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HBO Developing Hermaphrodite Series MIDDLESEX, Based On The Pulitzer/Oprah Club Novel By That VIRGIN SUICIDES Guy!!

Dear HBO, How's about a mini-series instead? by The Tao of Joe	Jul 7th, 2009 04:44:18 AM
I beg of you. The book's a classic. An epic of family and sexuality. Obviously too big for a film, but do not try to water it down by turning it into an ongoing series. I don't see more than two 13-hour seasons being churned from this book. And if people knew it was a finite series that not only had a chance of ending, but ending well before apathy and a lack of storylines and character details caused the show to jump the shark (like every hourlong HBO has attempted except for "The Wire"), I think people will tune in. Show could pull some serious "John Adams" numbers. Also, since she did a great job with Eugenides' "The Virgin Suicides," I nominate Sophia Coppola to direct the pilot, many of the episodes, and the finale. PLEASE!
And this could be a great pilot for an ongoing anthology series. by The Tao of Joe	Jul 7th, 2009 04:47:03 AM
I imagine that HBO - if they do in fact want an on-going series - could make an ongoing series wherein each season is an adaptation of a great, modern novel that many felt was unfilmable. "A Confederacy of Dunces" would be amazing, as would "The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay." And if this series lasts long enough, who knows, perhaps they could even do "Watchmen" justice.
I thought it was about the county in the UK where by Col. Tigh-Fighter	Jul 7th, 2009 05:29:42 AM
Ali G comes from. Staines is in Middlesex, as is Grays. So there. A bit of UK geography for you all there :)
Big Love by gooseud	Jul 7th, 2009 06:39:40 AM
has NOT petered out, the most recent season was fuckin AWESOME. That one is still goin strong. Oh, and would HBO PLEASE try to mix it up a bit and get A Song Of Ice And Fire on the fucking air already? PRetty Please?
can't think of a good pun by Kobaal	Jul 7th, 2009 07:43:33 AM
dammit :( I'm sure there are loads...
by CatVutt	Jul 7th, 2009 08:00:56 AM

