At the beginning of the 2000, the proliferation of cable chains, with HBO to the head, enabled a new type of series, more careful, less formulaic, more cinematographic and realistic. After milestones such as ‘The soprano’ came wonders like ‘six meters underground’, ‘The Shield’ and, above all, ‘The Wire’. Its creator, David Simonhe landed yesterday in Barcelona and did it with a certain nostalgia of that golden age of television. «The streaming bubble has exploded and what remains are only derivative and vulgar series. Now a third of the series that were made ten years ago and executives only want programs that guarantee their money, with famous IP such as Marvel or Harry Potter, ”he says in statements to ABC.
Everything is in turbulence mode in Simon life, even the plane that took him to Barcelona. God, we were going through the ocean and the plane did not stop moving up and down. I swear that I have written a message to my children saying goodbye to myself, ”he jokes. But the truth is that the golden era of television seems like a myth and not even the prestige of someone like Simon is of no use to carry out his projects. “No, it doesn’t matter. The only thing they ask you is what is the last thing you have done. It is difficult to sell something that is not formulaic, that do not treat police, doctors or lawyers or that Have a recognized IP. And I do not see myself selling a story about the bureaucratic interiorities of Hogwarts, the truth, ”says Simon.
One of the projects of ‘The Deuce’ was ‘The Dry Run’, that his company carried with Mediapro. The series revolved around the American brigades who crossed the ocean to fight in the Spanish Civil War. “I will do that. I promised to write it and write it, but now it is standing. I have to look for projects that have options to get ahead and now a historical drama that happens in the 30s, far from the United States, and that heroes can be seen as communists would not buy anyone. You have to wait, ”he says.
The truth is that Simon recognizes that, even if it is a historical series, it has a tremendous news, especially since the historical context is very similar. «The neutrality of Roosvelt and Churchill failed Spain. I was very interested how these people dared to travel to the other end of the world to fight for ideals. At that time, the United States wanted to look elsewhere to the problems of the world. So it was very easy to do it. It happens exactly the same with Trump, who has turned his back on the world. I do not want my visit to be a tour to apologize, but Europe must know that in the next 3 or 4 years it will be alone, ”says Simon.
Television sinks, the world sinks, and the roots of what is happening are easy to track. «In the 70s and 80s, newspapers suffered spectacular growth, until investors realized that with smaller newspapers, with smaller writings, They had the same advertising and the same profits as with the big headwaters. Quality newspapers disappeared. The same has happened on television. When streaming arrived, it seemed that you had to fill your background with large series and the more better. A few years later, they have seen that they have the same subscribers if they limit themselves to offering the same and again, ”says Simon.
For example, when Simon made ‘The Wire’, his screenwriter included the best black novel writers of the moment, of George Pelecanos to Richard Price or Dennis Lahaneamong others. “That’s why ‘The Wire’ was so good. HBO wanted to pay the best. The series are a collective narrative artifact. The best ideas arise from rooms full of writers. When these series only write one, two or three the product becomes repetitive. And this is what happens now, the scriptwriters have minimized, ”says the author of” homicide “(the main of the books).
The problem of series creation rooms is one of the themes that the last strike of the scriptwriters tried to correct. For example, a writer usually charges for episode. At the time of ‘Homicide’ They made an episode every seven days. In ‘The Wire’ he has already uploaded at 11-12 days. And for ‘the soprano’ he reached 17 days. “Clear. You charged the same for 5 months of work as for ten months. We at least manage to correct, ”says Simon.
“They didn’t fire me with HBO, that was a confusion”
The strike was a hard blow, especially because it arrived very shortly after a pandemic that had already paralyzed all the production. They were difficult moments, it even seemed that HBO had fired someone as capital for contemporary television as David Simon. «I made a tweet in which I said that HBO had ended with my contract, but what he meant is that he had ended with all the contracts, as is the case when you go to the strike, not that it was something personal. The confusion was somewhat uncomfortable. I even called HBO’s so that the news is not believed, ”Rie now.
David Simon’s last series was ‘The city is ours’, another investigation in the police corruption of the Baltimore Police. “HBO wanted to sell it almost like the sixth season of ‘The Wire’ and make the audience picara, but the truth is that it was a different story,” he says. Now he says he has no project closed and if you ask if there is any quality series on current television, it stays blank. «There is a bit snob, and I am a little ashamed, but I don’t see TV at the moment. Surely something good there will be, but now nothing comes to mind, ”he concludes.
Despite not having a new firm project, David Simon’s name has not lost popularity. Yesterday the headquarters of Casa Seat was filled to attend the talk that the creator of ‘The Wire’ gave and on Monday he will receive the award Awards in Girona. «’Homicide’ is our authentic ‘Long Seller’. And their other books are still sold very well, despite the time that we publish them, ”recalls Claudia Casanova, editor of the books, editorial that precisely celebrates its 15th anniversary, the same years of the translation of Andrés Silva of the Seminal Book of David Simon.
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