs on His New HBO Series with Emily Mortimer and Dolly Wells, Doll and Em
Type the words “never hire” into Google and it autocompletes an admonition anyone entering business has certainly heard. Indeed, working with your friends — not in the collaborative way we as filmmakers work together but rather with friends as your employees, having them roll your calls, drive you on errands and maybe even pick up your dry cleaning — is usually a recipe for professional and personal disaster. But while the combination of friendship and the employer/employee relationship can produce profoundly icky moments, that ickiness can also be the stuff of great humor and nuanced drama, as is the case […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 25, 2014 -
Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher To Be Adapted At HBO
While the internet wages on about whether or not the cinematic True Detective is fit for the small screen, HBO is pressing ahead on the ever-thinning gap between film and television. Yesterday, the premium cable channel announced that 25 New Face Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher would be getting the adaptation treatment. Michael Costigan, upon seeing the film at 2013 Sundance, enlisted Fidell and Daniel Brockhurst, former showrunner of the UK Shameless, to executive produce and write the series. Mark and Jay Duplass, who are gearing up to shoot their own HBO series Togetherness, will also executive produce, with Fidell directing the potential pilot. This […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Feb 11, 2014 -
HBO Launches HBOAccess, A Short-Form Program for Diverse Filmmakers
HBO has launched a four-week program designed to provide project development, master classes and mentoring for diverse, emerging filmmakers, who identify as Asian Pacific American, Sub-Continent Asian American, African American, Hispanic American, Native American, or as a woman. Dubbed “HBOAccess,” the program will invite four finalists to Los Angeles (though housing and travel are not included) for the month of June to craft a budget and blueprint for short-form content – either a webisode or a 10-15 minute film. Upon completion of the program, HBO will consider each proposal for production and an eventual airing spot on HBO platforms including HBO […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Feb 3, 2014 -
Watch the Series Premiere of HBO’s Looking on YouTube
It’s a strange time in the post-Netflix Original landscape. While more and more brand-name talent seems to be drifting from film towards premium cable, a new study reports that HBO and Showtime subscribers are dwindling — and potentially jumping ship to Netflix. Indeed, the streaming service has enjoyed a 4% rise in viewership over the last two years, whereas premium cable channels have lost 6% of their subscription base. So what does HBO, with its barrage of new and returning shows, do? Court viewers through the most public of streaming forums: YouTube. As such, Looking, which premiered on Sunday night, is […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Jan 21, 2014
