Nicolas Winding Refn isn’t working in television for the first time (he directed a couple of entries in the “Agatha Christie’s Marple” series, and also wrote some episodes of the Scandinavian show “The Chosen 7“), but “Too Old To Die Young” does mark the first occasion he’s working on something that’s completely his own vision for the small screen. The irony, however, is that even as Refn rolls up his sleeves for the Amazon show, he’s pretty blunt about the state of the medium he’s working in.
“The whole concept of television itself is so ancient,” he told IndieWire. “I mean, we don’t have television at home anymore, we have a screen, but we don’t have television. Because why would you want it?”
It’s an interesting comment from someone who is launching his own streaming/content platform, but he is correct that the traditional notion of having a single box where we consume our TV shows is changing. From smartphones to tablets to laptops, audiences are forgoing standard cable subscriptions to pay a monthly rate for the service of their choosing.
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Refn also believes this modern age has seen the anonymity of film and television production completely erased. Photos and videos from the set, often by the creators themselves, are now standard operating procedure. For “Too Old To Die Young,” Refn has embraced the concept, posting lengthy videos to Facebook and keeping his Instagram and Twitter updated.
“I think that as our entertainment industry is falling apart, it’s very interesting how the idea of something that used to be very secretive, is now the complete opposite,” he explained. “And that, it’s like exhibitionism, which is what creativity essentially is. But not just living the result be the peak or the main focus but the actual process. Because entertainment is almost like now co-existing with us rather being moments in our life, evolution.”
As for the show, it stars Miles Teller, Jena Malone, Billy Baldwin, John Hawkes, Nell Tiger Free, Babs Olusanmokun, Callie Hernandez, and Cristina Rodlo the story follows a grieving police officer, mourning the death of his partner, who buddies up with the man who killed his friend, and dives into the L.A. underbelly. Co-written by Refn and Ed Brubaker, the series is said to be in the vein of the director’s “Pusher” trilogy.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that “Too Old To Die Young” will debut in 2018, but apparently, the show “may not premiere for another year.”
