Monday, January 7, 2008

Hollywood snubs The Wire


First, I got to say, the HBO series The Wire is hands down my favorite TV program. It's somewhat disheartening that the show doesn't get the attention from Hollywood that it should. It just doesn't receive the accolades that the HBO series The Sopranos received, even though it's just as good if not better. Many fans think it has to with the fact that the show has a majority black cast. The show creator David Simon let his feelings be known about the blatant snup from Hollywood in a CNN article:


From CNN

HBO's "The Wire," which opened its fifth season Sunday, has gotten little recognition in Tinseltown. Executive producer David Simon says that's fine with him. The series has been acclaimed by critics and has a cult-like following -- but has earned just one Emmy nomination in four seasons. Simon and George Pelecanos were nominated for writing in 2005 but lost.

"I don't give a (expletive) if we ever win one of their little trinkets," Simon told Newsweek. "I don't care if they ever figure out we're here in Baltimore.

"Secretly, we all know we get more ink for being shut out. So at this point, we wanna be shut out. We wanna go down in flames together, holding hands all the way."

Each season of "The Wire" has focused on a different aspect of the grit and blight of an American city in decline. Simon feels the show doesn't get credit for its diverse cast, nearly all of whom had no high-profile prior credits.

"Let me indict Hollywood as much as I can on this one," Simon said. "We have more working black actors in key roles than pretty much all the other shows on the air. And yet you still hear people claim they can't find good African-American actors. That's why race-neutral shows and movies turn out lily-white."

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