Despite canceling John From Cincinnati it seems that HBO recognizes what a brilliant show that it had in hindsight. HBO has submitted JFC for Emmy consideration in the following categories for acting. No doubt they are submitting for consideration for Milch, for writing, and for the series.

"JOHN FROM CINCINNATI"
Lead Actors: Bruce Greenwood, Brian Van Holt, Austin Nichols
Lead Actress: Rebecca De Mornay
Supporting Actresses: Keala Kennelly, Emily Rose, Chandra West Supporting Actors: Greyson Fletcher, Willie Garson, Luis Guzman, Ed O'Neill, Luke Perry, Matt Winston Garrett Dillahunt, Dayton Callie, Jim Beaver, Paul Ben Victor

Handicapping the JFC group, you can see one or two that have real chance for a nomination. If Ed O'Neil is not seriously considered in the supporting actor category it would be criminal, who remembers Ed Bundy in his performance as Bill Jacks. Right off the mark, Ed came out with an amazing performance.

And the other actor? That would have to be Austin. Up until JFC we saw so little of what Austin was capable of as an actor. Working with Milch opened up a entire new level of performance for Austin. His portrayal of John a messenger not of this world was one of the most developed unique multifaceted layered performances on TV last year. From the smallest of details, expressions and characteristics he created a character that had an audience for thinking what is this? to who is this? to ultimately could it be?

Austin took a role that could make or break him as an actor and ran with it, giving a fearless performance that many would find too risky.

"David was really quiet and he was ignoring me and I finally got to call him and I wanted to ask him and talk to him about it cause I like to collaborate and get everybody, you know, get help and throw my ideas out and David was literally—literally looked at me and said “I just want you to do what you did as Morgan.” And that really confused me and I didn’t know any—and the only thing he said is “Austin, you’re the guy. You gotta be the guy. And to you, I just want you.” And so I’m thinking, does David think that I’m retarded? And it took me a long time to sort of process what he meant by those things. In the end what I just realized is that whatever I do is fine. And he gave me so much confidence in just telling me that basically I can do no wrong. I can make no mistakes. All I have to do is show up and just be there with everybody."

It was Milch's confidence in his acting and in him that let Austin create one of most memorable characters on television in recent memory. If the Motion Picture and Television Arts can not see that, it will be an even greater disappointment than the cancellation of JFC itself.

Little JFC rewind: Great interview with Austin. [Original Blog]

"To all but a small and very patient coterie of fans, John From Cincinnati was unwatchable. The mixture of the California surf setting, a protagonist who speaks in riddles and what might have been Christian allegory tried viewers' patience. By the end of nine episodes, few cared what was signified by John's referring to Cass Kai as Mother of God. As Rob Mc-Kenzie, the National Post's former TV critic put it, "If David Milch wrote a series in which he were parodying himself, how could you tell?"

Maybe we just weren't ready for it. But whatever John's artistic merits, it was a ratings failure, and became the first HBO show in a generation to be cancelled after one season. HBO is digging into Milch's well yet again; a gritty cop drama set in the early 1970s is in the works. It's familiar territory for the creator of NYPD Blue, but whether they pan out with another Deadwood is up to Milch's muse..." [more]

"When these five shows ended, I wondered if I would ever see such a group all in the same year again - a run of shows that began last summer with "Flight of the Conchords," "John from Cincinnati" and "Mad Men," continued in September with "The War," and ended just last week with the conclusion of "Dexter"... [more]

HBO led all TV networks in attracting nominations in the 60th anniversary WGA Awards, fetching two noms for dramatic series writing and three for comedy series writing.

In the dramatic series category, HBO's "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" are joined by Showtime's "Dexter," NBC's "Friday Night Lights" and AMC's "Mad Men."

In the comedy series category, HBO attracted noms for "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage" and "Flight of the Conchords." Also nominated in the category are NBC's "The Office" and "30 Rock." [more]

The loss of Tony Soprano didn't put a hit on HBO this summer.

The network is looking as Teflon as a Mafia don according to the latest subscriber numbers, which actually rose slightly in the first full quarter since the most-watched series in HBO's history cut to black.

