138 replies to this topic

[Prettyeyes]

In the latest issue of Interview magazine, there's an article in which BE Executive Producer & sometime director Martin Scorcese, well, interviews co-star Michael Pitt, which includes a great story about how MP got his BE role, with help from Giorgio Armani-or, rather, one of his suits.


Whether it's interviews with the cast & crew or reviews of the show, talk about any and all Boardwalk Empire media sightings here.

[Rickster]

Somewhat mixed reviews in The New Yorker and The New York Times.

The NY Times home page today opens up to a full page fake NY Times with a bunch of articles about Atlantic City, Prohibition and Nucky Johnson, as if you were reading it in the 1920's

Edited by Rickster, Sep 17, 2010 @ 12:20 PM.

[Puds38]

GQ mag talks about Boardwalk Empire. It's the edition with Ryan Reynolds on the cover. There are also a few nice shots of Micheal K. Williams looking mighty dapper in the print copy.

[TWoP Howard]

Alan Sepinwall on Hitfix has an interview with Terence Winters and a first look at the series, which he found to meet all expectations.

But as with the best of these broad canvas series, the players and their allegiances become clear within an episode or two. And from that point on, “Boardwalk Empire” becomes everything that HBO (and I) had hoped for it.

[eejm]

The New York Post has an article on Nucky Johnson, on whom Nucky Thompson is based. It sounds as though the BE Nucky helping Margaret is based on an incident that happened in real-life Nucky's life.

[hardy har]

Aaaaaand we're getting a second season:

HBO has given Boardwalk Empire the green light for a second season, just minutes after releasing Nielsen numbers proving it to be an out-of-the-box hit. Sunday's slightly hyped premiere of its twenties-set gangster epic was watched by 4.8 million viewers during its initial 9 p.m. airing, giving the series the best debut numbers for an HBO series in six years (and right around the Nielsen number regularly generated by its smash hit True Blood). The last show to exit the gate so fast was 2004's Deadwood, which had the advantage of a big lead-in from The Sopranos; by contrast, Empire was a self-starter. Add in viewership for two other Sunday showings of Boardwalk, and viewership rises to 7.1 million, which is pretty stunning given that HBO reaches fewer than 29 million homes.

BOOYA!

ETA: 4.8 million viewers for an initial airing on a premium pay-cable show is a huge number, right?

Edited by hardy har, Sep 21, 2010 @ 1:10 PM.

[Jacob's Hair Dye]

ETA: 4.8 million viewers for an initial airing on a premium pay-cable show is a huge number, right?

Yes. 'Boardwalk Empire' Pulls in Highest Ratings in 6 Years for HBO

[TudorQueen]

And... with the above in mind, HBO just announced that there will be a second season. Not surprising at all, but I'm glad, because I think it has long term potential.

[Mikesaunt]

Just saw a item on The Huff Post that an Atlantic City Councilman will submit legislation to rename part of Belmont Avenue: "Nucky's Way". This portion of the street is near the Hotel where the real Nucky lived in splendor ( rented out the entire ninth floor).

[Prettyeyes]

BE is the Cover Story for next week's TV Guide.

[tapshoes]

New York Magazine did a profile of Paz de la Huerta last summer. The actresss comes across as even more self absorbed and less enlightened than Lucy.

New York Magazine

[Scorpiosrule]

The actresss comes across as even more self absorbed and less enlightened than Lucy.

I know, right? As I read this, I'm thinking...is this a joke? satire? made up? I came away with one word: Narcissist. I need a shower after reading that piece of crap.

[Princess Louie]

So...Paz de la Huerta is not really an actress, right?

[TWoP Howard]

That whole article just screams of someone who is acting out to try to get attention from her father. Sad.

[Tara Blue]

Michael Pitt/LA Times Magazine

Edited by Tara Blue, Nov 7, 2010 @ 10:48 PM.

[stillshimpy]

That whole article just screams of someone who is acting out to try to get attention from her father. Sad.

