Boardwalk Empire

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

He's not a tough guy yet, just a businessman with no morals. He has yet to become a full out G yet, which is why Jimmy tells him there is no such thing as a "half gangster."

I think that having seen Reservoir Dogs 100 times, Buscemi is more than capable of playing a cold-blooded criminal.

Yup.

They are building the character up to be sympathetic. He really is a good man with good intentions but gets "caught up in the game" so to speak. He can't only be a half a gangster...he needs to be all the way in for it to work, or not at all.

It'll be something he wrestles with, for sure.

 

[NAHSTE]

Michael Corleone didn't start out as a gangster either. His chilling transformation to a bad guy is one of the greatest character changes in movie history.

I think Scorcese is going for a bit of that with the characters of Jimmy and Enoch. Jimmy is the war hero with an Ivy League brain, but since he did some dirt in Europe he's destined to become a ruthless hit man.

Nucky is just a profiteering politician, but he's about to become a calculating crime boss.

Awesome show so far.

 

[Maynard]

Wow...bold prediction. :shifty:

exactly...alot of Mark Sanchez fans in this thread

 

[Tailback U]

In some of the behind the scenes stuff that I've watched so far, Nucky Thompson was well liked by mostly everyone and was known to give money to everyone that helped him. Everybody knew where his money came from so he did his part by throwing everyone a few bucks here and there to make them happy. I don't know how much of a gangster he will become, it's obvious that he's dirty, but I don't know how dirty his hands will get. I think he'll develop more into a shot caller.

That said, I know nothing about the history of Nucky Thompson so I could be way off and he could be gattin niggas left and right soon.

 

[manchild24]

I personal thought the show was cool. I love AC and the gangster shit. I thought the part was cool when they are talking by the car and he tells Nicky is it that his name was Al Capone.

 

[Houston]

Ain't no such things as half-way crooks.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

In some of the behind the scenes stuff that I've watched so far, Nucky Thompson was well liked by mostly everyone and was known to give money to everyone that helped him. Everybody knew where his money came from so he did his part by throwing everyone a few bucks here and there to make them happy. I don't know how much of a gangster he will become, it's obvious that he's dirty, but I don't know how dirty his hands will get. I think he'll develop more into a shot caller.

That said, I know nothing about the history of Nucky Thompson so I could be way off and he could be gattin niggas left and right soon.

His real name is Enoch Johnson. Thompson is just to fictionalize the character.

 

[f16harm]

HBO just green lit the Second Season already today.

HBO/Showtime series have 12 episodes per season.

 

[Buzzman]

HBO just green lit the Second Season already today.

HBO/Showtime series have 12 episodes per season.

A lot seem to have 13 as well.

 

[NAHSTE]

Ain't no such things as half-way crooks.

Or, as Walter White learned in S3 of Breaking Bad: "No half-measures."

 

[BigBucs]

exactly...alot of Mark Sanchez fans in this thread

Says the guy who went out of his way to shit on the show halfway through. :bowrofl:

 

[Diivox]

Or, as Walter White learned in S3 of Breaking Bad: "No half-measures."

I liked the first episode, nothing extraordinary, but looking forward to the next one. Nucky's driver is a great character and I look forward to seeing him develop.

 

[strahanfan92]

OMAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tailback U]

You talking to me motherfucker?

 

[Maynard]

Says the guy who went out of his way to shit on the show halfway through. :bowrofl:

i didnt shit on it....i just thought it was dull and boring. but it picked up towards the end. i will watch episode 2 thats for sure

 

[strahanfan92]

You talking to me motherfucker?

LOL nah Omar from the Wire is the black dude in this show.

 

[nflman2033]

Very Good first episode I come to expect nothing short of that when talking about an HBO series. However I will say its no Sopranos, while it maybe unfair to compare after one episode, but if you go first episode vs first episode, it still doesn't win... However i must say my issue is probably due to my EXTREMELY high expectations for the show going in.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Very Good first episode I come to expect nothing short of that when talking about an HBO series. However I will say its no Sopranos, while it maybe unfair to compare after one episode, but if you go first episode vs first episode, it still doesn't win... However i must say my issue is probably due to my EXTREMELY high expectations for the show going in.

Haha I see Sopranos grew on you. I remember a few years ago, you werent very impressed at first.

 

[Diivox]

I hope Boardwalk empire doesn't have all the bullshit filler episodes that had nothing to do with the shows plot that The Sopranos did.

 

[Berowsk]

Actually i'm on the other side of the fence, as much as I like him Steve Buscemi doesn't do anything for me in this role. I liked the first episode, and will continue to watch, but Buscemi to me doesn't have the "balls" (for a lack of a better term) to believably be this character imo. I like the ohter castings but to me he's not a good enough 'tough guy'.

I really dislike Buscemi in this role. Nucky Johnson was a big dude, like 6'2" 250, IIRC. Buscemi makes him look like a physical pussy. The gambling scene where he knocks out the wife-beater would be much more believable if they cast a bigger dude in this role.

