David Milch’s long-gestating “Deadwood” film may finally be moving forward, as reported by actors Ian McShane and Kim Dickens. For those who never saw the prematurely cancelled HBO show, it was set in Deadwood, North Dakota and tracked the growth from camp to town. The show lasted three seasons before getting the axe and featured McShane as the f-bomb prone Al Swearengen and Dickens as Joanie Stubbs.
While being interviewed for their respective shows, “American Gods” for McShane and “Fear the Walking Dead” for Dickens, both offered a few tidbits on ‘Deadwood”. While talking with Variety’s Kristopher Tapley, McShane noted:
“There are signs that HBO are quite keen to make it. They’ve got the script. It’s when they’ll make an offer and when we can fit it in. We probably won’t start ‘American Gods’ until probably the end of the year or early next year, so there’s a window when we can do ‘Deadwood,’ but they need to get everybody together,” the actor said. “I mean all the characters that David [Milch] wants to put in the show. I’m probably going to have breakfast with him later this week. But no, they’re keen to do it, and I’m sure it would seem not only artistically a perfect time to do it but also commercially because there’s always been a revised interest in ‘Deadwood.’ It went off the air far too soon for all the reasons you say, but that’s a long time ago. It seems like a two hour film would be a nice thing for all the people that want to see it and all of us who were deprived of the gig too early.”
Dickens, as well, told Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff, “I loved [the script] … It brought tears to my eyes just to hear those voices again, so perfectly. It was funny at times and sad and painful and beautiful, really beautiful.” Like McShane, she noted, “It’s in their hands now.”
Milch’s relationship with HBO has always been something of a curiosity, considering every show he has created for them has been cancelled early (“Deadwood,” “John from Cincinnati,” and “Luck”), yet HBO clearly seems to admire him as a writer/producer, considering that they are also bringing him on for “True Detective” season 3 (If it ever gets made, that is). For those who never got around to watching “Deadwood,” now might be the time to bingewatch.