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Michael Douglas as the glittery Las Vegas pianist, Liberace, and Matt Damon as his young lover -- only HBO could have brought "Behind the Candelabra" to TV with this much style and care. Douglas, an Oscar winner, is something to behold in this role. Damon is rock solid. Steven Soderbergh directs, and the supporting cast is a jaw dropper by made-for-TV standards. Above is a a podcast preview I did with WYPR-FM (88.1) in Baltimore. Enjoy this holiday treat from HBO. I did. "Behind the Candelabra" premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday (May 26)

One of the delights of summer is the HBO documentary series executive producer Sheila Nevins delivers. I have only seen the first two films this year, but I like them both. I love "Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer," which launches the series at 9 tonight. It's a look inside the feminist Russian art collective, its "Punk Prayer" protest in a Moscow cathedral and the trial that followed. The film reminded me as nothing else has in the last 40 some years what it felt like to be 18 years old in 1968 and hear the siren call of a cultural revolution.

One of the delights of summer is the HBO documentary series executive producer Sheila Nevins delivers. I have only seen the first two films this year, but I like them both. I love "Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer," which launches the series at 9 tonight. It's a look inside the feminist Russian art collective, its "Punk Prayer" protest in a Moscow cathedral and the trial that followed. The film reminded me as nothing else has in the last 40 some years what it felt like to be 18 years old in 1968 and hear the siren call of a cultural revolution.

HBO's Liberace film "Behind the Candelabra" was the highest rated premiere of a movie in the last nine years on the premium cable channel. And that's covering some very impressive ground, like "Game Change" and "You Don't Know Jack," to name a couple of made-for-TV movies on HBO in recent years. The first showing of the film at 9 p.m. Sunday drew 2.4 million viewers, according to Deadline. The last time any film did better was in May of 2004, when "Something the Lord Made," which was filmed in Baltimore, premiered to 2.6 million.

CAPITOL HEIGHTS - His ribs bruised from a brutal session with Baltimore heavyweight Hasim Rahman three days earlier, Mo Gray was the only one of four sparring partners to show up. But then Gray also begged out of last Thursday's workout. "Rock's hitting harder, he's slicker. Been banging on us pretty good," Gray said of Rahman. "You can't get in there with him anymore." So the 6-foot-3, 240-plus- pound Rahman inflicted five painful rounds upon his brother, Munir Ibn Cason, 24, who could no longer hide from big brother as he sometimes did as a child.

"VEEP," the HBO political satire starring Julia-Louis-Dreyfus, started production Monday on location in the Baltimore area, Gov. Martin O'Malley and the cable channel said. The Maryland Film Office estimates that the first season of the series will result in 2,000 jobs for crew members and actors and $25 million in economic impact for the state. The estimate is based on HBO doing five weeks of prep and eight weeks of filming here on the seven episodes yet to be made for season one. The producers will also be purchasing and renting goods or services from hundreds of Maryland businesses, according to the film office.

"Just, Melvin: Just Evil" is just an incredibly intense television viewing experience. In fact, it is so intense I found myself wondering during the HBO documentary, which tells the story of a man so depraved that he forced himself sexually on his own children when some were as young as 3 years old, whether this should even be on Sunday night prime-time television. After much thought, I say not only should it be on, but HBO should also be commended for airing it right after "The Sopranos" tomorrow night, giving it the best chance for an audience of several million viewers.

Will Ravens training camp -- and the Harbaugh brothers storyline -- be under HBO's spotlights this summer? FOXSports.com reported that HBO is interested in the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers for this year's season of “Hard Knocks,” its documentary-style training camp series. John coaches the Ravens and younger brother Jim coaches the 49ers -- a dynamic that would surely draw in viewers. But would the interest be mutual? “I am not aware of any request in regards to 'Hard Knocks,'” Ravens director of media relations Chad Steele told The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday afternoon.

Handbags and the City, a designer purse store in Baltimore's Harbor East, is changing its name under threat of legal action from the HBO-show-turned-movie. In a few weeks, it will become Handbags in the City. Not since the art school formerly known as the Maryland Institute, College of Art morphed into Maryland Institute College of Art has so much Sturm und Drang wrought such a subtle name change. George Sakellaris opened his shop about two years ago near Whole Foods, selling the sort of pricey bags that might inspire Carrie , Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda to open same.

ABC continued its Sunday-night dominance with Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, despite the competition offered by the return of The Sopranos. But the eagerly awaited opening episode of the celebrated mob drama appears to have cut into ABC's margin of victory a bit. Desperate Housewives, seen by 23.2 million viewers on average, drew an audience of 22.2 million Sunday in its first head-to-head match-up with The Sopranos. That's a drop of 4.3 percent. Among viewers 18 to 49 years old, the most important demographic to advertisers, Desperate Housewives was down about 10 percent from its average for the year.