Don't look at one ep for this to happen...he'll have a slow, but very profound growth in the role as the gangster...it will be a slow transition from Enoch Thompson, politician trying to keep alcohol in his city through the prohibition era to Nukey Thompson the gangster.

Just like you are seeing the rise of Al Capone and Lucky Luciano in this as well.

It'll be fun.

It really is a well done show.

Yup.

They are building the character up to be sympathetic. He really is a good man with good intentions but gets "caught up in the game" so to speak. He can't only be a half a gangster...he needs to be all the way in for it to work, or not at all.

It'll be something he wrestles with, for sure.

Nucky Johnson was never quite a gangster. He was actually anti-drinking 100%, never touched alcohol until after his wife died. It was then that he became a drinker. He is still a common name in Atlantic City, especially in the black community. He used to specifically go to the north side of Atlantic City and hand out money to the less fortunate blacks of the era. He was a great guy with a kind heart, but was still a highly corrupt politician. My dad's newspaper is doing a whole lot of stuff on him right now for the series and when I texted him "I don't like Nucky, he's a dirtball" he just replied "fiction."

Here's my dad's commentary about the blog:

 

"For nearly 30 years, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson lived the life of a decadent monarch, with the power to satisfy his every want. ... Johnson was a product of Atlantic City who couldn't have flourished anywhere else."

Nelson Johnson

"Boardwalk Empire - The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City"

They don't make corrupt politicians like they used to.

Whether they're today's homegrown New Jersey politicians selling their souls for less than the cost of cheap boat or Illinois public officials auctioning off seats in government to the highest bidder, they typically are small thinkers. I remember uncovering a story as a young reporter of a city official who offered a lease to a developer in return for a new Cadillac. Call them the "Small Change Guys."

Nucky Johnson wasn't about small change, and he wasn't just corrupt. He was, in effect, the emperor of Atlantic City during his reign in the early 1900s.

In the coming weeks, we will focus on Nucky and the history of corruption in Atlantic City, guided in large part by Nelson Johnson's "Boardwalk Empire" book. HBO has fictionalized the book - for example, Nucky Johnson becomes Nucky "Thompson" - and has produced what many critics say is an outstanding series that debuts on Sept. 19. And know that it is fiction: HBO didn't film it in Atlantic City, and the Boardwalk is actually a replica built for the show.

Nucky was uniquely Atlantic City. But his greed and power-brokering predated him throughout the world and continues today, although in a far less ambitious way.

Our goal in providing a deep look at our local history isn't to glorify Nucky or celebrate what he did. The man and his antics should be repulsive to anyone who wants our democracy to work well and represent everyone equally. We also should look on in disgust at today's corrupt politicians who violate the public's trust.

Our goal is two-fold. First, we believe that to understand many of the problems of Atlantic City today, it's also important to understand the legacy of dishonest politicians and government leaders of past decades who set the tone. Second, we want to provide our readers with a solid framework of fact before they turn to HBO in mid-September to enjoy the fiction.

And Atlantic City has not been unique in corruption. Look no farther than Philadelphia.

Our coverage includes:

- A profile of Nucky Johnson and author Nelson Johnson on the front page today by reporters Dan Good and Michael Clark.

- The serialization of the first seven chapters of Johnson's "Boardwalk Empire" book, beginning today and running every Sunday and Wednesday into September. Rest assured that we are not sacrificing news content for the serial - we've added space to accommodate. Special thanks to Plexus Publishing Inc. of Medford, Burlington County, and its editor-in-chief, John Bryans, for accepting our idea and allowing us to use "Boardwalk Empire."

- A special one-hour television documentary, "Boss of the Boardwalk," about Nucky Johnson's life produced by The Press of Atlantic City. The documentary has the feel of one you might see on the History or Biography channels. Clark and Good, who has worked in the television industry, devoted many hours to its production. The debut is at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 and 1 a.m. Aug. 22 on NBC40 in Atlantic City. Click here to see a preview.

The documentary also will be rerun five more times through Sept. 19. In this endeavor our partner was Ron Smith, general manager of WMGM-TV (NBC40), who agreed the Nucky story is a good tale to tell.

- An online blog by Nucky Johnson about the HBO series. Well, not Nucky himself. He died in 1968. But reporters Clark and Good will blog about the series from what their research suggests would be Nucky's point of view. The goal of the blog will be to provide often fun and irreverent commentary on the series, but also the "true story" or history behind the fictionalization. It's now available at BoardwalkEmpireblog.com.

We also will be reporting on other aspects of the series, including the set design and the actors.

As always, if you have any thoughts on what we are doing, write me at nborowski@pressofac.com.

Neill Borowski is executive editor/content director of The Press of Atlantic City.

Here's the site: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/blogs/boardwalk_empire/

There's also a documentary about Nucky made by a few of my dad's workers. It's right on the page. Some really good information that will set up the series.