The news that Nikki Finke — the cantankerous trade blogger who traumatized and entertained Hollywood in equal measure with her vendetta-based brand of entertainment journalism — died Sunday at 68 dislodged a tidal wave of not-so-fond memories in this town.
Her reign of terror kicked into high gear when she moved her column Deadline Hollywood from L.A. Weekly over to Penske Media Corporation, owner of The Hollywood Reporter, in 2009; she walked away in 2013 after clashing with the ownership. During that time, Finke had grown so legendary that she even served as inspiration for an HBO dramedy.
Tilda was co-conceived by Dreamgirls director Bill Condon and Tell Me You Love Me creator Cynthia Mort. It featured a starry cast, headlined by Diane Keaton as Tilda Watski, a character based on Finke’s persona; and Elliot Page, who played a studio assistant who gets ensnared in her web.
I was brought on in 2010 as a consultant during pre-production on the pilot to help with authenticity, having worked as an online Hollywood journalist. But Mort departed the project before the pilot even shot, citing creative differences. Then HBO had issues with the finished pilot and wanted it rewritten and partly reshot.
At that point, I was asked to join a very intimate writers room as one of four writers working out the show’s kinks in the hopes of securing a green light. Leading the team was John Hoffman, who would later go on to success on shows like Grace and Frankie and, more recently, Only Murders in the Building, which he co-created with Steve Martin.
After nearly a year of brainstorming, writing, rewriting and retooling, HBO ultimately passed on Tilda in 2011. I caught up with Hoffman to reminisce about the Nikki Finke show that never was.
So let’s relive Tilda, because everyone’s very curious about it. Where do we start? How did you get pulled into it and whose idea was it?
I had been in a small writers group with Bill Condon, Ryan Murphy, Jennifer Salt, just a small group of us during a very formative period of time in all of our careers. And in that moment, Bill and I were talking about Nikki Finke and all of that. I wasn’t so sure about doing it then. So he linked up with [Tell Me You Love Me creator] Cynthia Mort, and that became the thing that went forward at HBO. And then there were creative differences between Cynthia and Bill after and through the shooting of that pilot.
Do you remember what the differences were or what the issue was?
I think it was literally the approach to the material. Suddenly it felt very different for them as they were in production. I think it was fairly explosive — because when you’ve got two creators working on something and then one puts their hands up and walks away, it has to be. It was a challenging moment for everybody, Bill particularly.
That was when he brought me in, because I had been developing at HBO for several years by then. So they knew me well enough, and Bill knew me well enough, and I had been privy to the history of development on the project through my writers group with him. So I had a head start, and I had been giving him things to think about — maybe do this, maybe do that.
I had seen the pilot, a rough cut: “Oh, you’re in good stead.” And the cast was so extraordinary. So I had a head start. Then it was our little mini group with you. Bill said, “This is what I would like to do, is bring someone from the journalist side in the real working world of this, and then get a couple of episodes [written].” HBO made a deal to make a few episodes.
I wrote the second episode. And then Alexa Junge (Friends, Grace and Frankie) was the other one, who wrote the third episode. And we were all working together as a potential beginning of a writers room. You and me and Alexa and Bill. Was there anybody else?
[Six Feet Under producer] Alan Poole was involved.
Yeah, he was the non-writing producer who was trying to hold the whole thing together still and keep HBO moving forward with everything when it became challenging with Cynthia.
And I remember [The Player screenwriter] Michael Tolkin came in. As an advisor.
Oh, hello. Yeah, no, that’s true. You’re right. He was more involved actually. He was definitely in that mix as well. It was all of a piece. He was going to be in that room too, so it would’ve been you, me, Michael, Alexa, Bill, with Alan producing as well.
Now, where did Nikki Finke fit into all of this?
That’s a great question. We’ve all been around development projects inspired by some famous entertainment person. And the stories are aplenty. So she didn’t fit into the mix at all, basically. You couldn’t ever approach her and attain something she wouldn’t be all over and trying to control. That was our imagining at least. So Tilda was inspired by her. We had to leap off of what our imaginings were. There was a mystery all around Nikki and her past, and who she really was and what her life was like. The agoraphobia and the things that she was hinting at here and there. And the wicked wit and the brilliant sort of repartee within the writing felt intriguing to create your own version of. That’s what I think we were doing. We were extrapolating.
