Tag Archives: How To Make It in America

Mark Wahlberg talks ‘Entourage’ movie, hasn’t given up on ‘How To Make It’ just yet

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In an interview with GQ released yesterday, actor/producer Mark Wahlberg promoted his upcoming action thriller Contraband and (luckily for us) dropped a few surprise nuggets about his two HBO series that recently concluded. Wahlberg confirmed that he and series creator Doug Ellin are in the process of cooking up a story for the big screen. He revealed that making an Entourage movie was always in the works because “people were complaining that episodes were too short.” What can we expect when Vince, Drama, Turtle, and E return once more? Wahlberg said, “I think a 90-minute movie of sheer craziness—the guys getting back to just being about the guys, you know? Lose the ladies. Go crazy. Give people what they want.” And the question that’s surely on your mind: when can we expect it? Wahlberg says he’s waiting on Ellin to write the script. Currently Ellin is working on his next HBO series 40 starring Ed Burns, so perhaps he’ll pick up where the Entourage series finale left off after 40 wraps.

Now get this. GQ mentioned Wahlberg’s latest HBO creation How To Make It In America, and instead of harping on its failure to reach a broad audience (which led to its cancellation last month) he talked about its potential future. “Well, the wheels are always turning and we’ve talked to the networks and we may pair it up with another network. You know, you can only have so many shows on the air [at HBO], but we’re talking about putting it elsewhere. One of the great things is also that we have a couple of things that are really geared toward guys that we’ve been developing that [HBO] feels are really close to going.” Color me intrigued. However, I wouldn’t allow yourself to get too excited just yet. Transitioning a show from one network to another is not so common these days. It is assuring to know, though, that Wahlberg and likely the entire creative team behind How To Make It is aware of the series’ cult fanbase and that they’re attempting to resurrect the show before the dust settles. Ya know I be keeping my ear to the ground with this one.

[Via GQ]

HBO cancels ‘How To Make It In America’ & ‘Bored To Death’

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Just when I thought this TV season was coasting along just fine, this brunt of bad news knocked me unconscious today. HBO has decided to part ways with three of its cult comedies: How To Make It In America, Bored To Death, and Hung. How To Make It only managed to score two seasons before getting the axe, and fans of the show will never get to see if Ben and Cam, well, make it in America as fashion icons with the Crisp brand. They were definitely going places; season 2 managed to top the premiere season in almost every way and still the show was doomed in the end. Also concluding is Jonathan Ames’ Bored To Death starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and the talented Ted Danson. This series lasted a total of three seasons and rightly deserved many more. What started as a detective-story-of-the-week quickly turned into a more serial adventure exploring the eccentric lives of the title characters. Though I must say, the season three finale thankfully wraps things up and leaves viewers pleasantly satisfied. Why did HBO suddenly feel the urge to clear out its Sunday night lineup? Ratings is to blame, as is usually the case (according to Variety How To Make It and Bored To Death were “down about 25% from their respective previous seasons”), plus the premium cabler is making room for new shows in the pipeline for next year. They did keep one, however. Enlightened starring Lauren Dern is coming back for a second season despite rather dismal ratings. Perhaps the comedy’s recent Golden Globe nomination came into play.

Ben and Cam’s hustle and the zany adventures of Jonathan, Ray, and George have come to an end. Triumphant tears are shed in their honor for making it this far.

[Via Deadline]

This week in NEW TV: ‘American Horror Story’

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Last year I posted my Fall TV Preview. This time around I’m breaking that idea in pieces with a new kind of post called This week in NEW TV. Essentially they will serve as expanded versions of my usual TV Reminders. These posts will crop up through October as new TV shows premiere this fall. I will recommend new shows to watch and remind you when returning favorites are coming back. If you want a broader overview of all the new series airing on the big four networks, check out 2011-12 Upfronts coverage.

Note: This week contains only 1 new program, so I thought I’d take the time to comment on some fan-favorite returning series, too.

::SUNDAY::

How To Make It In America  — HBO — 10:30PM

Ben (Bryan Greenberg) and Cam (Victor Rasuk) are back to make the big dream come true in NYC. In the season 2 opener the boys return from a successful business trip in Tokyo with CRISP-branded jeans in tow. We’ll also check in with Cam’s overbearing cousin Rene Calderon (Rene Calderon) and his Rasta Mansta energy drink empire, Domingo Brown (Kid Cudi) will become a more familiar face on the show this year, and Lake Bell’s Rachel still isn’t over ex-boyfriend Ben. Now, you’re going to want to look after the break for some HTMIIA goodies: a Luis Guzman-inspired music video, a season 1 recap, a mixtape, and more! For now, look in the gallery below for some stills.