New data from SNL Kagan indicates that HBO's subscriber base ticked up in the third quarter by 80,000 to 28.94 million despite concerns that the series' departure would lead some portion of customers to drop their subscriptions.

While a 0.3% increase might be nothing for incoming Time Warner CEO and former HBO chief Jeff Bewkes to crow about, it still is fairly consistent with the flat subscriber levels HBO has been registering during the past several years... [more]

Welcome to another installment of IGN's new ongoing feature series Best Supporting Actor. While we obviously devote plenty of ones and zeroes to covering big stars and their biggest movies, we also love to lavish a little attention on the folks whom you see in one film after another, acting their asses off while leading men and women enjoy the spoils of box office success. As such, we will provide exclusive, in-depth interviews with some of the best unknown, up-and-coming and established character and supporting actors in the business.

In Hollywood's world of "That Guys," Garret Dillahunt is one of the best actors you've never heard of. After starting his career playing character roles in television shows and on film, Dillahunt found a champion in David Milch, who cast him in not one but two roles on his acclaimed HBO series Deadwood. Since then, he went on to appear in Milch's follow-up John From Cincinnati and co-starred with Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck in Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James... [more]

TVGuide.com: Knowing going in how "out there" John from Cincinnati was, were you surprised at all by its cancellation?
Nichols: I wasn’t surprised. I actually sort of predicted what the response would be. I always knew that people were going to have a hard time understanding it but they were going to love it anyway. Everybody that comes to me up on the street says exactly that, I don’t get it but I love it, man.

TVGuide.com: I know people who were stupefied that it was taken off the air, and not given a better chance.
Nichols: Just yesterday I was in the drug store and some guy was like, "Dude, what happened?! It was the best show! In the end, [series creator] David Milch just had a blank check, we spent so much money and time doing it, they couldn’t justify keeping t on the air. If they spend that much money, they want it to be their No. 1 hit, like a Sopranos.

TVGuide.com: Do you know things – secrets about John, answers about his past – that we will now never be made privy to?
Nichols: I know everything. I know everything about John. I actually spoke to David not too long ago and he said, Austin, don’t give up on this thing. I'm still trying to think of a way for the John tale to continue. So it's still in his mind. [more]

Welcome back, surfistas! I‘m your tour guide, John from Cincinnati. Before we get started, yes, I really am from Cincinnati, and at this time I would like to express most heartfelt thanks to HBO for naming their short-lived "surf-noir" drama after me and making all of this possible. You‘re an inspiration to us all!

Now on to business. Just where does a "gringo" surf? Well, since many of my fellow gringoes are based in São Paulo, as I was once upon a time, why don‘t we start there with some "rice and beans" surf travel... [more]

... Not for the casual viewer, John From Cincinnati demands concerted attention. It is often annoyingly inscrutable, but it is also amusing, tender, and heartrending. The innocent John, contrasts sharply with the very fallible humans who make up the rest of the extended cast, enhancing the otherworldly quality that the character has. This strange white figure has already, at least in my mind, become an iconic TV character. It's sad that we'll never see him again. [more]

--The good people at www.saveJFC.net are still fighting the good fight to resurrect John from Cincinnati. Click on over there and show your support. I’m not sure the battle is winnable, but I’m sticking with them to the bitter end. Also, plugging them gives me a reason to use a John line as my post title, which guarantees me an increase in traffic. Want to watch my site traffic double today? Observe: “I don’t know Butchie instead”. And there we go. As amazing feats go, that’s slightly more impressive than Uri Geller thinking a shape at us, and way more amazing than correctly predicting that Carmen Electra will assume that somebody is thinking about touching her chest. [Link]

Famous birds on TV have been few and far between, and many of them weren’t even real birds — think Big Bird and Tweety. But the latest kids in the flock are from HBO’s 2007 series, “John From Cincinnati.”

Comet, a nanday conure, plays Zippy, owned by Ed O’Neill’s character Bill Jacks. From the first episode where Zippy is found dead and comes back to life, it’s clear he’s no ordinary parrot.

But before Comet was cast in the part, the writers had simply referred to the character as “a parrot,” according to Scott Stephens, one of the executive producers on “John From Cincinnati.” In fact, Zippy was originally slated to appear just in the first episode, but instead played a pivotal role, demonstrating both healing and telepathic powers. “There’s a miracle quality to the bird,” Stephens said. [Link]

"Stick man on the prowl. Who is this mysterious man and what's his story?

