This just has to be awesome. At least, it has the potential to be awesome. Its a new series coming on HBO, based on a book.
Check it:
http://boardwalkempire.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979432/

Created by Terrence Winter with the pilot directed by Martin Scorsese. Steve Buscemi has a major role. The next link is the present casting and and FAQ.

http://boardwalkempire.com/boardwalk-empire-update/

Mmmmm. COuld be good. Could be real good. Capone and Lucky Luciano are characters, for petes sake. Late 2010, apparently.

bump


because the series debuts this Sunday September 19,2010


was gonna create a thread about it but searched first and found this

Yeah this looks really good. Hope it lives up to the hype

It will be a while before it hits the UK shores but i have seen the clips and it looks good.

I quess the 1929 Atlantic City meeting also takes place in the serie?

I don't know how far ahead the series goes in time. It does have Capone in it so it must go to at least 1925. I think it starts in 1920...

So... what did everyone think? I think so far so good! Love Buscemi.

I liked the attention to detail with advertising and clothing.
Buscemi plays "irritation" very well.

The soundtrack drove me nuts. Is Buscemi's character historical or a fiction?

It's historical fiction. They changed the last name from Johnson to Thompson and Buscemi is much smaller than the real life Nucky. But he was the political power in Atlantic City during the twenties and one of the most powerful political figures in NJ during that time.

In Luciano's "autobiography" he describes a scene in which Nucky and Capone got into a heated argument that verged on getting physical. Capone was upset that the top line Atlantic City hotel (Breakers) was exclusive to WASP's only. When hotel management saw the decidedly non-Anglo looking Capone, King Solomon and other attendees at the conference, they scornfully refused them all entrance. Capone blamed Nucky. Luciano said Nucky picked Al up, threw him in the car and led the motorcade to the Ritz, which evidently had a more open booking policy.

I saw the 30 minute "making of clip"....Scorcese mentioned that they originally wanted to build the boardwalk( and film) in NJ....but NJ politicians being the way they are(then and now) it didn't happen.


I swear the only place that trumps NJ in terms of corrupt and inept politicians is the state of Illinois.


I wonder what the total loss of revenue was for the Garden State by lallygagging when HBO approached with the proposal/idea.


bad enough that state lost out on federal money for education by incorrectly filling out some forms....

Nucky Johnson was the undisputed boss of AC. But he was a big fish in a little pond. AC never had more than 60k residents, and while it was a "pleasure dome," with plenty of money to be made from booze, whores and gambling, it was no Chicago or New York.

There was no big meeting of Johnson with Luciano, Colosimo, Torrio, Capone and Rothstein in 1920. Never happened. Colosimo was whacked in 1920 in part because he didn't see the profit potential of Prohibition. Capone's latest biographer, Laurence Bergreen, says Capone wasn't even with Torrio in 1920. Luciano was a freelance drug dealer and gambling game operator in 1920. In any event, the Chicago Outfit didn't need to get its booze from AC--it got booze via local distillers and rumrunning over the Great Lakes.

There was a big gangster convention in AC in 1929, hosted by Johnson. But he was the host, not the arbiter. Torrio and Capone were there. Rothstein wasn't there--he was dead by that time. Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Moe Dalitz, Charlien Luciano, Joe Adonis and Frank Costello formed the "Big Six," controlling all booze in the East through Ohio. Since the meeting followed the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, onee of the major outcomes was that the attendees strongly advised Capone to lower his profile, lest the heat he generated via the massacre fall out on them. Capone arranged to have himself arrested for carrying a gun in Philadelphia after the convention, and spent a year in a PA prison while things cooled down in Chicago.

I thought it was very good,looking forward to the next episode.
Just like HBO's other production,ROME,the focus seems to be less on historical accuracy and more on recreating the feeling of the respective era,which isn't a bad thing as long as the finished product is good.
***
Now for a question:
There's a scene where Capone and Jimmy Darmody(sp?) were outside talking about Rothstein and Luciano's fortunes,and Capone mentions that Luciano "did 6 months for pushing heroin a couple o'years back".There's a short moment of awkwardness when Darmody asks "only 6 months?" before Capone answers that "he bought a judge" and suspiciously looks at Darmody.
The implication here is that Luciano ratted to get a shorter sentence.I've heard about his before.Was it actually proven that he ratted or is it just a rumor?

I don't think it was ever proven. I'm not sure about the timeline and don't have the texts in front of me now to look it up. But my understanding was that when Luciano was 18 he did 6 mths in "reformatory"-not sure whether this was "real" prison or not and that he didn't enjoy it one little bit. In his autobiography he wrote that when he got out that he told people to start calling him "Charles" or "Charlie" instead of Salvatore, which the other inmates had shortened to "Sally". The implication was that Lucky had to deal with what every young good looking slightly built boy had to deal with in prison. Obviously the autobiography didn't go any further.

