Not To Be

Tonight I finally watched the pilot for Tilda, the might-have-been cable series about a Nikki Finke-like online columnist (very nicely played by Diane Keaton) that HBO declined to pick up last February. Too bad because Hollywood Elsewhere has a brief insert-shot appearance near the beginning when Ellen Page, playing a studio employee who feeds dirt to Keaton, glances at a list of Hollywood websites before settling on Tilda’s The Daily Circus.

You know what’s funny? The “H” logo that sits to the left of Hollywood Elsewhere’s URL in actuality is sitting to the left of the URL for New York‘s “Vulture.”

36 thoughts on “Not To Be

  1. That baseball was so inside it was up the batter’s ass. As interesting as it might have been for those “in the know,” passing was probably a wise decision for any network.

  2. “The ‘H’ logo that sits to the left of Hollywood Elsewhere’s URL in actuality is sitting to the left of the URL for New York’s ‘Vulture.’”

    I’m guessing that’s the reason HBO passed — they noticed that same error as well. Because no one in this town disrespects Jeff Wells like that and gets away with it. Let this be a lesson to you, filmmakers! Screw with Jeff and your project gets turned down!

  3. Spot on Lex – ever thought of going into the casting business?

    “Do you want to hear my soliloquy now, Mr G?”

    “Yeah, sure, baby, whatever – let’s just see those feet, OK?”

  4. This film, Drive, and The Wettest Country in the World are the three films I’m most looking forward too for the rest of the year.

  5. While this isn’t a comeuppance on the level of Pauline Kael’s failed “consulting” gig at Paramount (or whatever the fuck she was doing), I’m glad this show isn’t happening; no need for Finke’s bullshit to get any more attention.

  6. Josh Massey all the way here.

    Actionman — I’m so glad you corrected that. I was about to get really worried about your taste. ;)

  7. I know there was some problems with creatives on this, but how bad must it have been for HBO to pass on a show with Ellen Page and Diane Keaton attached. I remember when they shot the pilot, it looked like a surefire pickup and with HBOs track record at least running for 3-4 seasons.

    Jeff where can we watch the pilot?

  8. great that Jeff’s “investigative-eagle-eye” didn’t see past his own nose on this.

    His logo was switched with Vulture’s, sure…but also exchanged were Entertainment Weekly and Variety, GFY and The Wrap, Gawker and People, and TMZ and the NYT Artsbeat.

    Its the laziest, sloppiest job of simple “greeking” ever. As if even the 19-year-old set dresser’s assistant knew that there was no shot in hell that this dog would hunt.

    (That said, of anywhere, this was properly at HBO…which has at least two “inside” shows “about” Hollywood itself on the air and 3 in development as its status quo.)

  9. Seeing that HBO finally got it’s act together with “Game of Thrones” to return to the level they once had with the 3 Davids (Chase, Milch and Simon aka. Sopranos, Deadwood and Wire), there probably was a good reason “the creatives” said take a pass on this.

    Even though I had very little interest in seeing this (Diane Keaton has to be one of the worst actors who are actually thought of as talented out there), I will point out that the “too inside baseball” critique was also said about “Entourage” before it started.

  10. Keaton would’ve been great in this but there are way too many showbiz shows on cable. Too many TV writers seem to have no frame of reference beyond their own lives.

  11. If they ever make a series about Wells, I don’t care who plays him, I just want Peter Jackson to direct the pilot.

  12. Entourage has many throwaway “inside baseball” lines, but the show’s driving force is the fame/fortune wish fulfillment angle. Most people can relate to that fantasy, while a total of 14 people outside of California have even heard of Nikki Finke, much less want to be her.

  13. There are a lot of showbiz shows on the air, but Entourage is almost over. Californication is mostly about a writer screwing hot women and getting wasted. The new Sorkin show deals with politics more than Hollywood. Episodes is just awfully mediocre with no mainstream appeal. Curb is more a situational comedy than a showbiz show.

    There is going to be a show that fills the Entourage void on HBO within 2 yrs. They’ve had two massive hits in that vein with Entourage and The Larry Sanders Show. I suspect the rejection has more to do with promoting a show with strong female leads which they have been wildly ineffective at for the last decade save SATC.

  14. Anyone remember the INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE Showtime show “Beggars & Choosers”? Insider-Hollywood satire is almost always “easy” and unpleasant, but man was that show hateful and obvious.

    Plus I always got its leading man Brian Kerwin mixed up with Sam Rubin.

  15. “Entourage has many throwaway “inside baseball” lines, but the show’s driving force is the fame/fortune wish fulfillment angle. Most people can relate to that fantasy, while a total of 14 people outside of California have even heard of Nikki Finke, much less want to be her.”

    This really isn’t that difficult. the selling point is the same as “Sanders” and “Entourage” (which, for the record, I would say are polar opposites in quality): some inside-baseball language which act as allegories for situations the common viewer can relate to, in a wish-fulfillment scenario. Yes everyone’s familiar with “star actors” and many would want to be one. Everyone was familiar with “talk show hosts”, but how many wanted to be one?

    Now, how many people can relate to taking up blogging, tweeting, fuck, even *commenting* on blogs 24/7? And how many can also relate to struggling in an endeavor against long-established dinosaurs in their field – and beating them at their game? Extremely relatable, extremely aspirational, would have a ‘sexy’ Hollywood angle too. You certainly wouldn’t have to have any idea who Nikki Finke is to follow the show.

    If the *execution* worked. Which it obviously didn’t. But the pitch makes sense, and was right in HBO’s wheelhouse.

  16. Oh, don’t misunderstand, CK – I agree with you completely on that count. Again, I’m solely comparing pitches, *not* execution.

  17. The comedy, starring Diane Keaton as a ruthless and unethical Hollywood blogger, was one of the most-discussed projects at the pay cable network because the lead character was said to have been inspired by Deadline Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke. The pilot, written by Bill Condon and Tell Me You Love Me creator Cynthia Mort, also featured Ellen Page and Jason Patric.

    I read this context in another blog. I know she is real movestar

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