Many cinema auteurs have embraced television in recent years in ways they wouldn’t have considered 10-15 years ago. Others got their start in television before becoming known as cinema directors.
The one-and-only Michael Mann was one of the latter, famously beginning his career writing for shows like “Starsky & Hutch,” “Police Story” and “Police Woman” along with the telemovie “The Jericho Mile” before he jumped to the big screen with “Thief”.
Throughout the 1980s his name was synonymous with the “Miami Vice” TV series which he show ran, even as he directed the troubled “The Keep” and the iconic “Manhunter”. Then, when 1992’s “The Last of the Mohicans” broke through, he switched almost entirely to films – occasionally dabbling in TV such as with HBO’s short-lived “Luck” in 2011.
Now he’s back on TV with HBO’s acclaimed “Tokyo Vice” series which he produces and directed the pilot of. That series is set in Japan and focuses on an American crime reporter (Ansel Elgort) who attempts to embed himself in both the worlds of Japanese police and the criminal syndicate known as the Yakuza.
Mann recently spoke to the Emmys’ The Television Academy site about the show and says he has nothing but praise for the increasing amount of auteur-driven and top-tier television currently on air.
He goes on to shoot down arguments by those dismissing TV as being lesser than feature films, saying television can be “as boldly cinematic as theatrical films” and it’s really all about what pushes the narrative form forward in interesting directions. He says:
“To me, television was a different and very exciting kind of narrative. It occurred to me there was zero reason why TV couldn’t be as boldly cinematic as a theatrical film I’d make – like ‘Manhunter,’ for example.
Plus, I had stories I wanted to tell and was able to push them out there through forty-four hours of ‘Miami Vice’s first and second seasons. What a great release, especially episodes like ‘Golden Triangle’ or ‘Stone’s War’ or ‘Smuggler’s Blues.’
The way I regard television today is that when so much creativity is let loose, the results at the top get absolutely spectacular. I think what Adam McKay is doing with [‘Winning Time’] the LA Lakers show on HBO, and the marvellously talented Sam Levinson is doing with [HBO’s] ‘Euphoria’ is brilliant. It is serious work, and it seriously advances narrative form.”
Mann also touched upon the upcoming novel sequel to his 1995 crime drama opus “Heat” which arrives in bookstores in August. Co-written with Meg Gardiner, Mann says he’s itching to go beyond just the one follow-up book and plans to write more ‘Heat’ stories:
“I definitely plan on taking the story further. The character who dominates the last half of the book is Chris Shiherlis, played by Val Kilmer in the original movie. And his fate is left open-ended with him on the frontier edge of a new future. The ‘Heat’ film is a slice of who they are. I had the full spectrum of early life. So, the ability to tell their past stories and imagine their futures in a novel was exciting.”
It’s not clear presently if “Tokyo Vice” is a one-off or could get a follow-up season, or if there are any plans to film these “Heat” follow-ups. The first three episodes of “Tokyo Vice” are currently available on HBO Max.