A month ago, I noticed a neighbor of mine had this armless, yellow stick man staked firmly in the center of his yard. Was this some kind of morbid AOL protest? Pretty bizarre, I thought. It's the sort of unknown thing you chuckle at, yet you dare not ask why. I think I've found the answer.

It appears another "Save That Show" campaign has been in full swing for HBO's 'John From Cincinnati' (which was canceled on August 13th, 2007) and it only seems to be picking up steam as time goes on. Who knew it had such a passionate fan following? After finding what appears to be campaign headquarters linked over at Hey! Nielsen, I decided to investigate further..." [more]

" ...Ad-free pay cable channels, however, don't care when or how viewers watch shows, only that they continue to fork over monthly fees to receive them. So HBO doesn't consider its sex-fueled relationship drama Tell Me You Love Me a failure, even though it averages just 773,000 viewers who watch it live on Sundays, about one-tenth the audience for The Sopranos. In fact, the network recently renewed the show and cites Nielsen estimates that grow to 949,000 when seven-day delayed viewing is added and to 3.5 million when other week-long airings are factored in, and add 711,000 more when on-demand viewing is weighed. "We're agnostic about how much of that takes place," says HBO program-planning chief David Baldwin. "The important thing to us is to gauge the intensity of the audience and how it tracks through the season." ... [more]

" ...I'm always skeptical when networks--HBO, Showtime, CNN, whoever--volunteer "cumulative" ratings (if I hold my arms up, I am cumulatively over 6 feet tall). But I asked HBO to offer the same stats for some other current HBO shows, for an apples-to-apples comparison. Here are the numbers (pardon my formatting ineptitude), and if nothing else, it's an interesting TV 101 insight into what HBO chooses to carry and why:

Big Love: 5.8 million (40% Sunday premiere / 60% other plays)
Entourage: 5.6 million (55/45)
The Wire: 4.4 million (40/60)
John from Cincinnati: 3.8 million (40/60)
TMYLM: 3.2 million (30/70)
Curb Your Enthusiam: 3.0 million (35/65)
Flight of the Conchords: 2.7 million (40/60)

Only 30% of TMYLM's viewers, according to HBO, watch the "live" debut. ("It's a show people want to watch privately, I imagine," the publicist theorized dryly. I also wonder if the fact that episodes air a week early On Demand encourages that format.)... " [more]

Three things you would have learned at Saturday morning's "Outside the Box" TV panel at the New Yorker Festival:

1. Premium cable is better than a network, at least if you're a TV creator. Three out of the five panelists (Weeds' Jenji Kohan, The Wire's David Simon, and Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore) all agreed, not surprisingly, that being on cable gives them greater freedom, while David Shore (creator of House, and the lone current network employee) and David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood) dissented. Shore argued that although House can't show as much nudity (though, as he explained, during a successful battle over a bare bottom, an executive said to him, "When you get a nineteen share, you can show a little more ass"), the show's never been asked to avoid controversial subjects. As for Milch, well — we'll get to that.

2. This truly is a Golden Age of television....

3. David Milch is either the best dinner-party guest in the world or the worst. Or both... [more]

" ...The panel mostly agreed on the following givens: TV stations want to make money, and it’s good to tell your story and not the demographically dictated story that the higher-ups want you to tell. Halfway through, in full-on Crazy Uncle mode, Al Swearengen, er, Sipowicz, I mean Milch began calling spades spades (and I’ll allow the metaphoricity only if pressed), and it took the combined efforts of the rest of the panel to parry with the behemoth suddenly in their midst. A born thrower of bombs (and not only of the F kind), Milch goosed the audience with his story of a discussion years ago, when the prospect of a black man and a white woman holding hands on the air was still shocking to the network contemplating such a scene. Milch’s solution? Have the man place his penis on the woman’s shoulder, natch. The show duly fired him. The kicker? “That was the last note I ever took.” I bet! ..." [more]

"Networks and studios have started thinking about the unthinkable this week.

