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EW has the first few pics from this. They also claim it's coming this Summer. With David Simon, Michelle MacLaren, and Pelecanos at the helm, I'm all in on this. Franco playing double duty is a head scratcher, but at least the rest of the cast looks great. We'll see how it turns out...
James Franco pulls double duty in The Deuce first look
More info from the last few years of production:
Here's part of the THR previous interview from June:
Maggie Gyllenhaal To Topline HBO Drama Pilot The Deuce
Margarita Levieva To Star In HBO Drama Pilot The Deuce; Two Others Cast
David Simon tweet from on set while they're shooting the pilot of The Deuce:
Variety: Interview with David Simon
- Deadline: The Deuce HBO Series Adds Chris Coy As Regular
James Franco pulls double duty in The Deuce first look
On a Brooklyn soundstage made to look like your uncles favorite dive bar, James Franco is slinging Schlitz as Vincent, a hard-scrabble bartender in 70s New York City. Across from him sits Will Seefried, a New York University grad student. Hes standing in as Frankie, Vincents neer-do-well twin and Francos other role on HBOs The Deuce.
Debuting this summer, the new series from David Simon and George Pelecanos (The Wire, Treme) examines life in Times Square before M&Ms World and those over-aggressive Elmos invaded, when porn was a burgeoning businessand an attractive one to people like Francos mustachioed alter egos.
If this whole thing is beginning to sound like another Franco being Franco joke, its worth mentioning that the 38-year-old also directs this particular episode (and two others). That turned out to be the episode with the most twin scenes in the whole season, Franco says months later. Now that I look back, I do think it was pretty crazy.
Frankie and Vincent are just two pieces in a vast ensemble that includes mobsters, pimps, and in the case of Maggie Gyllenhaals Candy, prostitutes. The stereotypes and ideas we have about prostitutes and people who work in porn are too vague, Gyllenhaal says. I hope that this show, in a way, shines a bright enough light on a group of people who havent had one shone on them.
If nothing else, The Deuce is an appealing happy-hour deal: two-for-one on Francos.
More info from the last few years of production:
Ahead of this months debut of David Simons latest show for HBO, miniseries Show Me A Hero, the pay cable network has put in motion 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 back-to-back over the next year. It is unclear whether at least one is guaranteed to go to pilot, but, given Simons track record at HBO, that appears likely.
The pilots extends HBOs 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 todays 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.
Were 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. Its 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, Im 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 its a world rich in character, and a fascinating story were 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, Simons 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.
Here's part of the THR previous interview from June:
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, 'Youve got to hear the guys stories," Simon recalls. "George and I looked at each other and said, 'I dont wanna make a porn show. Im married with kids and lawn furniture. I dont want to go there, man. Thats 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 its a story about people and its 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."
Maggie Gyllenhaal To Topline HBO Drama Pilot The Deuce
Maggie Gyllenhaal is set to star opposite James Franco in David Simons HBO drama pilot The Deuce. Gyllenhaal also will produce the project, a narrative set in the Times Square demimonde of the 1970s and 1980s.
Margarita Levieva To Star In HBO Drama Pilot The Deuce; Two Others Cast
Margarita Levieva (Revenge) has landed a co-lead opposite James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal in David Simons HBO drama pilot The Deuce. Also cast in the project, a narrative set in the Times Square demimonde of the 1970s and 80s, are Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (The Walking Dead) and Dominique Fishback (HBOs Show Me a Hero).
Levieva will play Abigail Abby Parker, an adventurous college student who strikes up a relationship with nightclub owner Vincent Martino (Franco) who has ties to the burgeoning sex industry of early 70s Times Square. Gilliard plays Chris Alston, an NYPD patrolman working midtown Manhattan. Fishback plays Darlene, a young, sweet-natured prostitute whos trying to survive on the street while under the thumb of a volatile, violent pimp.
David Simon tweet from on set while they're shooting the pilot of The Deuce:
Pimps up, actors down. From the set of #TheDeuce: Gary Carr, Method, Gbenga at rest somewhere in 1971 NYC.