The way I remember it is that public-facing she was saying, “Oh, this is stupid, and I don’t want it to happen.” But that behind the scenes, she really did want it to happen.
Yeah, I think you’re right. That is true. I think when she would reference it, if she did, it was to poo-poo and to diss. Yet, I think you’re right, she wasn’t suing. There was some sense of, “Oh, there’s no pushback, really.” And, yes, we were going to make her legend.
Right, exactly. It was going to just further mythologize her, which was all she was interested in. But HBO never paid her off or made her a consultant, anything like that?
I can’t say for sure if there wasn’t some tacit, quiet agreement that way. I don’t know. But it wouldn’t be beyond the imagination for something like that to happen. You want her on your side in some way. So maybe there were discussions. I can’t imagine with her access that she wasn’t connecting with some HBO executive to let them know what she thought. Yeah, it’s easy to imagine there might have been some connection that way.
And it was close to a year of developing and rewriting and bible writing, waiting for this series pickup … or a pass.
God, was it ever. This is where the heartbreak comes. It was the devastation you referenced in your Twitter post. Yeah, it was getting really granular, and we had to imagine the whole first season. We broke a lot of the first season of that show in order to get the episodes done that we were talking about. Alexa Junge and I were up all night sometimes in my office. It was a long haul.
And didn’t the pilot get re-shot? They wanted big changes to the pilot. They wanted to recast Jason Patric. And then Tim Curry was going to become a series regular.
Yes. Oh my God, yes. Bill loves Tim. And also, I believe there was more of a bigger, deeper storyline for Elliot Page.
Now, one thing that was really cool, as I recall, is that it was very forward-thinking in terms of the encroachment of tech on Hollywood.
Yeah. That was there. It wasn’t my particular oeuvre, but it was why I remember Tolkin was so valuable too, and you as well. That side of the business and where we were going and being forward-thinking in what it all portended to was critical. And that was exciting about the project. Beyond it being just a great character study — what Diane was doing there felt really new for her. I think we were onto something that people hadn’t touched.
I mean, this was all pre-Netflix, pre-streaming, and yet it was definitely looking in that direction.
Absolutely. There were scenes in the pilot that were absolutely all about that and the immediate graveyard that was happening for anyone not looking that direction in the business. You’re reminding me, yes. That was one of the more thrilling parts about it.
And then were you privy to any of these conversations with HBO where they were sitting on the fence? Did they ever give a reason?
I was. It was a real struggle, I know. I believe it was [former HBO president of programming] Mike Lombardo [overseeing the project]. So we had meetings there. [And we were always trying to gauge,] “What’s the tone of the meeting? What’s the tone of what’s happening?” We wanted to get a vibe of like, “How close are we?” Are they doing all of this with the real wish to make the show work and go forward? Or are they doing this because of the auspices they’re dealing with? Because they loved Bill and they loved Diane, and they loved everybody, and they want to show best efforts, but ultimately we were facing an uphill battle.
[Former president of HBO Entertainment] Sue Naegle was there, as well. I could be wrong, but I feel like there was a divide between Sue and Michael on the project. And that’s not helpful.
I am often asked, “How can I see the pilot?” So, do you know whatever happened to it?
I know I have a copy somewhere around my office. I’m like a crazy hoarder. I keep it all, and it’s scary in there, but I have to find it.
Everyone wants to see Diane as Nikki.
I know, right? In my memory, what excited me was this leap into the darker parts of Diane that she can create, that Looking for Mr. Goodbar side of her that no one had seen in a while. It was sour and bitter and crusty and great. That’s what I remember at least.
I remember watching her film the pilot and being so amazed at what she was doing with the character. And the show had Wes Bentley and Sanaa Lathan and Elliot Page. I mean, it was quite a cast.
It’s an amazing cast. Amazing cast.
Wasn’t meant to be.
I know. Wasn’t meant to, although it’s so crazy. It still comes up. That project is still in the memory for a lot of people. It surprised me when she died that it got brought up so pointedly. Honestly, it did. But yeah, I think that was a lost opportunity. Dammit, Seth. Right? But we’ve made do. We’ve made do.
Source: Hollywood
