Mr. Winter has earned a richly deserved place in the pantheon of creative and artistic success stories, achieving many of his early Brooklyn-bred goals in his daring and groundbreaking efforts on landmark television programs. As executive producer, Mr. Winter helped change the very landscape of televised episodic drama with THE SOPRANOS, for which he also wrote 25 episodes and earned four Emmys (including one for the oft-cited favorite episode of many fans, "Pine Barrens.") Now guiding the indelible and historic HBO drama series BOARDWALK EMPIRE, Mr. Winter also recently flexed his cinematic muscles with the powerful screenplay for Martin Scorsese's THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. We are honored to have Mr. Winter join with moderator Jill Bernstein of Fast Co. for an intimate one-on-one conversation at NATPE 2014.
Moderator(s):
Jill Bernstein - Editorial Director, Fast Company
Speaker(s):
Terence Winter - Creator & Executive Producer, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, HBO
Q: Where are you right now?
Just finished up episode 5 of next season of Boardwalk Empire. So many writers that when someone comes in late, they literally don’t have a seat. It’s a lot of sitting around, eating Cheetos, figuring out what’s for lunch, then every now and then, “What would happen if we did THIS…?”
**Q: Satisfying season ending, leading up to series finale. **
Yes, we are exploring the end of Prohibition era, giving Nookie a back story.
Q: What have you learned from your years writing for TV, Sopranos, etc.?
People don’t like when you cut to black in middle of scene! [chuckles]
Gotta lot of flack at first, but then I asked people what they would have preferred to see instead...they seem to have accepted it now.
**Q: Binge watching is like a 13-hr movie...does that affect writing? **
I’m a Binge Watcher myself. In terms of how I approach writing, I always like to think of my stories like an epic novel, with the audience watching one chapter at a time. I actually like people watching in large doses. There’s no need to artificially remind people what happened last week when we do deftly written expositions.
Q: So many buyers right now for scripted content. Does it feel like the Golden Age for television? Is everyone sitting around, high-fiving each other?
[laughs]
Well I was somewhat in a bubble at HBO - but definitely feels like the Golden Age. There’s only so many great shows at any given time, so it’s easier for a show to get viewed that would NOT have necessarily gotten picked up before.
Q: There’s a trend now with shows going “straight to series” without a pilot. Is that good for writers?
It’s good for a show...but very risky. It allows you take your time telling a story with a slow build.
As a network though, it’s a huge gamble - but, it paid off for Netflix obviously...
Q: HBO is famous for being a constructive creative partner. Would you like to go at it yourself though, without anyone commenting, etc.?
Yes, of course. But, HBO’s comments are never born with fear; it’s more of a conversation. Always free to disagree and they back off. At the end of Season 2, when I killed off Michael Pitts, Network would have said “great” and then fire me. HBO loved the idea though.
Q: With Second Screen and Mobile...what are your thoughts?
I would honestly rather people pay attention and focus on the show as intended. Hopefully, I’m entertaining you enough without needing to do extra things on your phone. Obviously there are certain types of shows that have wish fulfillment - like audience would think it’s shitty if the couple doesn’t get together at the end. And with all the social feedback and the “tap if you want more’ type shows...it’s not a process I want to be involved in.
Q: How do you deal with feedback? Do you listen to it?
At first I did. But not anymore. There’s no water in that well. You could have a site only about cute kittens and there would be someone commenting “I hate these kittens!”
Q: How do you feel about Twitter?
Me using Twitter would be like giving keys to a drunk person. “Mm..I’m eating a cheese sandwich…” (Not all things need to be shared).
Q: Writers are more famous than actors lately. How do you feel about that?
Yeah, people used to know and respect your name but not always recognize you - so you could get away from crappy tips, etc.
Q: Lot of big actors in TV vs. film these days...where do you see the creative energy is, and what do you think you will be doing more of in the future?
I like the path I’ve been on...they are one and the same now anyway. I hope theaters still exist but wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t. I love the quote I received after Boardwalk Empire: “This show might forever blur the lines between film and TV.”
Features are great too but I got lucky with Scorsese - I’ve had other experiences where you hand in script then don’t ever hear back and don’t know what you will get.
**Q: What are you working on when Boardwalk wraps? **
Takes place in ‘73 in NYC - doing it with Scorsese and Mic Jagger. Also some of the writers from Breaking Bad. I’m basically waiting for my alarm clock to go off in the morning…[chuckles] During a time when punk rock and hip hop were invented, within blocks of each other.
It’s tough doing period pieces though; every line we have to be like, “Did people really say that?”...sometimes jealous of the Law & Order type shows, where they can just hop out of van and start shooting. We have so much prep involved - weeks of set up, research, etc., before we can start shooting.