Variety: Interview with David Simon
The Deuce: We know the cast James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Carr, Margarita Levieva, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Emily Meade and Dominique Fishback. Its been co-written by George Pelecanos and Richard Price, and novelists Megan Abbott and Lisa Lutz and is an HBO drama about the sex industry in the 70s Could you give us some more details?
Its roughly based on the story of the actual people who were there, some of the people that were the pioneers when pornography came out of the brown paper bag and became an open industry. Suddenly, a lucrative and provocative industry came out of nowhere soon to become a billion-dollar industry and a culture [impacting] right down to commercials to sell beer that became more and more overt right down to the sex education of a twelve-year-old with a laptop. We all live in a different world. Theres a cultural revolution here. But there is also a market story. It is a story about market capitalism and the rise of a new industry and what the world is like now when something is not supposed to be sold openly suddenly becomes legitimate and legitimized.
James Franco plays two roles, doesnt he?
He plays twin brothers actually. His character is based on somebody who passed away in January, the last brother, but before that while we were developing the project the guy came to us and he told his whole life story to Marc Henry Johnson and he told it again to George [Pelecanos] and myself. He and his brother were deeply involved in the rise of all of 42nd street.
Whats the state of the series?
The pilot is already shot, theyve ordered the series. We are supposed to start shooting the remaining episodes of season one beginning of May.
It must have been a remarkable effort in terms of budget and production to recreate 70s New York.
The pilot was around $12 million. I confess we shot just enough to show you what the CGI could do. We used the computer generated enhancements in a couple of scenes and then we turned it on with the work undone on other scenes because why spend the money unless HBO is going to pick it up? Actually, we had to go back and finish the pilot with CGI. Thats pretty typical.
What would be your next project after or alongside Deuce? You mention several in your blog
Possibly Legacy of Ashes [a story of the Central Intelligence Agency. Based on a 2007 non-fiction U.S. National Book Award winner by Tim Weiner]. Ed Burns and Dan Fesperman have taken that. Its in turnaround at the BBC. They want to do the show. They acquired the scripts from HBO and they are doing the show. We are taking another pass at the scripts because they want us to add a certain amount of U.K. stuff. A certain amount of MI6 along with CIA. The reason HBO was gracious enough to give them the scripts is because the BBC said: Look we will find some of the funding as its a very expensive show as you can imagine. We will find some of the funding and we will get back to give you the chance of a first look, to be the American partner. Its gone from HBO leading it and the BBC is developing and they are getting back to HBO when the scripts next pass is done. Then HBO will get the chance to say yes in a situation where they are not bearing the whole cost.
- Deadline: The Deuce HBO Series Adds Chris Coy As Regular
- The Deuce HBO Series Adds Chris Bauer & Gbenga Akinnagbe As RegularsChris Coy is staying in the HBO fold with a series regular role on The Deuce, HBOs upcoming drama series starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Also cast on the show as recurring is Mustafa Shakir.
Written by The Wire creator David Simon and longtime collaborator George Pelecanos and directed by Michelle MacLaren, The Deuce follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New Yorks Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed there until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic, and the renewed real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence.
Coy will play Paul Hendrickson. A kindred spirit to Vincent Martino (Franco), Paul is a veteran bartender who pursues his own personal and professional ambitions in the emerging gay, lesbian and transsexual community of 70s New York.
The project reunites Hendrickson with Simon after a series regular turn on Simons HBO drama series Treme. Hendrickson also recurred on HBOs vampire drama True Blood and most recently was a series regular on Banshee, which aired on HBOs sister network Cinemax.
Shakir plays Big Mike Big Mike is a man of few words, a physically imposing loner who becomes Vincent Martinos primary muscle and fiercely devoted friend.
On Deuce, Coy joins fellow new series regular cast additions Michael Rispoli and Natalie Paul. The series also co-stars Gary Carr, Margarita Levieva, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Dominique Fishback and Emily Meade.
True Blood alum Chris Bauer and Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire) have booked series regular roles on The Deuce, HBOs upcoming drama series starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Bauer will play Bobby Dwyer, Vincent and Frankie Martinos brother-in-law, a construction foreman and family man whose eyes are opened by their adventures along the Deuce. Akinnagbe is Larry Brown, an intense and demanding pimp who physically intimidates his stable of women but also has moments that betray a conflicted, underlying humanity.
