HBO Films Move On to Fill Another Void

When Home Box Office came into existence, its appeal was pretty obvious: movies, movies and more movies, with all the sex, violence, nudity and language normally expunged when they played on television.

Movies are still a big part of the pay channel’s mix, especially for those of us who can watch several minutes of “Gladiator” any time we stumble across it. Yet HBO soon realized that the channel would have to make its mark with original programs, both to stand apart from other movie services and to justify those $10 or $12 monthly fees.

“The Larry Sanders Show” was there relatively early on to augment boxing, concert specials and late-night nakedness, but for years HBO’s image largely rested on its made-for-TV movies. With racier subject matter and bigger budgets, the pay service earned the Emmy Award for best movie in seven straight years.

Its dominance became so vexing that the major networks began to question if HBO should be eligible at all, suggesting the clever slogan “It’s not TV. It’s HBO” confirmed that the channel plays in a different league.

Then along came “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City” and “Six Feet Under,” award-winning series providing network executives new reasons to seethe. HBO’s movies, meanwhile, quickly found themselves overshadowed, going from belle of the ball to less-than-beautiful stepsister faster than you can say, “Ba-da-bing!”

As a result, HBO’s latest challenge has been to redefine its movies. And while its series offer a counterpoint to the major networks, executives say the movies have seized upon a different niche--namely, the void left by a feature film industry whose emphasis on blockbusters leaves scant room for thoughtful, character-driven dramas.

“We saw ourselves at first as filling a gap in the then-TV movie business,” said Colin Callender, president of HBO Films. “Now we look at our movies as filling a gap in the motion picture business.”

Two recent productions underscore this approach: “The Gathering Storm,” a chronicle of Winston Churchill’s years out of power before World War II, which premiered last month; and “Path to War,” a $17-million production detailing the Johnson administration’s descent into the political quagmire of Vietnam, which makes its debut May 18.

Beyond being more complex than your average summer movie with a “II” or “3” affixed to it, both pictures sought to toe the line in terms of historical accuracy--avoiding the sort of liberty-taking that fueled controversy around such recent features as “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Hurricane.”

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss--having winced his way through “Thirteen Days,” “JFK” and “Nixon”--served as a consultant on “Path to War” and endorses the film’s faithfulness to historical record. He added that in a perfect world, film adaptations wouldn’t need to spin facts to make them more compelling. “I realize that is not too likely, mainly because the needs of drama and the needs of history are different,” he said.

HBO’s world might not be perfect, but the channel does possess certain advantages in that it doesn’t live or die by the tyranny of Nielsen ratings or weekend box-office receipts. Consider “The Gathering Storm,” whose most special effect is a flabby old Englishman (played by Albert Finney) frequently shown sitting in his bathtub. Its premiere drew only an estimated 2.7 million viewers.

Now, someone at NBC who ordered a prime-time series delivering that sort of audience or a film executive who had that many people turn out for a $100-million summer blockbuster would probably begin brushing up his resume.

HBO, however, defines success on its own terms. “Gathering Storm” generated glowing reviews and will be repeated again and again. Although tune-in was relatively small, the movie connected with a segment of the audience, just like boxing or “Real Sex” or a Britney Spears concert.

At HBO, the goal is not to reach everyone at once but rather to patch together a quilt that will leave various components of the subscriber base feeling satisfied. “We’re looking at different movies to speak to different parts of the audience,” Callender explained.

“Being freed up from the commercial pressures of the box office

Small wonder that HBO engenders so much sniping among broadcasters who speak enviously of an uneven playing field. When the rulebook allows for putting quality ahead of quantity, bunt singles can resemble home runs--a point even nonpartisans have noticed. As former NBC Chairman Grant Tinker observed during a discussion last week, “Programming HBO looks like a dream job.”

That said, the HBO movie appears to be at a crossroads, especially with the series amassing most of the headlines. Even the hugely expensive and ambitious miniseries “Band of Brothers” was less-than-overwhelming ratings-wise, given the investment.

If any of this has placed extra pressure on “Path to War,” no one at HBO is saying so, though hopes are clearly high. Though Beschloss would prefer seeing more people crack open a history book, he welcomes the meticulous care that has gone into the film, given the effect such projects can have on public perception. “Filmmakers are going to have a lot more influence on the way Americans see Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon than any historian, no matter how well the book sells,” he said. “That’s just a fact of life.”

An additional fact is that the major networks have cut back on TV movies at the same time the local multiplex is offering a dwindling list of options for those who were sentient for Johnson’s inaugural. All of that could bode well for the near-forgotten HBO movie, whose slogan could just as easily read, “It’s Not Your Latest Mega-Sequel Aimed at Teenagers. It’s HBO.”

Brian Lowry’s column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached at brian.lowry@latimes.com.