The harsh rhetoric surrounding the WGA negotiations plus the guild's recent move to seek strike authorization have convinced execs that the threat of a Nov. 1 strike may be very real. A possible lockout is also being discussed.

"We are trying to get as much stuff as possible shoved through," said one studio VP. "It's as hot as I've ever seen it. And whether or not they strike on Nov. 1, we have to act as if they will."

On the feature side, studios are no longer taking writing pitches and are pretty much limiting themselves to making deals on fully developed packages. Warner Bros. and Universal, for example, have put out the word to agents: Don't bring in any spec scripts until the situation resolves itself..." [more]

"Nielsen has never enjoyed mediating intramural disputes or slapping clients around for distorting its data. Still, inasmuch as the ratings are not just the industry's currency but serve as a cultural barometer of popular taste, everybody suffers when bogus inferences and dubious spin float into the ether -- making the numbers look more untrustworthy, and feeding the suspicions of conspiracy-minded yahoos already convinced that black-suited government agents are seeking to deprive them of "Jericho" or "John From Cincinnati."

The irony is that Nielsen deserves kudos for a new plan to expand its sample size -- tripling the pool to 37,000 homes and 100,000 people by 2011 -- recognizing the need for more info to adequately reflect a fragmented audience. As it stands, if a few loyal Nielsen-monitored Food Network or Golf Channel viewers leave town the same week, the network's ratings can plummet...." [more]

"Like the mysterious stranger John Monad who suddenly materializes and then vanishes, cameras that appeared to film the supernatural surf-noir series, John from Cincinnati, have disappeared from the streets of Imperial Beach. Only a few traces from the show's pervasive presence of the last year still remain.

Last month, crews from HBO removed the final set pieces from the El Camino Motel, (a.k.a The Snug Harbor in the show) and took down the Yost Board sign above the Surf Hut's storage building on Seacoast Drive. There are few remaining signs that Imperial Beach was ever center stage for a television show. For almost a year, crew members mingled with locals, and residents became used to rubbing elbows with the stars. The show's final episode aired Sunday, Aug. 12, and the next day HBO announced the series would not be renewed, much to the chagrin of some local business owners.

“There were so many things that were so fun,” remembered Katy Fallon, owner of I.B. Coffee and Books. Fallon's shop ended up being the local breakfast and coffee stop for many crew members and the interior set for several scenes in the series later episodes. Fallon may have even inspired director David Milch to create the show's barista character, Trixie. She misses the production company and remembers the experience fondly.... " [more]

HBO recently issued a letter of apology to fans of producer David Milch's canceled series Deadwood and John From Cincinnati. The letter, which was scanned and posted in full on SaveDeadwood.net, is undoubtedly regretful and conciliatory, but its explanations for the show's demise is thick with careful turns of phrase that shy away from providing the sort of candid details that would allow fans to pin blame on anyone in particular. Lucky for you, we've pulled out our PR Flack–to–English dictionaries and have translated several key passages for your convenience.

HBO says: It is obviously not our intention to brainstorm strategies guaranteed to alienate dedicated viewers or to sabotage programs produced and promoted at great expense and with great effort, particularly when they are turned out by a talent of David Milch's caliber.

Translation: In fairness, we did sit down with Mr. Milch and specifically request that John From Cincinnati include at least one graphic depiction of a man ejaculating, but we respected his vision when he opted to keep going with all that surfing business...." [more]

"I was a huge fan of the hard-to-fathom "John From Cincinnati" on HBO. I couldn't fathom it, and that was half the draw. The brass at HBO foolishly killed the show after only 10 episodes. They've since replaced it with nonsense like "Tell Me You Love Me," which is supposedly oh-so-groundbreaking because it shows raw, unfiltered sex. I've watched it. It's a sappy soap-opera with occasional sex, some of it between people in their late 60s. Uh...no thanks.

So, I gave up on trying to get HBO to reconsider their idiocy. The actors, the directors, the creators and producers have all moved on to other efforts. Some fans, however, are dying much harder. Last week, the faithful took out this full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter... " [more]

HBO renewed sex-laden original series Tell Me You Love Me for a second season, the network confirmed.

The network declined to provide details on when it would begin shooting the new episodes or when they would premiere.

