After years writing television shows such as "Starsky and Hutch," "Vegas" and "Crime Story" and producing the series "Miami Vice," Michael Mann left television for film with little intention of returning. The director of such movies such as "The Insider, "The Last of the Mohicans" and most recently "Public Enemies," Mann had fully embraced the world of film: Its long shooting schedules, big budgets and creative autonomy were a perfect fit for his exacting personality.
Then a new HBO script, set in the world of horse racing and penned by David Milch ("Deadwood," "NYPD Blue"), landed on Mann's desk. "I really didn't want to get back into television, but the script was just so damn good," Mann said of the series "Luck," which stars Dustin Hoffman and will air on HBO next year. "It was one of the best things anyone has ever given me to direct."
There always have been a few film directors who have floated successfully between television and film — Barry Levinson and Robert Altman, to name two — but often the move to the smaller medium was regarded by directors as a backward step, taken only when in need of a payday. Now, A-list directors including Martin Scorsese, Mann and Gus Van Sant are jumping into TV, not solely for financial gain but as a way to explore a more expansive narrative than film allows.
It helps that television — specifically cable — has become more innovative in recent years, with deeper character development and edgier story lines, while the major movie studios largely have abandoned intricate, character-driven stories for superheroes and pirates.
Further blurring the lines is changing technology, with large high-definition televisions, iPads and Netflix making the actual viewing experience between television and film more similar than ever. And actors seem to swim more freely between the pools — it's hardly surprising these days to see an Oscar winner like William Hurt or Melissa Leo on TV regularly.
To be sure, many of the Hollywood heavyweights are not helming an entire season of a series; in television it is common to switch directors from week to week because of production demands. But after directing pilots, many top filmmakers are keeping a hand in the projects as executive producers: Such is the case with Mann on "Luck" and to a lesser extent Scorsese on "Boardwalk Empire."
But the hardest lesson might be learning to cede some control of the creative process, especially when it comes to series.
Sharing has proved tricky for Mann, who Michael Lombardo, president of programming at HBO, said "doesn't like working by committee." He added that Mann and Milch had to clearly delineate who was in charge of what to avoid clashes on the set. (The two did have disagreements early in their collaboration.)
Mann today calls his working relationship with Milch "very good." He said, "When David has an issue about story, he and I get our heads together and solve things. With the writing, there can only be one captain of the ship, and that's got to be David. On the directing side, it's me."
Source: FilmContact.com
Streaming Options
Sign Up for the SpoilerTV Newsletter where we talk all things TV!
Recommendations
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
