Late last year, HBO stopped work on the pricey J.J. Abrams-produced Westworld, based on a 1970's sci-fi movie series. and with an enormous cast including Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris. Initially produced with Warners' TV production arm, HBO took back control after what sources call clashes with creator Jonathan Nolan, whose TV credit is the WBTV-produced Person of Interest on CBS. (HBO usually makes its own programming but works with Warners on The Leftovers.) Nolan is said to be every bit as controlling as his filmmaker brother Chris. Sources say cuts came in slowly, scripts started running behind, and it became apparent that episodes already shot needed tweaks requiring additional filming. Since stopping production, HBO persuaded Nolan to "put aside his ego," one source says, and has brought in two additional producers and two more writers. Production is set to resume in March.
"Westworld is wildly ambitious on the page and on set," says Nolan. "In broadcast TV, it's been routine for us to write and shoot at the same time. This is a completely different animal. As we got closer to the final episodes, we realized we needed to take a break from shooting to catch up on writing. HBO and WBTV have been incredibly supportive throughout the process. It would have been literally impossible to make this show anywhere else."
Says WME co-CEO Ari Emanuel: "The great thing about HBO is they do take those shots. They back artists." But several HBO veterans lament the network suffers from the allure of big film names who have turned to the channel as the movie business became less hospitable. Noting that he's always kept his shows at or under his comparatively modest budgets, Simon says, "A lot of feature people have thought, 'It's HBO. The world is my oyster.' I saw the thing with David Fincher, and I can't imagine an argument with HBO over whether I can spend $100 million or $80 million." Star talent is hard to resist, continues Simon, but "it's got to be a tough dynamic. You want to do a project that you think might be glorious, but if they're all $100 million for the first season, you're going to exhaust your budget pretty quickly."
