HBO's "The Deuce" (Season 2)

[theusher]

David Simon is preparing to take a racy turn.

The mastermind behind HBO's The Wire and Treme, along with his frequent collaborator George Pelecanos, is developing a potential series about the porn industry for the premium network. Assuming HBO opts to move forward with the entry, titled The Deuce, it will chronicle the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s. Also explored: the rough-and-tumble world that existed in midtown Manhattan until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and a rejuvenated real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Simon acknowledges that he and Pelecanos were hesitant to take on the project when they first heard from one of their Treme location managers, who'd been researching the life of a man who had been one of the mob fronts on 42nd Street during that era. "He said, 'You’ve got to hear the guy’s stories,’" Simon recalls. "George and I looked at each other and said, 'I don’t wanna make a porn show. … I’m married with kids and lawn furniture. I don’t want to go there, man. That’s dark.'”

Curiosity got the best of them, however, and Simon and Pelecanos agreed to meet with the subject. When he and his stories were indeed fascinating, the pair decided to continue exploring that world. As is always the case with Simon, a longtime journalist turned showrunner, that process entailed heavy research.

Still, there were a multitude of other challenges to consider. Simon felt strongly that he didn't want to be sneering at porn while using porn to sell the show, for instance. "You don't want to make porn to critique porn because that would be a venal journey — nor do you want to look down on people because that also is fairly dishonest," he explains, adding of the sweet spot: "You really have to land it in such a way where it’s a story about people and it’s a story about markets — about the moment where something became legal and profitable and what happens to people in that environment when markets prevail."

Though the project has been in the works for some time, executives at HBO had opted to make Show Me a Hero, a miniseries about a housing project in Yonkers, N.Y., Simon's next move. Now, with the latter set to bow in mid-August, network insiders suggest a pilot order for Deuce could be forthcoming. When it's suggested to Simon that the world of '70s-era porn has the potential to be noisier — and thus higher rated — than some of the premises he's tackled in the past, he laughs. "It does," he says, "but I'm sure I'd f— it up."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...s-1970s-803073

[Hucksta G]

Awesome, I'll watch anything Simon does

[chris_sc77]

Sounds fantastic. The wire was great and Treme was even better. Can't wait for this one

[morningtoke]

Absolutely loved the wire. I'll check this out just based on that.

[theusher]

The pilots for this and another Simon written show have been ordered by HBO. James Franco will star in The Deuce.

Ahead of this month’s debut of David Simon’s latest show for HBO, miniseries Show Me A Hero, the pay cable network has put in james-franco-new-bookmotion two new potential drama series from The Wire and Treme creator, giving pilot orders to dramas The Deuce starring James Franco, which is set in the Times Square demimonde of the 1970s and 1980s, and a Capitol Hill project, on which Simon is collaborating with veteran journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame. The pilots are set to film over the next year. It is unclear whether at least one is guaranteed to go to series, but, given Simon’s track record at HBO, that appears likely.

The pilots extends HBO’s 17-year collaboration with Simon and his Blown Deadline Productions. “We are thrilled to continue our longstanding relationship with preeminent producer David Simon, whose keen eye and visceral perspective on today’s socio-economic ills have set him apart from all others,” said HBO programming president Michael Lombardo. “No one else creates with such authenticity, integrity and brilliant realism.”

Written by Simon and long-time collaborator George Pelecanos and directed by Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad), The Deuce, which had been in development for awhile, will be the first to go into production in New York this October. Named for 42nd Street, it follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed in midtown Manhattan until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market all ended the bawdy turbulence.

The Deuce was inspired in part by the career of twin brothers who were players in the Times Square world and became fronts for Mob control of the volatile and lucrative sex industry from its origins. Both will be played by Franco.

“We’re interested in what it means when profit is the primary metric for what we call society,” said Simon. “In that sense, this story is intended as neither prurient nor puritan. It’s about a product, and those human beings who created, sold, profited from and suffered with that product.”

The pilot script is by Simon and Pelecanos, with Richard Price (The Color of Money) also credited on subsequent scripts. Simon, Pelecanos, Price, MacLaren and Franco will serve as executive producers, along with longtime Simon collaborator Nina K. Noble. Marc Henry Johnson (A Huey P. Newton Story), who was instrumental in documenting the story, is a producer.

“With The Deuce, I’m pleased to continue a creative collaboration with David Simon and Nina Noble that goes back nearly 15 years, from The Wire through Treme,” says Pelecanos. “Porn, prostitution, pimps, the Mob, after-hours nightlife, institutional corruption, and New York in its Wild West heyday…it’s a world rich in character, and a fascinating story we’re eager to tell.”

Set in the present-day world of Capitol Hill, the second pilot is described as a detailed examination of partisanship and the influence of money on national governance. Along with Simon and Bernstein, also attached to the project are Ed Burns, Simon’s co-writer and producer on The Wire, William F. Zorzi, former Baltimore Sun political writer who collaborated with Simon on Show Me a Hero, and Noble.

In addition to Show Me a Hero, The Wire and Treme, which he co-created, Simon, a former Baltimore newspaperman, also wrote miniseries The Corner and Generation Kill for HBO.

Giving a creator/filmmaker two simultaneous pilot orders is rare. HBO recently did it with David Fincher for Videosyncrazy and Utopia, the first of which has gone to series but both projects are on hold at the moment.

Franco next is starring in the Hulu limited series 11/22/63.

http://deadline.com/2015/08/david-si...ts-1201492951/

[dissention]

They had me at David Simon, then promptly lost me with James Franco. Oh well.

[RandyK]

Originally Posted by dissention

They had me at David Simon, then promptly lost me with James Franco. Oh well.

They might be going after the female demographic. Mention "James Franco" and "porn" mentioned in the same sentence and you probably have the attention of a lot of women.

I don't mind him and I'm fascinated by the subject of 42nd Street and that whole culture so I'll definitely be tuning in if it goes to series.

[Foggy]

Who'll play The Fluffer?

[morningtoke]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Who'll play The Fluffer?

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Who'll play The Fluffer?

Hillary Clinton

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

Originally Posted by morningtoke

[Will.]

The Wire and Treme are masterpieces! This...... I don't know. The subject matter just doesn't seem as fascinating as his other work, but we'll see.

[LordCrumb]

Someone should just turn Boogie Nights into a series.. that captured the lives of porn stars pretty well.. their rise and fall.

[morningtoke]

Originally Posted by JeffTheMovieGuy

[Show spoiler]Not sure if Bunk was sad when Omar got killed or relieved

[theusher]

First photo of Franco from the set

David Simon ‏@AoDespair 2m2 minutes ago
Who in the hell was that Harvey Keitel-looking mother****er I saw on West 30th? #TheDeuce And away we go....

[THB]

This sounds like a series I will be watching.

[fatediesel]

The Deuce has been picked up to series by HBO. No word on when the series will premiere, but it will likely be fall at the earliest.

http://deadline.com/2016/01/david-si...bo-1201686389/

[theusher]

First teaser:

The Deuce: Official Tease (HBO) - YouTube

Premieres September 10.

[Ray Jackson]

I love everything about this.

[Show spoiler]

[Hoke Moseley]

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage!

Really looking forward to this.