Of all the success HBO has had in recent years, particularly by drawing Hollywood stars and auteurs into their fold, one could arguably trace their new network dominance back to 2001's "Band Of Brothers." The acclaimed ten-part, eleven-hour miniseries from producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks picked up six Emmys, a Golden Globe, a Peabody and many more honors, and was a big audience draw in addition to being a massive critical success. It spawned a side-series, "The Pacific," and overall continues to be one of HBO's crown jewels. So is it any surprise they want more?
Chatting with press in Paris, the network's honchos Michael Lombardo and Richard Plepler revealed that they are considering a third miniseries, one that would follow the aerial battles in the Pacific. That's all the details at the moment, but we would imagine that series shepherds Spielberg and Hanks will be involved. We would guess it's at early stages, so this may be a bit of a while off, but it seems HBO isn't done with WWII just.
Nor are they done teaming with top tier talent as HBO has signed an output deal with David Fincher. Of course, Fincher's first small/computer screen foray with "House Of Cards" is gearing up for a February release and this isn't the first time his name has been linked with the network. You might recall that a couple of years ago, he teamed with Charlize Theron to develop the book "Mind Hunter: Inside The FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit" into a series. The non-fiction work, by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, follows Douglas' work as an FBI profiler, tracking serial killers, so it's familiar territory for Fincher. Whether it will be this project or something else that he's brewing at HBO remains to be seen. For now, how fast it develops might depend on whether or not Disney gives the thumbs up to "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea," which may or may not star Brad Pitt.
Either way, more big things on the way from HBO. Did you really expect anything less? [Telerama]