While the relationship drama debuted with just 910,000 total viewers early in September -- dismal compared with almost all of the pay cable network's originals in recent years -- it has maintained the interest of TV critics, at least, and built bigger audiences over multiple plays. The premiere episode, for example, drew a total of 3.1 million viewers over seven plays, HBO said...

...HBO is picking up Tell Me after it declined to do so with its last original series, John from Cincinnati. The latter's least-watched episode of the season actually drew more viewers than Tell Me's premiere, but the network saw little hope in the oddball surf-noir show ever really catching on with viewers.... [more]

"Trust me. I’d much rather speak with “Deadwood” actors W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority, left) and Jim Beaver (Ellsworth, right) under happier circumstances. But I had to see if they would confirm and react to costar Ian McShane’s claims that the Western’s set was being dismantled and that the show was, in fact, done.

In August, days after Brown used the metaphor of a horse, “lying trailside foaming at the nostrils and heaving for breath” to describe the state of the show to subscribers of his blog, he was more optimistic about the series’ return in an Aug. 23 MySpace message to me. But in responding tonight at 7:44 p.m. EST to my follow-up inquiry, he confirmed the report of the tear-down and predicted “Deadwood’s” demise:... [more]

The "save John From Cincinnati ad" taken out in today's THR is probably a case of too little, too late as the quickly aborted surfing drama's sets have been struck, its cast scattered, and its creator already tasked with dreaming up a new world in which his characters can communicate in a language primarily comprised of expletives. But if we've learned anything from the Jericho's successful Nuts! campaign, it's that the only way that fans can have their voices heard is by annoying TV executives with non-stop deliveries to their places of business, hoping that the constant presence of handtruck-pushing men in brown shorts in their offices wears down their defenses.... [more]

John From Cincinnati' star Austin Nichols is touching down in the great state of Texas to pick up a recurring role on NBC's high-school-football drama 'Friday Night Lights.' Nichols will play a teacher at Dillon High on the show, which is shot in his hometown of Austin. Meanwhile, the vocal fans at SaveJFC.net have rallied to rush him right back to Imperial Beach, sending emails, signing petitions and taking out ads in hopes of convincing HBO execs to reinstate the series.

"The "save John From Cincinnati ad" taken out in today's THR is probably a case of too little, too late as the quickly aborted surfing drama's sets have been struck, its cast scattered, and its creator already tasked with dreaming up a new world in which his characters can communicate in a language primarily comprised of expletives. But if we've learned anything from the Jericho's successful Nuts! campaign, it's that the only way that fans can have their voices heard is by annoying TV executives with non-stop deliveries to their places of business, hoping that the constant presence of handtruck-pushing men in brown shorts in their offices wears down their defenses.Accordingly, we'd recommend that the Save John alliance redirect its ad-sales budget into the purchase of thousands of dildos for immediate shipment to HBO's headquarters, sending a message that the network's fucking-obsessed programmers made a grave mistake when they decided to make Tell Me You Love Me the focus of their post-Sopranos schedule instead of their beloved Cincinnatian. [Ad via THR Digital Edition]"

A grassroots populist effort to convince leadership of the pay TV channel HBO to bring back the series “John from Cincinnati” has been launched in a big way.

Using the Web site SaveJFC.net as a focal point, fans of the innovative and unconventional series are actively lobbying HBO executives to reconsider the decision to cancel the show after one 10-episode season.

Is this simply an effort by fans of a TV show to have their program given a second season?

Or is it more than that?... [more]

Another lost show; another group of determined fans trying to restore it.

With the Internet connecting all different kinds of communities, those desperate to bring back the HBO show “John From Cincinnati” for a second season have started a campaign online.

The organized group known as SaveJFC.net is planning to take out a full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter to make their message loud and clear to the cable network.

9/25/2007 KFMB Channel 8 News, San Diego

Unemployment didn’t last long for Austin Nichols, the Austin actor who starred as the mysterious surfing savant in HBO’s short-lived summer series “John From Cincinnati.”

Nichols, who also appeared in HBO’s “Deadwood,” has come home for a guest-starring role in the Austin-based NBC series “Friday Night Lights.” He’s not in the Oct. 5 season opener, but his multiple-episode story arc will begin soon after. Executive producer Sarah Aubrey will reveal few details but confirms that Nichols will play a teacher at Dillon High.

