Marty`s Pilot

[nas78]

www.thewrap.com/vinyl-axed-by-hbo-despite-season-2-renewal/

‘Vinyl’ Axed by HBO Despite Season 2 Renewal

Fuck That. I hope they find another network...

[will]

Too bad. I guess whatever Scott Z. Burns brought to the table couldn't convince HBO to let it continue.

[ScorseseFan]

I think the show got killed because HBO is becoming more like the film industry nowadays.

The hits - shows like GAME OF THRONES - need to cost an ungodly amount of money & need to be assured mega hits that pull in record breaking viewers just to break even. That doesn't leave much room for expensive shows that break even & instead means most of the other shows on the network have to be either miniseries that can pull in huge audiences for a limited time - TRUE DETECTIVE - or be super cheap productions that can be done locally in NYC with local talent - GIRLS.
I think simple economics is the reason VINYL - and to an extent why BOARDWALK EMPIRE, which was clearly designed to be a six season show, jumped forward several years & rushed through the storylines in the final 5th season - have been axed by HBO. Boardwalk Empire cost a lot to make and pulled in viewers but it wasn't a Game of Thrones sized audience. Vinyl cost a lot and had the potential to be big with a little restructuring but even if the show was allowed to run for years it would NEVER do anywhere close to ever pulling in Game of Thrones numbers.

For all their talk of being filmmaker friendly HBO is just like any other studio now. They micromanage things to assure them max profitability. They'll let Lena Dunham do her thing on Girls because that show while never pulling in a large audience is basically made on pennies. Game of Thrones they'll continue to let do their own thing because while it has a massive blockbuster sized the show is pulling in that crowd. Vinyl, Boardwalk Empire, True Detective Season 2, Brian De Palma's now cancelled Happy Valley movie with Al Pacino AND David Fincher's two in-production HBO series - all killed because there was a chance they wouldn't make money big.
It's why WESTWORLD looks like a feature film. They're playing big in hopes of big rewards. If Westworld doesn't deliver they'll cancel that in one season too & may reconsider the idea of trying to replicate Hollywood's current ONLY BIG BUDGET & SMALL BUDGET productions mantra. That's why it took Martin Scorsese decades to make SILENCE. It's far easier to get $200 million to make an expensive comic book movie made than it is to get $50 million for an idea not based on a current New York Times Bestseller.

I loved the show VINYL. It had some issues but it was the show's first season. Clearly there would have been shifts & restructuring of the story, characters & overall feel but that happens with every show when given the chance. It's a shame VINYL will forever be a one season thing - no other Network is going to big this up & I doubt HBO will even let that be an option because how embarrasing would it be for them as a network if another company could turn their failure into profitable gold - but I'm glad I got to have seen it.

[nas78]

Martin Scorsese: HBO's 'Vinyl' Failed Because I Didn't Direct Everything
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/martin-scorsese-says-hbos-vinyl-failed-because-he-didnt-direct-episode-1154946

Speaking at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday, where he has received a lifetime achievement honor, Scorsese said he should have been more hands-on with Vinyl, and not left the helming of episodes to other directors. Scorsese had been trying to develop the project with Jagger for 20 years, initially as a film before deciding to do it on TV.

“It was ultimately tragic for me because we tried for one year. I did the pilot. We tried for one year with HBO, but we couldn’t get the creative elements together,” Scorsese said. “It was something that I realized, in order to make it right...I think I would have had to direct every episode and be there for the three to four years.”

To do a TV series right, Scorsese said, the director should be the showrunner, as Italian helmer Paolo Sorrentino was on HBO's The Young Pope. “If you do it, you do it right like Sorrentino does,” he said. “You do everything. You do it all...If you don’t (want to make that commitment), you shouldn’t be making the series.”

But Boardwalk Empire run for 5 successful seasons without him...It`s the quality of the material that matters the most. And Vinyl was flawed from the beginning.