Sometimes, TV shows and movies take a long, strange journey down the road of production. In many cases, it can take a property years longer than anticipated to see the light of day for a variety of reasons. Such is the case with ‘Westworld,’ a forthcoming HBO series based on the 1973 Michael Crichton novel of the same name.
The series began its life at HBO over three years ago, when a pilot was filmed in 2013. The network gave the green light to a series order, and production was underway with a targeted 2015 premiere date. Series co-creator Jonathan Nolan outlined some of the challenges in an interview he gave a few months ago:
“We came out of the gate very, very quickly, because we wanted to get on the air as early as possible, and so we started shooting with only a handful of episodes in hand. Nothing that I have done prepared me for the sheer avalanche [of production requirements]. The truth is, what we’re doing there is a 10-hour movie. It’s not really a TV series. When they say ‘It’s not TV, it’s HBO,’ they’re really not kidding. It’s a period piece and a science fiction film. Literally everything you put in front of the camera has to be built, designed, [or] bought. So it’s just an extremely complicated show to mount and put together. The network’s been extremely supportive.”
In a separate interview, Nolan mentioned that HBO’s other genre-tentpole show has actually proven extremely helpful in providing a blueprint to getting ‘Westworld’ off the ground:
“It was actually ‘Game of Thrones’ that made us feel like we could pull this off. The 30-second pitch for ‘Westworld’ was that we were sort of making ‘Days of Heaven’ and ‘Alien’ simultaneously and then putting them together. Which is kind of my dream project, right? Exploring two genres simultaneously and playing with the juxtaposition of both. It’s fantastic. And HBO felt like the only place we could make this. And ‘Game of Thrones’ was really the inspiration for us. ‘Game of Thrones’ had this commitment to practical production value, which is not necessarily what’s in play these days.”
Check out the trailer below! ‘Westworld’ is currently scheduled to premiere on HBO sometime in October 2016.
Source: ScreenRant
Tony Schaab went to a convention once, and all he bought there was a towel; he patted himself on the back, however, the Vogon Constructor Fleet showed up at Earth the next day. A lover of most things sci-fi and horror, Tony is an author by day and a DJ by night. Come hang out with Tony on Facebook and Twitter to hear him spew semi-funny nonsense and get your opportunity to finally put him in his place.
