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Oprah's Getting in Bed With HBO

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:39 -0800

Well, kind of. The days of Oprah Winfrey's talk show may be numbered, but don't expect her to disappear anytime soon. Just a few days after her big announcement, the media mogul already has a project with HBO in the works - and she's kicking things up a notch. Her company Harpo films is working to develop a steamy hour-long pilot about a woman who abandons her family in LA to explore her sexual fantasies and desires.

Erin Cressida Wilson is on board to write, which seems fitting since she also penned the S&M-themed flick Secretary. Oprah will be one of the executive producers.

HBO has never shied away from racy shows (True Blood, anyone?) - but it still feels kinda strange to see Oprah's name attached to a project that's centered on overtly sexual storylines. Then again, it's not like Winfrey will be the one starring in it, and I'm always game for something new from HBO.

Buzz In: What Do You Think of HBO's New Sunday Night Lineup?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:30:44 -0700

While the Emmys were going down on CBS last night, HBO unveiled its latest Sunday lineup. True Blood and Hung may be out for now, but in their place, the network brought in another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and new show Bored to Death to air before Entourage.

I'm curious to hear what you guys think about the schedule and this week's episodes. Curb has been getting a ton of hype thanks to the upcoming Seinfeld reunion, but I was a little underwhelmed with the premiere - there was no Seinfeld alum in sight, and it seems like the cast's cameo may still be weeks away. And while Bored to Death looks promising, it's still finding its footing. HBO usually has a strong showing on Sundays, but without True Blood in the mix, I wouldn't be surprised if they lose a few viewers - especially when you have Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, and other shows competing for the same time slot.

So tell me, did you catch HBO last night? What do you think about the network's new lineup? Will you watch?

HBO Might Make a Show Based on "Savage Love" Column

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:30:52 -0700

When I was in college I used to read Dan Savage's sex column because, while not always particularly relevant to my experiences, it was always entertaining. Savage's column, "Savage Love," is wickedly funny, often racy and very honest. Now, HBO may be home to a TV series based on the raunchy column. Here's more:

Quoting from a draft press release for the show, Savage said the possible show "will focus on current events and cultural trends with sex as the filter."

Added Savage: "I'm hoping to bring a new kind of conversation to TV about sex - an honest conversation, one that's informed without being (too) wonky, funny without being (too) cruel, sexy without being (too) cheesy."

Sex and the City was a series about a relationship columnist, but as scandalous as some scenes in that show have been, something tells me Savage's show will be a whole other animal. As a fan of his column, I can't wait to see what comes of it.

In a Dream: a Memoir Told Through Mural

TresSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:00:00 -0700

When Isaiah Zagar moved to Philadelphia in the 1960s, he started creating a massive mural made of shards of glass and tile on the side of an abandoned building. The ongoing art chronicled the highs and lows of his marriage and the life of his two sons, one of whom has now made a documentary about the memoir in mosaic, called In a Dream. Check out the trailer below.

IN A DREAM: Extended Trailer from Herzliya Films on Vimeo.

In a recent interview, filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar talks about his parents' hippie existence and the impetus for the project: "My mother decided I should film my family, sort of in the same way she decided my father should make art about our family." The documentary, which airs on HBO 2 tonight and comes out on DVD in September, records his father's nervous breakdown and his brother's time in rehab. I love the line in the trailer when Isaiah says, "You know a lot when you lose something. When you got it, you don't know." Now I really want to see this mural.

Laura Dern and Mike White Get Enlightened at HBO

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:20:15 -0700

Are enlightened folks the new nurses, when it comes to TV trends? Just a couple of weeks after Showtime announced a religion-themed show called Revelation, HBO is developing a series of its own called Enlightened.

Enlightened, from School of Rock writer (and recent Amazing Race contestant) Mike White, will star Laura Dern as "a formerly self-destructive woman who, after having a spiritual awakening, becomes determined to live an enlightened life, creating havoc at home and work." White developed the half-hour comedy specifically for Dern, who had told HBO she'd be willing to do a show only if she found the right material. White said:

There are so many dysfunctional types of characters populating cable television, and she is equally as dysfunctional as any of them, but her impulse is to get healthy, to make the world a better place even though it creates havoc.

Between this and Diane Keaton's recently announced comedy project, HBO is definitely lining up some big talent for its new comedies. What do you make of this show? Do you want to see Dern as a comedy series lead?