It is sad, and the writer, Jay Bulger, is very clearly aware of just that. That young woman seems to be trying to live life as performance art, and it is unlikely to go all that well for her. Half Courtney Love, half escapee from the days when Andy Warhol was the last word in shocking. From the article:

The day is getting exhausting, but Paz has an appointment with her psychiatrist

Bulger clearly gets how wearing, bizarre, somehow grotesque, but ultimately pitiable that woman is. I very much doubt she's only 25, but it's interesting that Bulger manages to give a good sense of how much bullshit that likely is, without actually stating outright, "Oh, and for some reason she lies about her age."

Boy, her psychiatrist must be one fatigued professional. Admittedly, since she really does seem to be more performance art than anything else, I wonder what the point is. Not only is that a textbook appeal for parental attention (like a kid who can't differentiate between negative and positive attention), her parents' responses are really very cliched, too. I mean, seriously, I have a very had time believing that her father snapped that dreadful line about Jack Russell Terriers. Someone that bloody awful would hardly be inclined to pick up the phone at three in the morning, much less talk to the reporter. Not to mention answering the stereotypical, "If Paz was an animal..." question that seemed more like a line prompt than anything.

Sounds like an act that a lot of people are willing to participate in her act, knowingly. If it isn't an act, boy, she's a mess and really needs that referenced psychiatrist. Yeah, she is kind of shocking and "Huh? What is that woman doing?" but she really is like the embodiment of a Warhol prediction, isn't she? All of it strikes me as being a little too deliberate, honestly.

Edited by stillshimpy, Nov 8, 2010 @ 9:55 AM.

[bmsartre]

The writer used to date her, too. Not that there's anything journalistically unethical about your ex-bf writing a profile about you, but she can't be that smart to have allowed this. He basically ran a hit job on her. Methinks there a bit of revenge at play in this article. Maybe she dumped him?

[tapshoes]

Just saw on Popeater that Gretchen Mol is pregnant with her second child. She's due to give birth in February, while the show is still on hiatus.

[hardy har]

A couple interviews from Vulture

Michael Shannon

Aleksa Palladino

[Grom]

It doesn't sound like Michael Shannon is too happy with the direction Van Alden took after the pilot.

[bulldawgtownie]

It doesn't sound like Michael Shannon is too happy with the direction Van Alden took after the pilot

I didn't get that from the interview. He said he was "disappointed" that they had him drinking alcohol in the first season instead of the second or third season. On top of that he doesn't criticize TPTB for having Van Alden for having sex with Lucy or for killing Sepso, in fact he gives legit rationales as to why Van Alden did those things.

I also want to thank you for providing that link. hardy har

Edited by bulldawgtownie, Nov 30, 2010 @ 10:39 AM.

[sopheeso]

I thought he was just surprised at the speed in the change. I like that they don't know far ahead where their character is going...for Shannon, it makes it that much more believable the spiral Van Alden is taking.

[Pinball]

Alan Sepinwall just posted a terrific long interview with Terence Winter featuring the definitive word on the Commodore's poisoner and TW's take on Angela's haircut and the state of Van Alden's crazy.

[stillshimpy]

Thanks for that link, Pinball. That was an interesting read. From the article:

Maid was acting entirely alone. It is exactly what she said: she couldn't take any more of his abuse. Gillian, that was kind of a mislead, she never said anything when he said he found the poison, we just went out on her look. A lot of people assumed it was her, but that was never our intention.

Okay, now I didn't get that from the episode, but it is good to know. Weiner from Mad Men loves misdirection too and when he resolved one of his misdirects, similarly he didn't clear it up with quite enough clarity for the audience. As a result, Weiner will be answering, "But what happened with Peggy's baby?" until the end of time.