Shortly after that he got busted for another crime (unsure of details) and told police of where they could find a packet of heroin. According to Luciano, he arranged for the heroin to be there and no other mobsters were harmed by this.

That seems unlikely but it also seems unlikely that other mobsters on the way up would have dealt closely with or followed a person they really believed was a rat. Maybe other members have better details...

The show has already been renewed for a second season -- after one airing!

According to Luciano's most recent bigrapher, Tim Newark, Luciano did indeed make a deal with the law. He gave up the location of an apartment on the lower east side with a considerable amount of heroin in it, and this is part of public record. But he supposedly didn't give up any names, which really can't ever be verified at this point. So that's why the rumors persist.

It should be pointed out that Luciano never hesitated to help himself later in life when it came to helping the government (namely the war effort, but there have been plenty of whispers about other things). He really hated jail.

FYI: I just finished the Tim Newark book, "Lucky Luciano: The Real and the Fake Gangster," and I highly recommend it, corny title and all .

Was Colosimo Torrio's uncle by blood or just marriage?

The "Empire" is growing.

HBO's Prohibition drama "Boardwalk Empire" has been renewed for a second season after only one episode, bolstered by great reviews and even greater numbers.

"The response from the media and our viewers has been nothing short of amazing," said network president Michael Lombardo in a statement.

I've seen the first episode and I really enjoyed it. It was well directed (but what else do you expect from Scorsese himself), although I must agree with that Buscemi was slightly miscast as Enoch Johnson as he don't really look like him. But his acting was very good, so only his looks bother me. I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of the serie, can't wait!

I didn't realize there was a thread already and I originally posted this in the movie/tv thread:



I just watched Boardwalk Empire last night. While it was on at 10:00 and I was half asleep, I did find it pretty good. It was the pilot episode which I think is the only one that's aired thus far no??

I don't know the characters names (aside from the main character) but it sure brings us back to what although is not that far back in our history, an interesting era.

I too find the setting and backdrop of the 1920's to appear so authentic. Not that I was around during that time mind you, tongue but it does seem so believable. I'm thinking perhaps it's because of Scorsese's direction it appears so well-done. I like to look at little background details smile .



Edit to add:


Since I was half asleep the first time I saw it again yesterday afternoon and enjoyed it even more. There were a couple things I missed.....Like Al Capone AND I must have been dozing when they killed that POS wife abuser. I still love the setting. It seems to take you there.

One thing I hate about HBO shows though is......will we have to wait a freekin' year or longer between seasons?

TIS

Thanks for the answers about Luciano,guys!

Saw the previews for the second episode on the HBO site.Looks like things are really heating up between Nucky and Rothstein...looking forward to it.

Did anyone watch the second episode???? It's kind of good no?????? I intend to watch next week.



TIS

I'm surprised there isn't more interest in this, but maybe as it progresses and we learn character names, etc. I think it's great, and interesting to see how a city 40 minutes away from me was during that era. (Truthfully, I had no idea!)

Yes I watched the second episode. It was good. With the exception of Ron Pearlman, I can't think of another actor who does "world weary" or "irritated" as well as Buscemi does.

In the second episode we got to see more of Capone and his temper, how Nucky makes his money and how corruption can get a hold of some people.

Lilo,

Isn't the guy who plays Capone quite short??? Was Capone a short guy?? I don't know who the actor is, and like you say we are just now seeing more of him. He seems like a good Capone, but to me he comes across as very short.



TIS

Good catch!

Capone was 5-10, which is average height now, but was considered tall back in the 1920's. He was also beefy which is probably why he was also called the Big Fellow.

The actor playing Capone, Stephen Graham , is 5-5, which is notably short and was probably short even back in the 1920's. So (pun intended) it's a bit of a stretch, but I think he captures the character's pugnacity and relative fearlessness pretty well.

Ha ha ha...He IS short. But, I do agree, from the short scenes he's had, I don't have a problem picturing him as Capone.

As far as the Nucky character, I can't tell what his motive is being "nice" to the wife of the now deceased wife beater. For some reason, I'm not quite use to Buscemi in a leading role, since I've basically only have seen him in the Sopranos.

TIS

Forgive my tardiness to this post/show. Personally, I love Boardwalk Empire! Even with the minor historic innaccuracies, I find it very well written and performed. I especially love the Chicago/Capone/Tessio/Colosimo aspect. (Butch from Sopranos as Torrio!) The "birth" of Chicago's Mob is rooted in hookers, blackmail, unions and gambling but the the boost it got from bootlegging brought it to the next level. Love it!