::MONDAY::

House — FOX — 9PM

In the season 8 premiere, we find Dr. Gregory House in jail. Why? Because in last season’s finale he recklessly drove his car into Cuddy’s house and nearly killed her, her daughter, and other guests. While in lockup, House meets Breaking In star Odette Annable and quickly takes a liking to her. Is it because of her looks, her brains, or both? We’ll have to tune in to find out. Rounding out the Hugh Laurie, Jesse Spencer, Omar Epps, Peter Jacobson, and Robert Sean Leonard-led cast is newcomer Charlyne Yi, a comedian best known for her Knocked Up role as the spacey Jodi. It’ll be interesting to see how she blends in with this veteran ensemble cast. It will be equally interesting to see who fills in Cuddy’s shoes to become the new Dean of Medicine; Lisa Edelstein is out (as is movie star Olivia Wilde) and word has it that the new Dean will be selecting internally. I was leaning towards Leonard as my top pick, but now I’m imaging Omar Epps in the position. We shall see… Also note that this may very well be the final season of House. Everything is up in the air for now, and we should receive word from FOX executives in the months ahead. Journey below to view some key art and stills from the premiere.

::WEDNESDAY::

American Horror Story — FX — 10PM

Here’s the new show worth checking out this week. American Horror Story comes from Nip/Tuck and Glee collaborators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and it’s being billed as the scariest project developed for TV in quite some time. Dylan McDermott (The Practice) and Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) headline a stacked cast that find themselves mentally trapped inside a haunted house. Described as a psychosexual thriller, [the show] centers on a therapist and his wife who, dealing with the aftermath of the husband’s adultery, move along with their kids into a new house that seems to know all about their fears and plays on them. The promotional campaign for this show has been nothing short of bizarre, and the trailer snippets that have leaked are oh-so-intriguing to say the least. You can read more about the development of American Horror Story in a previous post, and check out stills from the spooky series below.

South Park — Comedy Central — 10PM

The second half of South Park season 15 begins Wednesday night. The network hints that “everything must change” following the cynical finale that last aired. In the episode titled “You’re Getting Old” it seemed like creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were taking a stand against their recent material by calling it stale. So they decided to make at least one major change: Stan’s parents are getting divorced. Whether or not this new development will remain canon as the new season unfolds is still up for discussion. Stone and Parker might just pull their usual and “restart” everything–who knows. When the mid-season premiere passes, let’s just hope that the material is fresh. No matter what, though, South Park has been renewed through 2013 so the pop culture icon is staying put for at least a little while longer. Continue reading This week in NEW TV: ‘American Horror Story’ →

TV teasers: HBO’s ‘How To Make It In America’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire’

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This week HBO released teaser trailers for the upcoming sophomore seasons of How To Make It In America and Boardwalk Empire. The former is a teaser in the very sense of the term; shots of New York City are mingled with stills of the characters who include Bryan Greenberg’s Ben Epstein, Victor Rasuk’s Cam, Lake Bell’s Rachel, Eddie Kaye Thomas’s David Kaplan, Kid Cudi’s Domingo Dean, and Luis Guzmán’s Rene Calderon. Can’t wait to see how far Ben and Cam have come along with Crisp and Rene his energy drink Rasta Monsta when HTMIIA returns to HBO this September.

The much more beefier trailer for Boardwalk Empire is located after the break. In it you’ll see Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) more ready than ever to take down and replace Nucky (Steve Buscemi) as gangster king of the Prohibition Era. Continue reading TV teasers: HBO’s ‘How To Make It In America’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire’ →

‘How To Make It In America’ begins season 2 production

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Right on schedule HBO has begun production on the second season of How To Make It In America, the dramedy that follows 20-somethings (Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk) who are trying to make it big in the fashion industry in New York City. Pictured above is Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) and Greenberg. Cudder posted it on his new Tumblr site, and he promises fans that Domingo Brown will have more of a presence in the upcoming season. And this is already being proven–check out the gallery below to sneak a peek of Cudi and female lead Lake Bell walking the streets of NYC (specifically East 12th Street) filming a scene. HTMIIA season two is set to premiere this summer.

[Via CudLife; DatNewCudi; DNAInfo]

Kid Cudi joins Twitter (again), says new mixtape coming this summer

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In December 2009, shortly after Kid Cudi dropped his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, he stated, “I will never get back on Twitter or Facebook. I’m getting my blog back together and that will be the only way to stay connected with me.”  So much for that.  Today Cudder joined Twitter again, and you can follow him @wizardcud. Why the change of heart?  “i really only got back on twitter becuz i heard will smith tweeted about a fresh prince reunion and i wanted to post my response to that…” he joked.  Only hours after reintroducing himself (“yes, its true. its me, the real wizard”), Cudi dropped an explosion of headlines.

