Hilarious and too rich. HBO has announced a new comedy half-hour show that takes place in the world of Hollywood blogging called “Tilda” which — get this — centers on a powerful female Tinstletown writer with a no-holds-barred approach.
Remind you of someone we all know? Shouldn’t they have called the show “Toldja!” or did whatshername feel like she has intellectual (oxymoron) rights to that term? The show is obviously modeled after Deadline Hollywood doyenne Nikki Finke and while she’ll probably gloat with pride that Hollywood is sooo obsessed with her that they made a show about her, she should note that its a comedy program and her juvenile antics, dirt smearing and yes, sometimes occasionally, good deep throat reporting will likely be skewered week in and week out.
Reuters mentions Sharon Waxman and Anne Thompson in their report about other examples of female Hollywood reporters who have “moved online” (uhh who isn’t online?), but the difference between the two scribes is Waxman will probably squawk and argue that the show is actually about her, while Thompson will be momentarily amused and go back to her reporting.
Bill Condon and Cynthia Mort the creator of “Tell Me You Love Me” developed the show together and Condon also recently directed the pilot for the Showtime dark comedy “The C-Word” starring Laura Linney so its conceivable he too could direct a pilot or episode once its cast.
Condon also known for “Gods and Monster” and the Oscar nominated “Dreamgirls” which came up mostly empty handed in 2007 despite seven Academy nods. He was also attached to the Richard Pryor biopic last year which made a lot of noise in early 2009 when Eddie Murphy was set to play the comedic legend, but buzz seemed to fizzle when Marlon Wayans was announced as the new lead and we haven’t heard jack since.
Back to Finke, uh we mean HBO’s “Tilda.” For our casting suggestions we elect Catherine Keener to play Sharon Waxman, Betty White to play irrelevant columnist Liz Smith (sort of the gentler antecedent to the DHD matriarch), Kevin Chapman (from “Mystic River”) to play ex Variety scribe turned DHD contributor Mike Fleming (dood)and for Finke? Hmm, how about Megan Mullally with a blond wig and a bit age/never-see-sunlight make-up?
This writer ditched HBO almost two years ago in order to stop passively watching mediocre movies, but now must be making a local call to my terrible, thoroughly unreliable cable company who I will not call out by name even though they charge a fortune for godawful Internet service which moves at a snail’s pace (fuck you Time Warner Cable).
