HBO 2010
Treme, Boardwalk Empire, Luck

Auf mindestens drei grüngelichtete HBO-Projekte darf man 2010 gespannt sein: David Simons New Orleans-Serie Treme, Boardwalk Empire (u.a. mit Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon und Michael Pitt; Pilot: Martin Scorsese) und Luck, ein Rivalen der Rennbahn-Projekt ohne Manfred Zapatka von David Milch (Pilot: nicht zu glauben, aber wahr: Michael Mann, via). Hier ein Auszug aus einem Vice-Interview mit David Simon und ein Zeitraffer-Video des Setaufbaus zu Boardwalk Empire, einer Gangster-Serie, die im Atlantic City der 1920er Jahre angesiedelt ist:

Vice: I know that I’m not supposed to ask much about your new series, Tremé, here. But can I just ask if the framework in terms of institutions versus individuals is informing that series also?

Simon: Well, there’s obviously a lot of that because New Orleans has been grossly affected by the aftermath of the storm and the behavior or misbehavior of institutions, but also in some ways this series is a little bit different in that it’s a celebration of what we’re capable of as Americans. The Wire tried to imply—and I felt it being from Baltimore, and I think Baltimoreans felt it, but I’m not sure how well it conveyed for the rest of the country—the value of the city as the essential American experience. We’re an urban people. Eighty percent of us live in metro areas. I don’t buy the whole Republican convention with its small-town values and “We represent the real Americans.” I live in Baltimore. I’m concerned with big-city values and I live among real Americans. I could give a fuck about the other 20 percent of the country. I care about how we live together in cities. I think there were some people who watched The Wire and said to themselves, “You know, why don’t they just all move away? That city’s unredeemable.” We never felt that. I’m vested in Baltimore and I love it, just as I now spend part of my year in New Orleans and I’ve always loved New Orleans.

Vice: And what’s different in New Orleans?

Simon: Because New Orleans has created such unique cultural art in terms of music and dance, and it’s a very idiosyncratic culture, it shows the value of what the American melting pot is capable of. It does it in a way that is visual and musical and demonstrable, and it does it in the fucking street every day. Somehow this city is trying to find a way to endure while the political essence of the country doesn’t give a fuck. That, to me, is a fascinating dynamic.