First he announced that his upcoming rock-themed album Wizard is expected to release this summer.  Cudi will serve as producer and he says every track will feature his guitar talents, while collaborator Dot Da Genius is currently learning the bass.  He also spilled that the long lost “Dose of Dopeness” will be a bonus track on the album. He describes Wizard in a tweet: “Wizard is a rock album, no raps, just singing. brand new thing. flavor.”

What else, what else.  He mentions the “Maniac” music video/short film is still under construction; Cudder, Cage, and video director Shia LaBeouf are holding back on dropping it until “everything [is] just right…i need the proper time for scoring…the edit must be epic.”

Last, Cudi drops this exciting bombshell: he’s releasing a brand new mixtape this summer called A Man Named Scott, the followup to 2008’s A Kid Named Cudi.  Of the mixtape he says, “for all those who fucks with my raps, this is for u since ima be all rocked out with the wizard shit. also its free! yes!”  In other words, since Wizard is going to be all about Cudder crooning, he wants to hold over his rap fans with the mixtape until the true successor of Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager releases presumably later this year.

He concluded all these hot tweets with this: “man im really happy to FINALLY get all that good news out there. more to come, not even close.”  And the man’s not lying; in between all this news he revealed that he’s been working with Kanye West and Jay-Z, almost definitely on their collab album Watch the Throne so you can expect a Cudi feature there.  He also shared that HBO’s How To Make It In America starts filming its second season in March and he’s excited to reprise his true-to-life character Domingo Dean.

[Via @wizardcud]

Actor Bryan Greenberg’s album releases next week, ‘How To Make It In America’ season 2 in production [Update: Stream single here]

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Bryan Greenberg, the star of HBO’s How To Make It In America, is about to drop his debut album.  It’s called We Don’t Have To Wait Forever and it releases January 18.  It’s being described as “a fresh collection of introspective narratives and soulful ballads” and it features a track called “You Can Run” that features Kid Cudi.  Back in June Cudder dropped by a live Greenberg performance and laid down a freestyle and joined in on the chorus.  In an interview with Complex Magazine Greenberg shares the story:

“I did have one [song] in mind for him and he did it live. He came to my show like a year ago in New York, when I was on tour. He jumped on stage for a little freestyle. When he heard the song he was like, “I really like it and that’s why I’m going to do it.” I was really honored by that. I thought he was going to rap, but he sang. It was cool. He’s really a true artist.”

Looking forward to the second season of HTMIIA?  In that same interview Greenberg talked about what’s in store for Ben and Cam.  “[The show] hasn’t reached the tipping point at all. I’m going back to L.A. next week and we’re going to do read-throughs of the first four episodes. I’m super excited. It’s going forward a couple of months and the business is growing…it’s like, how does this guy become Ralph Lauren? How does it happen? We take if from the street, like early, early sh– to like…that’s the goal, you know? It’s going to take years to develop.”

Preview the album’s lead single “Walk Away” in the video embedded above.  How to Make It In America season 2 is currently in production and is expected to air this summer.

Update: The acoustic-based single “You Can Run” featuring Kid Cudi’s singing voice is now available to stream!  Listen to it below and download it here.

Download: Bryan Greenberg – “You Can Run” (Featuring Kid Cudi)

[audio: Bryan Greenberg – You Can Run (Featuring Kid Cudi).mp3]

Fun fact. The inspiration for the song actually stems from Greenberg’s character Ben from HTMIIA.  “I was kind of writing from the point of view of Ben and being scorned by Rachel and that just being a reason to succeed in life,” he says. “I did notice that a lot of successful people in this world, they always say that it’s about the art or it’s about the work. But when it comes down to it, [what drives them is that] they were made fun of in high school. Or there was a girl that dumped them and they’re trying to get back at them. I was coming from that mentality.”

[Via DatNewCudi; Complex; EW; HipHopUpdate]

HBO renews How To Make It In America for a second season

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YES!  Now that the excitement is out there let me tell you what it’s about: HBO has renewed How To Make It In America for a second season!  HTMIIA, produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Rob Weiss (Entourage), follows 20-somethings who are trying to make it big in the fashion industry in New York City.

Although it attracted an average of less than 1 million viewers at its Sunday night spot, HBO obviously still believes in its potential, and so do I.  Though the plotlines are nothing to rave about, it’s the character developments and relationships that get you invested in the show.  Main protangonists Ben (Bryan Greenburg) and Cam (Victor Russek) play believable characters set in a real world environment and situation.  The show uses the streets of NYC to its advantage by injecting a big shot of realism into everything that goes down around the characters.  By the end of the 8-epsiode run I was really pulling for Ben & Cam and I’m excited to see what the writers have in store for them (the same goes for Cam’s cousin Rene, played by Luis Guzman).  I’m glad we haven’t seen the last of Rasta Monsta!  The rest of the ensemble, including Rachel (Lake Bell), Kaplan (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Domingo (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi), make for a great supporting cast.

