“This is a world where nothing is solved. Someone once told me time is a flat circle. Everything we’ve ever done or will do we’re gonna do over and over and over again.”

”Audiences are demanding “complex, smart stories” as they become accustomed to “bingeing” on box sets, Kevin Spacey told TV executives in Edinburgh on August 22nd, 2013. Watch the lecture here. Looks like not only Netflix has been listening to Spacey’s wise words, HBO did as well. There’s hasn’t been a crime drama series in ages of whom I ‘binged’ more on then HBO’s “True Detective” starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The series is simply brilliant. If you’re new to the show, I recommend ordering (HBO-order-now) as off immediately. This post contains spoilers. The above 6-minute single one-take tracking shot with no edits is simply one of the greatest tension action scenes since Michael Mann’s 1995 Heat shoot out (Youtube). What a phenomenal feat of filmmaking. So incredibly smart from the Director to use a single one-take in this particular setting cause it adds so much more tension. How did they pull it off? READ HERE and HERE. Going back to Kevin Spacey’s lecture: “The audience has spoken: They want stories. They’re dying for them.”, the writing of HBO’s True Detective (Trailer) took that statement and turned it into a whole new ball game. Why? The series is written in an anthology format by neo-noir writer Nic Pizzolatto (Prix du Premier Roman étranger winner with 1st novel – Galveston), with the first season Directed by former pro snowboarder (article) and Anonymous Content talent Cary Fukunaga, Oscar winning Matthew McConaughey and 2-time Oscar nominated Woody Harrelson’s longtime real life friendship (shows on screen) and impeccable acting, Emmy nominated Adam Arkapaw acting as cinematographer, Alex Hall’s (Treme) perfect edgy editing and the thoroughly, deep, ubiquitous, grim southern Louisiana chosen atmospheric songs by Oscar winner T Bone Burnett’s (Crazy Heart) and Shari Johanson (Music Editor) (Spotfiy playlist). The narrative in the show jumps back and forth through time, with Detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Detective Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) telling their tale in the present, that we see in flashback. And so, the decision to immerse the viewer in that moment, with the cops going ‘off book’ and breaking every rule along the way. One of the examples of the brilliant writing: watch scene first here:  ”People out here, it’s like they don’t even know the outside world exists. Might as well be living on the fucking Moon. There’s all kinds of ghettos in the world. It’s all one ghetto, man, giant gutter in outer space.” and  “I consider myself a realist, all right, but in philosophical terms, I’m what’s called a pessimist. Um, okay. What’s that mean? Means I’m bad at parties. Heh. Let me tell you. You ain’t great outside of parties either. I think human consciousness was a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law. Huh. That sounds god-fucking-awful, Rust. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, this accretion of sensory experience and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody when, in fact, everybody’s nobody. I wouldn’t go around spouting that shit, I was you. People around here don’t think that way. I don’t think that way. I think the honorable thing for species to do is deny our programming, stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.” Best new show on television, damn good writing, nothing more to add, chapeau Steve Golin! ”The film industry didn’t believe that television could ever become its biggest competitor.” Point made Mr. Spacey. More Reads, Watches and Listens: teleplay of the pilot episode written by Nic Pizzolatto here (For educational purposes only), A “True Detective” Reading List here, Get an inside look at the making of the new HBO series here, Matthew McConaughey Talks True Detective here, True Detective Best Scenes – Youtube Channel here, A conversation with ‘True Detective’ director Cary Joji Fukunaga here, Cary Fukunaga talks ‘True Detective’ here, Art of the Title: True Detective (2014) here, Inside the obsessive, strange mind of True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto here, How did a novelist with only two screen credits get to create and run such an ambitious series? Article here, T Bone Burnett on how he chooses music for ‘True Detective’ here.