Tucci and Buscemi Bring New Works to HBO

A report out on the hollywoodreporter.com yesterday has revealed that Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur, the stage a screen stars that also run the Olive Productions have, have established the company's first TV projects: a drama for HBO starring Tucci and an animated comedy for TBS that will be voiced by Tucci and Buscemi.

The projects will be co-produced by Lionsgate Television. 

The HBO drama, which is penned by "Six Degrees" co-creator Stu Zicherman, is a family drama with Tucci as a talented, formerly powerful politician trying to recover his career and relationships with family and colleagues after being caught in a scandal.  The project is still untitled. Zicherman, Tucci, Buscemi and Arthur are executive producing.

The TBS comedy, entitled "Good and Evel," is created by "Daria" co-creator and "The Colbert Report" writer Glenn Eichler.  The show involves twin brothers Jack Good and Bo Evel who are snatched by gypsy cab drivers at birth and raised to behave and drive badly. Bo becomes a career petty criminal, while Jack finds his conscience and attempts to repair his troubled brother and put his family back together.  The Gotham Group will be producing this project alongside Olive and Lionsgate. 

Said Lionsgate executive vp television Barbara Wall in the Hollywood reporter, "In just a few short months, our collaboration with Stanley, Steve and Wren has already yielded an exciting development slate, and these first two script orders are just the beginning," 

Buscemi and Tucci created Olive Prods in 2007 with Arthur, who had formerly worked with director Robert Altman for 11 years.

For the big screen, Olive has 15 projects in development. Two of them, "The Hunter," written and to be directed by Tucci, and "The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas," written and to be directed by Buscemi, are slated to enter production in 2010.

Stanley Tucci has starred in such films as "Road to Perdition," "The Terminal," "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," and "The Devil Wears Prada." He was most recently seen in "Julie & Julia" and will appear in the upcoming "Blind Date," which he also co-wrote and directed, and "The Lovely Bones." He is a two-time Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner and appeared on the comedy series "Monk" and in the TV films "Winchell" and "Conspiracy." He as appeaed on stage in SCAPIN, FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE (Tony nomination), EXECUTION OF JUSTICE, THE ICEMAN COMETH, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMIORS, THE MISANTHROPE, and THE QUEEN AND THE REBELS.

In addition to career-making roles in "Reservoir Dogs", "Fargo", "Con-Air" and "Ghost World", Buscemi gained prominence as a director following his feature debut, "Trees Lounge" and "Resevoir Dogs." From 2000-04, he was highly regarded for his work directing and acting in HBO's "The Sopranos" and, following his demise on the show, he resumed his average of five film appearances a year. He has performed with The Westbeth, PS 122, La Mama, and The Kitchen.

Wren Arthur is an actor, producer and film production executive who has worked on the films The Gingerbread Men, Dr. T and the Women, and Henry May Long, which he also produced.  He was the Executive Producer on Prairie Home Companion and worked in production on Robert Altman's hit Gosford Park.