How To Make It In America is expected to return to HBO sometime during summer 2011 with another 8-episode run.

[Via EW-HollywoodInsider; LATimesBlog]

Single: Aloe Blacc – “I Need a Dollar”

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After watching the series premiere of HBO’s How To Make It In America, I had to find the track they used for the opening credits.  Turns out the song is called “I Need a Dollar” and it’s by soul artist Aloe Blacc.  It’s the lead single off his second album called Good Things, due out this April.  The song is cool, it’s got a catchy hook, and definitely worth a listen.  Preview it below, get the free single, and download the “I Need a Dollar” EP at iTunes (it includes this “I Need a Dollar,” “Take Me Back,” and instrumental versions of each).

[audio: Aloe Blacc – I Need a Dollar (How To Make It In America theme).mp3]

[Via Stonesthrow]

How To Make It In America premieres tonight on HBO

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How To Make It In America, the new series from writer Ian Edelman and executive producers Mark Wahlberg (Entourage), Rob Weiss (Entourage), and Stephen Levinson (Entourage) — premieres tonight (2/14) at 10PM on HBO.  It’s a story that “follows two enterprising Brooklyn twentysomethings as they hustle their way through New York City, determined to achieve the American Dream.”  Since a handful of the staff comes from Entourage you can expect the show to have a similar vibe but with stark differences; it’s set in New York City, the main set of characters start at the bottom and work their way up to success and fame, and instead of dealing with the entertainment industry, this seres is grounded in the fashion scene.  To learn more about the show, check out my previous two posts.

Look after the break for a ton of HTMINA content, including a new trailer, a conversation with stars Bryan Greenberg and Scott “Kid” Mescudi, and a behind-the-scenes ‘making-0f’ video.  HBO collaborated with with Kid Cudi, DJ Green Lantern, and Broke Mogul to create a HTMINA official mixtape.  It includes tracks from Dan Black, Chromeo, Lupe Fiasco, Styles P, and Phoenix.  Click here to listen to and download the (free) mixtape, and look after the break for the track listing.

UPDATE:  If you missed the premiere episode you can watch it in its entirety at YouTube.  WATCH IT HERE.

[Via YouTube; KanyeBlog]

Continue reading How To Make It In America premieres tonight on HBO →

HBO’s How to Make It In America is coming soon, get prepped

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How to Make It In America comes from writer Ian Edelman and executive producers Mark Wahlberg (Entourage), Rob Weiss (Entourage), and Stephen Levinson.  It stars Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi (Dean), Bryan Greenberg (Ben), Victor Rasuk (Cam), Luis Guzman (Rene), Lake Bell (Rachel), and Shannyn Sossamon (Gingy).  The premise is as follows:

How to Make It in America follows two enterprising Brooklyn twentysomethings as they hustle their way through New York City, determined to achieve the American Dream. Trying to make a name for themselves in New York’s competitive fashion scene, Ben Epstein (Greenberg) and his friend and business partner Cam Calderon (Rasuk) use their street knowledge and connections to bring their ambitions to fruition. With the help of Cam’s cousin Rene (Guzman), who is trying to market his own high-energy drink, and their well-connected friend Domingo (“Kid Cudi”), the burgeoning entrepreneurs set out to make it big, encountering obstacles along the way that will require all their ingenuity to overcome.

With HBO’s Entourage likely coming to a close after next season, this show looks like a worthy replacement.  In fact, I feel like it’s Entouage set in New York.  Plus Mark Wahlberg and Rob Weiss are feeding their talent into the production of it.

How To Make It In America premieres February 14  at 10PM on HBO.  It will air in a similar syle to Entourage; every Sunday, half an hour in length, 8-12 episodes per season.  If you missed the teaser trailer look after the break.  The gallery below contains some stills from the first batch of episodes.

[Via DatNewCudi]

Continue reading HBO’s How to Make It In America is coming soon, get prepped →

Trailer: HBO’s “How To Make It in America”

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Think of it as Entourage set in NYC.  How To Make It in America follows a group of twenty-somethings from Brooklyn chasing their dreams of breaking into the fashion industry in New York City.  It stars Lake Bell, Samaire Armstrong, Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi), and Bryan Greenberg.  It’s even produced by Entourage‘s Mark Wahlberg.  Producer Rob Weis, also from the Entourage team, has his to say about the upcoming pilot: “This show is a fun ride through the downtown scene, examining the cross section of people and how they relate to the relevant subcultures in NYC.”  How To Make It in America premieres on HBO February 14.

[Via DatNewCudi; Observer]