That previous blank post was brought you... by CatVutt	Jul 7th, 2009 08:02:19 AM
By my lack of coffee. And now I forget what I was going to say. Something about the book. Oh, well.
by Kabukiman	Jul 7th, 2009 08:25:43 AM
"I don't see more than two 13-hour seasons being churned from this book." Well, see, 26 episodes spread over two years isn't exactly a 'miniseries'.
There was a time... by _Maltheus_	Jul 7th, 2009 09:02:59 AM
...where I would have just ignored the description and said, fuck it, it's an HBO show, I'm there. Not so much anymore. Big Love is the only decent thing they have left.
A Turkish Hermie in Hog Town? by Kenshiro_187	Jul 7th, 2009 09:15:49 AM
SOLD!
The book is a must read. by HoboCode	Jul 7th, 2009 09:24:36 AM
Especially if you're from Detroit, as the book works really well as as a history of the city in the 20th century. I agree a miniseries would probably work better but there is tons of material to be culled from the book that would make fantastic television drama. It's a coming of age tale. The Greek/Turkish war. Prohibition. The Great Depression. The race riots. The Nation of Islam's infiltration of the Detroit slums. The auto industry's forced assimilation programs. Immigration tension. Entrepreneurism. And of course transgendered identity issues. The book is a gem and I look forward to this.
Kabukiman by The Tao of Joe	Jul 7th, 2009 09:29:05 AM
I agree that 26 eps wouldn't be a miniseries, but if they wanted to do a one or two-season "Limited Series" that would be a much better idea than an ongoing series. And if it's a hit, imagine the possibilities of adapting other books of epic length in this manner. Perhaps "East of Eden" could be fully realized, or even "The Grapes of Wrath." Again, the possibilities are limitless.
Miniseries instead!! by Fart_Master_Flex	Jul 7th, 2009 10:06:41 AM
I agree with the Tao of Joe. This would be an amazing mini-series. far too dense for a film, but not enough to base a show around. A mini-series would be fucking epic.
Geez... by Mr.FTW	Jul 7th, 2009 10:57:49 AM
Ok, it's cable, I get it, they can push the boundries. But why does everyone of these show have to involve some kind of bizarre or fetish sex or sexual theme. Why can't they just make a good show that doesn't have some kind of sex gimmick?
Fantastic book. by Dollar Bird	Jul 7th, 2009 10:59:34 AM
I loved that book. One of my favorites. (Loved "Suicides", too. Eugenides is a brilliant writer. Few people can write about longing like he does.) How will this become an ongoing series without straying totally away from the book? The book is about a hermaphrodite, but the 1st half of the book is about his/her grandparents and parents. Will the series just focus on Cal or jump around in time? Oh, well.
remember when HBO was good? by supermarch	Jul 7th, 2009 12:15:14 PM
AMC is killing HBO. HBO needs to give up the gay agenda shit. There's no reason to watch that channel anymore.
Lots of books I'd like to see given this treatment by Bass Ackwards	Jul 7th, 2009 02:17:57 PM
Geek Love, World War Z, Kavalier & Clay, just to name some off the top of my head. Middlesex, while being a book I love, doesn't really strike me as being ripe for series, with the timeline the character goes through (not to mention the backstory, though I suppose that could be cut). Would we just have a different actor each season as the character ages? The gender switch (of sorts) that would occur somewhere in the middle would prove interesting though.
blah by slkboxrman	Jul 7th, 2009 03:10:12 PM
well HBO is doin good on original series so far.....true blood , hung.... but all i can say is FUCK OPRAH...id rather she died than michael jackson, or anyone else for that matter....shes just a self serving, full of herself, narcisistic bitch...like i said fuck her...
What does this have to do with Sarah Palin again? by FlandersBum	Jul 7th, 2009 04:08:14 PM
Seriously, let's stay on topic here.....all Sarah Palin talkbacks all the time. Nobody cares about this stupid book.
Just give me True Blood and In Treatment by AlwaysThere	Jul 7th, 2009 05:10:10 PM
Oh, Bill Maher too. I don't need the other shit.
Public Enemeis would have been an awesome miniseries by drewlicious	Jul 7th, 2009 05:11:51 PM
Could have gotten more stories than just Dillinger's. As for HBO, it doesn't have to be weird to be original, you know. True Blood, just started watching it on Netflix, is okay so far. Hung doesn't sound appealing at all and I have no idea what to make of this one. All I know is that we are nowhere near the peaks of The Sopranos, The Wire, or Deadwood. If True Blood is the best they can do right now its no wonder AMC is geting all the emmys.
wtf? by Charlie_Allnut	Jul 7th, 2009 06:13:56 PM
Soprano's, Deadwood, Rome, Curb Your Enthusiasm, inbred hermaphrodite show. Ummmm yeah.
Correction! by Neurotica	Jul 7th, 2009 07:28:29 PM
The family is actually Greek, not Turkish. Oh, and by the way, Best. Book. Ever.
Donald, not David by vbotkin	Jul 7th, 2009 08:41:07 PM
Margulies. He won a Pulitzer for his play Dinner with Friends before he adapted it for HBO. And HBO isn't trying to be "weird" just to be "original" by adapting Jeffrey Eugenides Pulitzer winning novel. They're trying to make decent television out of a brilliant, complex work of art, and they're hiring a very accomplished dramatist to do it. I know that's a very foreign concept to a few of you, But not all movies and tv shows should be based on comic books. Oh, excuse me, graphic novels. You could read something else every once in a while.
The book is about a GREEK hermaphrodite by waynefoolx	Jul 7th, 2009 10:44:55 PM
"Turkish" Jeez. Yeah, just like Forrest Gump was Mexican. Some of y'all need to pick up a book every now and then. This one is great, I'm looking forward to seeing it on screen.
HBO stop making shows about... by VirCotto	Jul 8th, 2009 01:35:01 AM
cock, bigamy, psycho and other weird&perverted shit nobody can really relate to and actually fucking cares about. Where is the orginal in HBO anyway? Worse than remakes are doing things by the "book"..
All you fucking whiners by dancetothebeatofthelivingdead	Jul 8th, 2009 07:59:15 AM
WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! "Hollywood has no original ideas anymore." "Stop with all the remakes." "Can't anyone in Hollywood go into a book store?" "American cinema is dead." HBO is adapting a show based on a highly touted novel written by a Pulitzer winner and all of you same crybabies that bitch and moan about no original ideas and all the remakes are bitching because it's not the Sopranos. Don't watch it!!! Then maybe HBO will do a series based on Sanford and Son instead!
dancetothebeatofthelivingdead by supermarch	Jul 8th, 2009 02:58:39 PM
or maybe they'll make a decent show again. This crap is pure crap. Its obvious the people in charge there now are out of touch with anything beyond their own limited social circles.
vircotto by slkboxrman	Jul 8th, 2009 06:18:45 PM
what ? cant relate to ? why do u need something to relate to ? its a tv show, its supposed to be entertaining not self reflective..sheez whats wrong with people these days.

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HBO Developing Hermaphrodite Series MIDDLESEX, Based On The Pulitzer/Oprah Club Novel By That VIRGIN SUICIDES Guy!!

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