Boardwalk Empire Video from HBO's "The Buzz"

HBO recently starting airing the following clip on the network's "The Buzz," which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of their upcoming shows, including a first peek at Boardwalk Empire.



In addition to the airing of this video, there have also been reports that filming of the episodes is starting up within the next couple of weeks. All great news for those of us looking forward to the series. I also have to say that I'm excited about Treme starting up in the spring.

"A Boardwalk Story" Released From Publisher of "Boardwalk Empire"

Plexus Publishing, Inc. recently released a book called "A Boardwalk Story", by J. Louis Yampolsky. The novel is set in Atlantic City in the years just prior to the start of World War II. It's a coming-of-age story of a young man set in the backdrop of a town and a time that is unique in history.

Plexus Publishing, Inc. is well known for publishing books about or set in, the New Jersey and Philadelphia area, including "Boardwalk Empire". This new novel, written by a Philadelphia resident and set at the "Jersey Shore" has ties to both areas.

As a Plexus Publishing employee, I am obviously a biased reader, but I have to say that this is one of my favorite books that we have ever published. And if you don't believe me check out the review on "Reading the Past" or the reviews at Amazon.com. Good reading!

Interview with Michael Stuhlbarg about Boardwalk Empire

I just came across a nice interview with Michael Stuhlbarg at collider.com. Stuhlbarg is playing Arnold Rothstein, the Jewish gangster who was possibly responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. The interview talks a little about the upcoming shooting schedule. Stuhlbarg mentions that shooting on the series order of 11 episodes will start back up in October and end in December or January. He also mentions a possible fall 2010 series premiere, which agrees with a lot of the current speculation.

HBO Orders 11 Episodes of Boardwalk Empire

It was expected, but HBO officially gave the greenlight on Boardwalk Empire yesterday. They ordered 11 episodes of the series to make a total of 12 hours for the first season of the show. Here are some news and notes that came out of the press generated yesterday.

• Variety.com and a number of other sources confirmed some earlier reports that Steve Buscemi's character will be named Nucky Thompson (not Nucky Johnson). It's certainly a slight change, but one that I guess needed to be done for legal reasons, since they are fictionalizing a real-life figure.
• Entertainment Weekly (among others) reported that it would be a 2010 premiere for the series. No real factual information on the likely time frame in 2010. However, Broadcasting & Cable reported the following, "Boardwalk will likely debut in fall 2010. Among the shows already on tap for the network, HBO slated new drama Treme to debut alongside epic miniseries The Pacific in the spring. This summer’s original programming lineup is then expected to return intact, before leading into an autumn lineup including Boardwalk." That's a similar logic to what I had mentioned in my previous post.
• There was some speculation in a couple of reports that Scorsese might be on board to direct a future episode or two, in addition to the pilot he's already directed.
• The label "The Next Sopranos" keeps popping up in the news reports about Boardwalk Empire. Obviously, even with the recent successes of True Blood and Entourage everyone is still waiting for HBO's next HUGE thing (no, I'm not talking about Hung). That and the fact that this series is based in New Jersey and about organized crime makes it a natural label. It's amazing that this series is generating that type of buzz, even prior to the series being produced, and perhaps a year from the premiere.

HBO Greenlights Boardwalk Empire Series

According to numerous reports, including one on variety.com and another one on hollywoodreporter.com, HBO has picked up Boardwalk Empire as a series. According to both reports, filming on the 11-episode order will resume sometime in the fall in NYC.

Obviously this is exciting news. As the reports are just coming out, I'll try to look through them all, get some more information, and write a more in depth report tomorrow.

Press of Atlantic City Article about Boardwalk Empire

Here's some recommended reading for anyone interested in Boardwalk Empire, Atlantic City history, and Nucky Johnson. Yesterday, there was an article at pressofatlanticcity.com, written by Steven Lemongello, about the book Boardwalk Empire and the HBO series in development. I'm not sure if it appeared in the printed paper, but the online article does a good job of providing some background into the book and the series. Author Nelson Johnson was interviewed, and the article even mentions this Web site. 