A Seinfeld Reunion - and Other News From HBO

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:35:49 -0700

HBO took the stage at the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday and came out with plenty of big news, including a Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm, new seasons of several shows, and a new animated series from the folks behind The Office. Want to know more? Here goes:

First of all: Seinfeld reunion! Larry David had long insisted such a thing would never happen, but then he decided it might be funny to do it on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm - so he is! The idea of a Seinfeld reunion will be a major plot on the upcoming season, which will premiere Sept. 20. Jerry Seinfeld will appear in five episodes throughout the season, and Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards will also appear in four to five episodes each, though not necessarily all together. Said David:

We'll see writing, see aspects of the read-through, parts of rehearsal, see the show being filmed, and see it on TV. You won't see the entire show. You'll see parts of the show. You'll get an idea of what happened [to the Seinfeld characters] 11 years later. Within the show, it will be incorporated into regular Curb episodes.
HBO also officially renewed three shows: the new comedy Hung and veterans Entourage and - confirming what we heard at Comic-Con - True Blood. All will return sometime in 2010, with True Blood a lock for a Summer slot.
One of the announcements that excited me most: HBO has officially ordered an animated comedy series from The Office creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, based on their podcasts with Karl Pilkington.
The official word on a possible third season of Flight of the Conchords: "When they're ready, we're ready."
Ideally, Treme (from The Wire creator David Simon) will premiere in the Spring. The fates of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and In Treatment remain undecided. And Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire is practically guaranteed a series order.

Will you tune into Curb for the Seinfeld reunion? Does any of this other news excite you?

TV Tonight: Prom Night in Mississippi

BuzzSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:30:20 -0700

Ever since I read a New York Times story about the enduring tradition of segregated proms at some Southern high schools, I've been curious to see the documentary Prom Night in Mississippi. The film, which premieres on HBO tonight, tells the story of Charleston, Mississippi, which held its first integrated prom in 2008 with the urging (and funding) of Morgan Freeman.

Sounds uplifting . . . but there's more to the story. Though the prom is embraced by both the school administration and the students themselves, some parents organize a separate "whites only" prom and ban their children from attending the integrated dance. The filmmakers' cameras were forbidden from the "whites only" dance, too - so those parts of the story are told through graphic novel-style segments based on the memories of students who did attend.

But despite the conflict, says HBO, "When prom night arrives, the event is a huge success, with live soul and rap music, a packed dance floor and a pre-recorded appearance on a big screen by Freeman, who cannot attend in person due to a prior acting commitment. There is a sense that history is being made, and that the students have somehow grown from being a part of the process." Did that happen? A follow-up, Prom Night in Mississippi: One Year Later, is available OnDemand and revisits the school this Spring, telling the story of the second integrated prom - held alongside another "whites only" dance.

To check out a preview for this film, just read more.

Source

Sarandon, Goodman Join Pacino in HBO's Dr. Kevorkian Movie

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:30:54 -0700

HBO Films' biopic of Jack Kevorkian, You Don't Know Jack, already has its Dr. Kevorkian in Al Pacino. Now Pacino has castmates in Susan Sarandon and John Goodman. The biopic is loosely based on the book Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia. Goodman will play one of the authors of the book, Noel Nicol, Kevorkian's friend and co-worker whose "medical training as a corpsman and laboratory technician enabled him to assist Kevorkian on many occasions, while his laboratory supply company often provided materials for Kevorkian's efforts."

Meanwhile, Susan Sarandon will play Hemlock Society activist Janet Good "who becomes one of Jack's staunchest supporters, working side by side with him to make humane suicide available to the terminally ill and suffering. After she is herself diagnosed with terminal cancer, she avails herself of Kevorkian's services, choosing her own time to die, surrounded by her friends and loved ones."

Sarandon and Goodman already starred together in last year's Speed Racer, though this project will obviously be quite the drastic departure from that one. It is good to see great actors getting some substantial roles, though I'm awaiting this particular project with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety.

Are you interested in seeing a Dr. Kevorkian biopic?

Middlesex to Become One-Hour Drama Series on HBO

BuzzSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:36:44 -0700

Not to be overly dramatic or anything, but at first glance this news made my stomach do somersaults. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides), is one of my all-time favorite books, and I've always assumed (with some sadness) that it would eventually be adapted for the big or small screen. Sure enough, now there's news that HBO may be developing a one-hour dramatic series based on the novel.

After the initial "aw, man!" I'm coming around to the news a little, as I trust HBO to do something cool and Rita Wilson would apparently be an executive producer on the project. The series would follow "the life of Calliope Stephanides and the epic family history that may hold the answer to her complicated sexual identity."

Like Revolutionary Road, which I read long before there was news of a movie, the writing in Middlesex is so rich and evocative, I can't imagine how a screen adaptation could possibly do it justice. Then again, I'm relieved that it'll be a TV series and not a movie, so hopefully they can take their time with this story and avoid trying to cram everything in (while also sacrificing crucial elements) from the book.

Have you read Middlesex? Have you ever seen book-to-screen adaptation news that got a rise out of you?

Do, Dump or Marry? Thomas Jane

TresSugar — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 -0700

Now, before you go and choose "Do" automatically because Thomas Jane stars in HBO's Hung, about a well-hung man who decides to work as a male escort, just focus on his visible hotness. What will it be - do, dump or marry?