Having Gillian there as Luanne was accused didn't actually clear up for me that Gillian wasn't involved because Gillian was a little too involved with the Commodore's state of agitation. He'd get upset, and she'd try to shush him which made me think she was still hiding something. I'm okay with being wrong, happens to me on an almost daily basis but the reason that misdirection flopped for a lot of people was that clearly Luanne had to be involved. Or at least it seemed so to me, so the misdirect just made me think they were in it together.

Ah well, thems the breaks I guess. I just think he ended up with a muddled story on that plot element.

Edited by stillshimpy, Dec 7, 2010 @ 11:50 AM.

[bulldawgtownie]

I agree, Luanne acting alone wasn't clear at all. I wonder if TPTB will do a retcon next season and decide that Gillian and/or Nucky was in on it afterall. Especially if they read so many people on the internet theorizing so.

[Princess Louie]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found Luanne's involvement as unclear. Given her position and status, plus the fact that Gillian and Jimmy, not to mention Nucky, have good reason to want the Commodore gone, it seemed a logical premise.

From a status perspective, I had a hard time believing that she would do that without some cover from someone else - Gillian, Jimmy or Nucky. Suppose Gillian had figured it out and let the Commodore know? Luanne could have disappeared before Nucky could save her, and thus get the heads-up about the Commodore's disaffection with Nucky. Which is what I assume was in the book - or at least a hint.

However, Dabney Coleman is great in the role, and I've enjoyed watching him. It should be interesting to see who is taking care of the Commodore when Season 2 opens, and how he treats that person.

[stillshimpy]

From a status perspective, I had a hard time believing that she would do that without some cover from someone else - Gillian, Jimmy or Nucky.

I agree, Princess Louie and not just on the cover issue, on the issue of incentive. The Commodore treated Luanne horribly, but I assumed there would be something that would convince Luanne that poisoning him was worthwhile on something other than the revenge scale. I assumed someone else was the mastermind because they could offer Luanne the money (or cut of the inheritance) that would make it something she'd be willing to undertake.

The entire "I'd have to be the one to clean up the mess" while true didn't work for me because, not to be gross, but the Commodore's long illness seemed to be much messier. I get that Luanne was just supposed to hate the snot out of the Commodore, and I can definitely understand that, but killing her employer, in a manner that was just going to really make her job that much worse. Nasty, racist crumb that he was, it isn't as if dying by inches in horrific pain was improving his personality.

So whereas I was glad to have that cleared up by the above article, that plot element wasn't just a case of a misdirect working a bit too well, it doesn't make a ton of sense. Luanne killed the Commodore in a slow manner, to revel in his suffering, with nothing to gain but his dead body and her unemployment? Okay. So the resolution is that Luanne was crazy and preferred that method over...stealing like mad from him? Getting another job?

Yeah, it wasn't just that the misdirect worked. It was that the gender opposite of the Butler doing it for no gain was sort of limp as a reveal.

Edited by stillshimpy, Dec 13, 2010 @ 10:30 AM.

[tapshoes]

Time Magazine put Boardwalk Empire at #5 on their list of the top television shows of 2010.
Time Top 10

Edited by tapshoes, Dec 13, 2010 @ 11:59 AM.

[stillshimpy]

Thank you for that link, tapshoes! Oh good, I'm glad the show is getting some recognition. I think Boardwalk Empire got off to a good start, and might be one of those shows that actually has a better second season than first. It's just it took on a lot, it's a period piece, has a large cast, deals with what amounts to a societal control experiment that we all know didn't work, and also deals with the gender equality issues. That's a large bill to fill and I think they did well.

Interesting list, too. I've actually never heard of Louie, so that might give me something to check out. Then four of the things in his top ten aren't coming back. The Pacific because it was a miniseries, and then Terriers, Rubicon and Party Down were all canceled.

Edited by stillshimpy, Dec 13, 2010 @ 12:56 PM.

[tapshoes]

As reported in the LA Times (and several other media outlets as well), the American Film Institute listed Boardwalk Empire as a television best for 2010.
AFI Awards best for 2010.