Michael Douglas as the glittery Las Vegas pianist, Liberace, and Matt Damon as his young lover -- only HBO could have brought "Behind the Candelabra" to TV with this much style and care. Douglas, an Oscar winner, is something to behold in this role. Damon is rock solid. Steven Soderbergh directs, and the supporting cast is a jaw dropper by made-for-TV standards. Above is a a podcast preview I did with WYPR-FM (88.1) in Baltimore. Enjoy this holiday treat from HBO. I did. "Behind the Candelabra" premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday (May 26)

Only three years ago, Baltimore and Maryland were all but out of the TV and film production business. After the glory years of “Homicide,” “The Corner,” “The Wire” and tens of millions of HBO dollars spent here on Maryland crews and materials, state funding for incentives had ended, and Hollywood had left Baltimore in its rear view mirror for what looked like good. But last Monday, Media Rights Capital and Netflix were back in town with stars like Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and all those big, white Haddad's trucks to start filming season two of “House of Cards,” a series that last year had an economic impact of $140 million on the area, according to the Maryland Film Office.

On Wednesday, HBO renewed the Baltimore-made sitcom "VEEP" for a third season. That means the series, which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President Selina Meyer, will be producing another 10 episodes in the Baltimore area next year. That's good news for the local economy. During its first season, which consisted of eight episodes, "VEEP" hired 978 Marylanders for cast and crew and did business with more than 1,100 Maryland vendors, according to the Maryland Film Office. Here's the release from the premium cable channel: HBO has renewed the comedy series VEEP for a ten-episode third season, scheduled for 2014.

"Deep" and "sitcom" are not words often used in the same sentence. But a visit to the "VEEP" soundstage in Columbia gave a glimpse of the larger cultural power of this savvy satire from HBO, returning for its second season Sunday night. I also came away dazzled by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who last year won an Emmy as best comedic actress for her portrayal of Vice President Selina Meyer. "VEEP" drills as far down into the state of the national psyche as any TV comedy has in the past 30 years.

Executive producer Barry Levinson urges viewers to think of his HBO film "Phil Spector" as a two-person play - not a docudrama about the first murder trial of the rock producer. "It really is a two-person piece," Levinson said in a telephone interview last week. "And if you're looking for some kind of docudrama, which we are more familiar with on television, this isn't it. " The two persons, Academy Award-winners Al Pacino as Spector and Helen Mirren as his defense attorney, Linda Kenney Baden, can fill a screen like few others.

What a great weekend: HBO sent a screener for "Phil Spector," a made-for-TV movie about the legendary music producer, starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren. Barry Levinson is the executive producer, with David Mamet as writer and director. That enough talent for you? David Mamet, whose "Glengarry Glen Ross" is made of the same fine angry American genius as Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," and he's writing and directing a Sunday-night made-for-television movie on HBO. Talk to me some more about how TV dumbs down the culture.

HBO renewed its two new Sunday-night comedies 'VEEP' and "Girls' for a second season, and that's great news for the Baltimore TV and film production community. HBO made the announcement Monday afternoon via Twitter: "We're happy to announce #Veep and #Girls have both been picked up for a second season. @GirlsHBO. " The second season order on "VEEP" is for 10 episodes, which should mean about $15 million to the local economy.   I predicted an announcement within days after seeing the premiere week ratings for "VEEP.

Maryland is no stranger to movies and TV, but with the filming of the HBO political drama "Game Change" here, our small state has taken on its toughest role ever -- Alaska. Yet production designer Michael Corenblith and set decorator Tiffany Zappulla weren't intimidated. Challenged to film a scene at the Alaska State Fair for the docudrama about the 2008 presidential election, they headed to Six Flags America near Bowie. They found a rollercoaster that looks just like the one up north and tracked down a 9-foot stuffed grizzly from an antiques store in Easton to evoke the vibe of a real Alaskan midway.

"VEEP," the Baltimore-made political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, will start its second season April 14, HBO announced Monday. Here is the release from HBO:             The Emmy®-nominated comedy series VEEP kicks off its ten-episode second season SUNDAY, APRIL 14 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Created by Armando Iannucci (Oscar® nominee for co-writing “In the Loop”), the show stars Emmy®-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, who becomes vice president, only to discover the job is nothing like she expected, but everything she was warned about.

The worlds of Baltimore and TV politics met Thursday when HBO's "VEEP" came to City Hall. The series that stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus is filming season two in and around the city. "It was a thrill to visit the VEEP set today," Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "This show, along with others recently filmed in Baltimore, are a boost to our economy and our sense of pride in the city. It will be great seeing our historic chamber on TV. "