Best known in Central Texas as a water-skiing champ, like his mother Kay Nichols, Nichols grew up on Lake Austin, attended Casis Elementary and McCallum High School before heading to the University of Southern California where he earned a degree in creative writing in 2002. His father is radiologist David Nichols.

The Nielsen Co. wants to know what you think.

The ratings giant has begun beta testing an online social network to give passionate TV or film fans a forum to express their views -- with the studios and networks listening in.

The service, dubbed Hey! Nielsen, will allow visitors to sound off on music and film in addition to TV. It will tabulate a popular vote of enthusiasts from which it will derive a "Hey! Nielsen Score," designed to be a measure of buzz and audience engagement.

"It's an outlet for people who want to express their views on television, and want to come to Nielsen to have some influence," said Karen Watson, senior VP of communications and exec in charge of the service. "Joining the network will be a way to let the entertainment industry know what you think."... [more]

Hey!Nielsen John From Cincinnati Opinion Poll

"They can provide “intelligence” in the many meanings of that word. We can gain insight about emerging developments that are important.

One example worth looking at is the new HBO series “John from Cincinnati.” This program explores several characters who are experiencing physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual confusion, pain and discovery..." [more]

"The decision to cancel the HBO series “John from Cincinnati” after one ten-episode season seems to raise a few questions worth kicking around. Were fans of the HBO shows “The Sopranos” and “Deadwood” so disappointed those programs ended that they took it out on “John?” Looks like that was part of it... " [more]

" ...An example might be the recent HBO series “John from Cincinnati.” This show was cancelled after one 10-episode season while the audience and potential audience was beginning to understand the subtle and unconventional aspects of the show. Was the character “John” an angel, an ET who just stepped off a UFO or was he one of us – a human who didn’t fully understand the crazy world around him and whose perceptions and communications were often confusing and troubling?... " [more]

" ...Fact-based fiction books, films, TV shows and other creative methods can also be effective in communicating about the truth of various situations and processes. A case in point might be the new HBO series “John from Cincinnati” which is set in a beach town in southern San Diego County near the border with Mexico... " [more]

One of the first challenges that faced the new team was the withering response to the much-anticipated new David Milch drama, "John From Cincinnati." After the esoteric surf noir series failed to connect with viewers and critics, many of whom described it as incomprehensible, disappointed executives pulled the plug on a second season.

The collapse of the series, which premiered right after the "Sopranos" finale, represented a high-profile flop for the long-golden network and triggered chatter among television rivals that HBO had lost its touch.

Network officials dismiss such talk, adding that their only regret is that they allowed expectations to mount that "John From Cincinnati" would be the successor to their popular mob drama.

"The only thing I would say we learned is that we shouldn't have put that much of a spotlight on it at the moment we did," said Michael Lombardo, president of the HBO Programming Group. "Would we have done it again? Absolutely."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 26-year-old actress Emily Rose has landed a multi-episode arc on the ABC family drama. She is expected to appear in eight episodes, wherein she will play Lena, Rebecca Harper's (Emily Van Camp) high-school friend. Lena becomes an employee of the family's company and creates some trouble.

Emily Rose's most recent television role was on the HBO drama, John From Cincinnati. On the series, Rose played Cass, a filmmaker hired by Linc Stark (Luke Perry) to create trouble between Mitch (Bruce Greenwood) and his wife, Cissy (Rebecca De Mornay). The show was canceled after only one season. [more]

"Sure, my attention has turned mostly to fall TV these days, but I don't want to forget some of the summer's stellar series. It was a season loaded with strong new and returning fare, especially on cable, and while not all of my reasons to keep your TV on panned out into the classics I'd hoped for, there were still a lot of great shows out there. Which was your favorite? "

Have U publicized/confronted HBO with its reneging? where are "greenlit" Episodes 11 & 12? how are subscribers/artists/critics/media supposed to trust future HBO pronouncements? should future reports state "HBO claims" it's greenlighting this/that or. . .?

