At this weekend’s inaugural Vulture Festival, David Milch sat in conversation with our TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz. Over the 90-minute discussion, Milch talked about his Emmy-winning work on Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue as well as his years as showrunner on HBO’s Deadwood. Milch also discussed at length, for the first time, a new dramatic work he is writing for HBO — “I’m working on a bunch of shows … But this one that I’ve brought a sample of is about Boss Tweed, who was a political figure in the late 19th century, ran Tammany Hall here in New York City, and was a thief of prodigious dimension. He was also very fat.” Milch then read a chunk of script, starting with a very Milchian moment of Tweed in jail, writing a letter:
“I’m an old man, broken in health and cast down in spirit. As to the charges standing against me, through unpublished statements, I’ve received some assurance that the vindication of principle and purifying of the public service are purposes you would have me serve. Recognizing further resistance as a futility, offering unqualified surrender and supplicating mercy, I herewith submit my testimony.
Tickets for the rest of this weekend’s Vulture Festival events can be found here. Come on out!