HBO LUCK - Interview With director Michael Mann

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MICHAEL MANN TALKS ABOUT

HBOS NEW DRAMA SERIES LUCK, PREMIERING FEBRUARY 20 ON HBO

From acclaimed director Michael Mann and Deadwoodcreator David Milch, the nine-episode season of

LUCK, starring Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman and Oscar nominee Nick Nolte, premieres Sunday,

February 20, 2012 at 9pm on HBO HD / 10pm on HBO.

LUCKis a behind-the-track look at the world of horse racing and gamblings denizens owners, trainers,

jockeys and gamblers. The pilot is directed by Mann and written by Milch, both of whom also serve as

executive producers for the series. It was filmed at Santa Anita Park and other Los Angeles locations.

Q: Why did you decide to get involved in LUCK?

MICHAEL MANN: The attraction for me was David Milchs wonderful script and then to bring together and

work with Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Jill Hennessyeverybody else in this

outstanding cast. What was challenging, directorially, about telling these stories was the ambition to

immerse audiences in the interior lives of the degenerate gamblers, trainers, owners, horses and Ace

Bernsteinso they can experience this world with the intimacy of being inside of it. Thats what made

Davids material so challenging. That imperative determined all my choices in casting, shooting, editing,

musiceverything.

Q: Dustin plays the complex lead character, Chester Ace Bernstein. Why did you go to

Hoffman? What does he bring to the role?

MM: Dustins one of the great actors in American cinema. Weve known each other and have wanted to

work together for a long time. The excitement about Dustin playing Ace Bernstein is precisely because he

hasnt played this kind of a character before. Hes played characters Ratso, Raymond who are

somewhat reactive to circumstances and people. On the other hand, Ace is the bow that breaks the

waves. Ace is the man with the plan and knows more than he reveals about whats going on. His motives

and moves are designed and precise, calculated. Ace sees the probabilities of the outcome of events

spatially, as if equations are structures in the sky. He sees luck as preparation colliding with opportunity,

and knows the probability of how most people will react. Hes a tough-minded individual, yet there is still

an openness to him. Hes capable of being moved by nature, by a horse, by a woman. He has repressed

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that side of him for much of his life, but the inner radiance of Bernstein isnt extinguished. And its in the

playing out of the stories that the radiant center of Bernstein is illuminated.

Q: What is it about horse racing that appeals to you?

MM: The exquisite nature of the animals. You come to regard them as great athletes with sensitive spirits.

The slightest shift in the attitude of the jockey is responded to by the race horse. I have a horse and I ride,

but hes not a thoroughbred race horse. My first impression of being up close to a race horse when we

started was: Imagine going 40 to 43 miles an hour next to a 1,500-pound jackrabbit. In our frames of

reference, animals that large arent supposed to move that fast.

Q: What were some of the challenges in directing the pilot?

MM: There are so many rich characters and story tracks that we follow, that I thought the way to tell the

story is to try to immerse the audience in the flow of events and people. For example, we go from Noltes

unexplained wariness about being observed running his horse full-out into the duplicity of an unexplained

Escalante scheme into a group of degenerate gamblers, with Marcus disappointed that Jerry blew his

cash playing poker. We transition rather than juxtapose, and that affects how its shot, how the music

works, how the editing works, and, most importantly, the rhythm and tone Im asking for from the actors.

Its so that we wheel among these different people and story tracksstarting with Ace, whos out of prison

on an undisclosed mission. So thats the rhythm and tone of how the narrative is directed, how the story is

telling itself. It affects color palate, performance, stillness, music, editingeverything directorial.

Q: How did you choose the directors for other episodes?

MM: I think we have a lineup of really strong directors. Terry George, Allen Coulter, Phillip Noyce, Brian

Kirk, Mimi Leder. Their first question since all are very self-confident and artistically ambitious was

Whats the language, here? Whats the narrative form? Whats the film form? Each wanted to maintain

the narrative approach to how were making the show, how were telling these stories, and then within

that, challenge themselves to excel.

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Q: What does Nick Noltes character, Walter Smith, bring to the story?

MM: Nick plays a weathered Kentucky trainer with a lot of miles on him. He seems to carry a dark cloud

from his past, as if hes a refugee from a scandal thats filled him with regret that happened years ago. Its

implied but unrevealed in the pilot. I think the wonderful work that Nick did when he was talking to his

horse conveys with only attitude, not text, this dark shadow. Well learn in later episodes its about a

scandal that occurred in Kentucky years earlier. But Nicks understanding of Walter Smith and his history

is so total and specific that we guess some of the whole from the fraction of Walter telling his horse about

the horses father who was murdered and that for Walter theres no flight available from accountability.

Q: Why did you collaborate with HBO on this project?

MM: HBO does some of the best work not only in television, but in American entertainment generally. And

this has been one of the best experiences Ive had working with a studio. We may be in a golden age of

cable television, in a way, because HBO is both commercially successful with their business model and

their success is based on doing unconventional, edgy original dramas. Working with the folks there

Michael Lombardo, Richard Plepler, Sue Naegle and Gina Balian it doesnt get any better than this.

The executive producers of LUCK are David Milch, Michael Mann and Carolyn Strauss; co-executive

producers are Henry Bronchtein and Eric Roth; Dustin Hoffman serves as producer. The series was

created by David Milch.

LUCK premieres Sunday, February 20 at 9pm on HBO HD / 10pm on HBO. New episodes premiere

every Monday at the same time.

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Luck, HBO and Home Box Office are service marks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission.

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HBO LUCK - Interview With director Michael Mann