UPI News Service Article, 10/24/2006

"While HBO canceled "Deadwood" this year, the series' positive reviews and loyal fan base prompted the cable network to greenlight 12 episodes of Milch's "Cincinnati" for a summer 2007 release, TVWeek.com reported Tuesday."

"In addition to bloopers, out-takes, and deleted scenes, what other types of Extra features would you like to see on the DVD that HBO will make for this season of JOHN FROM CINCINNATI? Tell us everything extra you think would make the JOHN FROM CINCINNATI DVD something you would be interested in owning or renting."

From the first page of the survey:

Welcome to HBO's online survey regarding the HBO Original Series, "JOHN FROM CINCINNATI." The survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete.

This survey is for market research purposes only and your answers will be kept strictly confidential. Your feedback will help us to continue to provide the high quality programming you've come to expect from HBO.

Lisa Ferro, in an email announcing the survey, suggested the following: "Everyone fill out this survey from HBO tell them that you want to see JFC for another season and that you will not buy merchandise from them for a show that they cancelled."

Vote here to go to the Spotlight Poll

Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger and Brandon Routh are in various stages of negotiations to star in the ensemble "The Informers," an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel. Gregor Jordan is directing the drama, which is being financed by Senator International. Senator's Marco Weber is producing.

Also joining the movie are Ashley Olsen, Jon Foster, Austin Nichols and Lou Taylor Pucci.

Set in 1980s Los Angeles, the script follows seven stories taking course during a week in the life of a movie executive, his wife, his mistress, a rock star, a vampire and a kidnapper... [more]

This is a copy of a letter sent to HBO & Time Warner Execs Related to Deadwood and John from Cincinnati Cancellations. I’m a psychologist, thus the lead in paragraph.

Dear HBO & Time Warner Executives:

I’m beginning to become concerned for you. If HBO was a patient, I would look at is as if you have been a high-functioning, successful individual who, inexplicably, has developed a nasty set of self-defeating and self-sabotage behaviors which are alienating everyone around you.

First, you hire creative genius David Milch to develop great shows for you. He creates two great shows, Deadwood, and John from Cincinnati. What does HBO do? They cancel both shows with no audience preparation, no notification, and no explanation.

Now, from what I read online (the Internet is HUGE), you have tasked Mr. Milch to follow on with the development of yet another series, this one about 1970’s cops. Also from what I read, Mr. Milch has taken a forward-looking approach to HBO decisions, and is moving to meet his business agreements with you in a gentlemanly and gracious manner. I am sure that any show that Mr. Milch develops will be great, as all of his shows have been, including Deadwood and John from Cincinnati.

I ask you executives with all sincerity - why should any viewer now take the time and effort to tune in to such a new Milch series? I’m sure you can wordsmith a generic, soothing, and bullshit answer for me, but the reality is, you have no good excuse for your past actions which now puts all new HBO series in jeopardy.

HBO has now set up a clear pattern of behavior in the minds of viewers:

1) Have creative genius develop great show
2) Get viewers interested, excited, and hooked
3) Cancel series unceremoniously with no warning

HBO has been 100% predictable in this pattern with both of their Milch shows, so why would anyone think they would not do so again?...

Read Full Letter

It's Official. 'John From Cincinnati' Canceled

As was first reported by The Triangle, John From Cincinnati has been canceled.

HBO made it official one day after the finale aired and announced a development deal that will keep David Milch with HBO until 2008.

Is David Milch Destroying HBO?

Not two days after John From Cincinnati was officially canned, David Milch is working on a new project. This time around the show will be a more traditional fare -- early 1970's story about a Vietnam vet who comes home and joins the NYPD.

But once again, Milch has shown his propensity for mentally checking out of a series while it's on the air. It happened with Deadwood and it's happened again with John. Milch made a bad program, HBO canceled it and Milch didn't blink twice because he had lost interest anyway.

Despite the fact that John's fate was sealed two weeks ago, the notion that a show's creator would start working on his next project two days after the cancellation is made public is insane.

It doesn't happen. I understand the fundamental right to work in a capitalist society, but honestly... Two days? Seriously? And HBO thinks it's prudent to sign the man through 2008? At this point, he has to be costing them more subscribers than he's bringing in.

John had a very loyal (if small and crazy) fan base. But unlike other cult hits-Arrested Development, Firefly, Jericho, Veronica Mars, Carnivale, et cetera - show runner doesn't care.