Top Ten Movies from Martin Scorsese

Since it seems to be a slow period with regards to any news and notes about Boardwalk Empire, I thought I'd take the opportunity to give my rankings of my ten favorite Martin Scorsese films. Since he directed the pilot for Boardwalk Empire and is an executive producer on the series, I thought it was an appropriate discussion for the site. Feel free to post your comments and on your own rankings. Here goes:

10. Cape Fear--While the ending may leave a little to be desired, Cape Fear is a riveting thriller, with A+ performances from an A-list cast. This remake of the 1963 movie, has you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning. Robert DeNiro's Cady might be one of the top ten movie villains of all time.

9. The Color of Money--While not as critically acclaimed as many of his other movies, this film about pool sharks, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, has become a classic. It's one of those movies that if it's on TV, you can't help but stop flipping the channels and watch it.

8. The Last Temptation of Christ--Another of Scorsese's movies that received mixed reviews, partially because of the provocative subject matter. It was certainly controversial, and I don't want to be. I liked the movie, and I'll leave it at that.

7. Mean Streets--This 1973 movie put Scorsese on the map, and laid the groundwork for modern-day gangster movies. Scorsese's looks at what it's like to grow up on the streets of NYC's little Italy, in an environment of crime. It should definitely be on any list of the top twenty gangster movies of all time (I'll do that list at another date).

6. Casino--Starring Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci, this film portrays the mob involvement in Las Vegas in the 1970's and 1980's. My favorite part about this movie is the way it shows the ever-increasing visibility of the mob and the pressure (both internally and externally) that it's members  faced during that era. This along with Goodfellas does that as well as any gangster movies.

5. Gangs of New York--This is probably a lot higher than many people would rate this movie, but it's one of my favorite Scorsese movies. I particularly like the way Scorsese approached a period and place in history that had never really been tackled before. The setting in the streets of New York City in the mid-1800s fascinates me to no end.

4. Taxi Driver--New York City, Scorsese, and Robert DeNiro. This is my pick as the best of Scorsese's early movies, and one that is equally compelling and disturbing at the same time. Travis Bickle (played by DeNiro) is a train wreck, but you can't make yourself look away.

3. The Departed--Scorsese's newest movie may not rank this high on most people's lists yet, but I eventually think it will move up. It's part thriller, part gangster movie, part cop movie. About cops and the Irish mafia in South Boston, The Departed carries a unique tension throughout the entire movie. There are also A+ performances from DiCaprio, Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and everyone involved. I really think that this movie will age well, and get more respect as time goes on.

2. Goodfellas--Possibly 1A to The Godfather at the best mob movie of all time. Goodfellas is a portrait of blue-collar working mafia in Brooklyn. A memoir of Henry Hill, and based partially on his life, the film takes you through the rise and fall of the "wise-guy." Part of what makes it so intriguing is the movie's style and how Scorsese directed it, told almost as a documentary, and with first-person narration. Truly a quintessential, modern-day gangster movie.

1. Raging Bull--Scorsese's take on the story of boxer Jake La Motta is mentioned by many as the best film of the 1980s. Roger Ebert says that Raging Bull is a "story about force, anger, and grief." Truly one of the great character studies in film, Raging Bull is my #1 sports movie of all time, and might rank as one of the top ten movies of all time.

Boardwalk Empire in 2010?

So, I keep posting guesses about the timing for the premiere of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" series. So here goes another one: September 2010.

From recent news, it turns out that I've been way too overagressive in thinking that this will be aired in the beginning of 2010. The recent news from HBO, announced at the Television Critics Association's press tour, gave a little bit of insight into the near-term plans that will affect "Boardwalk Empire's" scheduling.

First, filming on the BE pilot recently wrapped and a decision on picking up the series looks like it will be made in the next couple of months. Filming of the episodes would start some time shortly after that. Some good news was that it was widely reported that HBO execs were very excited about what they've seen so far. According to a Reuters article, programming head, Michael Lombardo, said, "By everything we've seen, it's fantastic. It's big; it's everything we hoped it would be."

Next, the new series "Treme" will air in the March/April of 2010 time frame. The mini-series "Pacific" will serve as a lead-in for the new series. Also, True Blood was renewed for another season.

Those are the facts, now for the speculation.

"Boardwalk Empire" has been about 6 months behind "Treme" in the development stages. Carrying that forward would mean that September 2010 would be the premiere of "Boardwalk Empire." With True Blood renewed and scheduled to air a third season in summer of 2010, that would mean an open slot in the fall, with no new programming on the slate (as far as I can tell).

So, September of 2010 it is! That's my latest guess. I've been completely wrong so far, so I expect to be to again.