Deadwood was Milch's fault, but at this point, does it really matter? The show is gone. The two movies are never going to happen. Whether the fan base blames HBO or Milch, Milch isn't running a subscriber based cable network.

And it's happened again with John. Regardless of who's to blame (there is enough to go around), yet another Milch production has left HBO with nothing but a wave of angry subscribers. Some subscribers are angry because a series they loved is canceled and some because HBO aired such a gibberish show in the first place... [more]

I wonder if this has anything to do with why HBO cancelled this amazing series. Could it be that the Fletchers have expressed an interest in exercising their family’s life story rights and have claimed to take action against HBO for compensation??

ON THE SET: John from Cincinnati

By Nathan Myers

***Editors Note**** In an article in Surfing’s March 2007 issue [“On the Set,” page 61] regarding the upcoming HBO TV series “John from Cincinnati,” about a family of surfers in Imperial Beach, one of the show’s writers, former Surfer magazine editor Steve Hawk, overstated the role of the Fletcher family in the show. Here is the official word from HBO regarding Herbie and Dibi Fletcher’s relationship to the show: “We are working with the Fletchers as consultants on this project as they are experts in the world of surfing, and in the interest of authenticity they, along with co-executive producer Kem Nunn and others who live in the surfing world, help advise on many of the issues in the series that pertain to that world. HBO did not acquire the Fletchers’ life story rights, and the series is not based on the Fletchers. The fact that our story includes a multigenerational surfing family was simply a creative choice used to develop the story of “John;” any perceived similarities between the surfing Yosts and the Fletcher family is coincidental. As to the decision to cast Greyson Fletcher in the role of the Yost surfing grandson, Shaun, David Milch met Greyson on set and thought he could be perfect for the role, as he is an excellent skateboarder and understands the world. As a bonus, he turned out to be a very good little actor.”

"Well this is a first, at least for me and this little Blog.

Last night I published an entry featuring a letter to Deadwood and John From Cincinnati creator/writer David Milch. I certainly did not write and post it with the belief that anyone besides my family and friends would actually read it, let alone anyone remotely involved with the topic at hand.

This changes everything. Below is the email I received from actor Jim Beaver (pictured above), who played Ellsworth on Deadwood and Vietnam Joe on John From Cincinnati. He was quite upset with my article, but provides a very detailed rebuttal in response..." [more]

i just got off the phone with a nice man in David Milch's office. Naturally I gave my opinion about the stupidity of HBO in cancelling this remarkable spirtually based show. I asked if Mr. Milch would be interested in doing another season if HBO reversed the cancellation and he basically said Milch would have to do whatever they wanted. I took this as a "yes" Milch is willing but he's at the mercy of HBO, so we should keep plugging and dumping out. If 3 million people watched the last episode I ask you - what is so bad about that especially during the SUMMER for Christsake!!!

One of the most interesting components of JFC was the way it used the web to further interest in the characters and setting. According to Jackson West at Newteevee.com

The Web played a role in the plot early on, such as with the fan site maintained by the character Dwayne (Matthew Maher) for the fictional family of surfing legends the Yosts. The young prodigy, Shaun Yost (played by Greyson Fletcher, real-life surf prodigy and son of surfing legend Christian Fletcher), is signed to a sponsorship deal by beachwear retailer Stinkweed on the strength of his lineage and amateur highlight reel. Levitating patriarch Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood) even lent his celebrity to real-life conservation charity WiLDCOAST.

I attended the premiere of JFC at Paramount Studios and found the first two episodes to be quirky, funny, interesting and off-the-wall. I hoped the rest of the series would go somewhere interesting. Unfortunately, as many of the production team complained to me while filming, the story wasn’t going anywhere they or the audience could understand. After the third episode, I found the story almost impossible to follow and wasn’t sure what was happening at all.

Milch, however, made it clear that the story really wasn’t the point,

"My understanding of the way the mechanism of storytelling works is ...whether or not the audience is conscious of the process, apart from the audience awareness that there is a process, any story is constantly appending specific values to the meanings of words, and of the actions of characters. And the fact that story uses as its building blocks words or characters tha