Hbo

If you like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, you do not want to miss "Picture Paris," a quirky 30-minute film playing throughout the month on HBO. The film about a middle-aged couple trying to navigate the life passage they face as their last child leaves for college is written and directed by Brad Hall, husband of Louis-Dreyfus. She is in virtually every frame and appears to be having loads of fun playing a woman who becomes obsessed with all things French. At 30 minutes, don't expect a big film.

Overall, the Golden Globe nominations proved kind to made-in-Baltimore productions. HBO's political drama "Game Change" -- the story of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's 2008 vice-presidential run -- earned the most TV nominations with five: best TV movie or mini-series; best actress in a TV movie or mini-series (Julianne Moore); best actor in a TV movie or mini-series (Woody Harrelson); best supporting actress in a TV movie, series or mini-series (Sarah Paulson); and best supporting actor in a TV movie, series or mini-series (Ed Harris)

Baltimore's Pat Moran won an Artio Award from the Casting Society of America for her work on HBO's "Game Change," the locally-produced film about the 2008 presidential election. The awards, which are considered the most prestigious in the casting industry, were announced earlier this week in Los Angeles by the C.S.A. The "Game Change" award marks the third time Moran has been honored by her peers. She also won Artios for casting on "The Wire" series in 2003 and the made-for-TV movie "Something the Lord Made" in 2004.

Whatever happens Sunday night in Los Angeles, Baltimore is already a winner when it comes to this year's Emmy Awards. Last Saturday at the creative arts Emmys, which are awarded in off-camera categories, Baltimore casting director Pat Moran was honored for her work on HBO's “Game Change.” The film, which tells the story of the 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin, was made here in 2011 and brought top-flight TV production back...

I know we have become a nation of such short attention spans and long-term addiction to instant gratification that asking viewers to spend even an hour with a documentary that could change the way they see the world is probably a fool's errand. But this fool is asking -- no begging -- you to see "Hard Times: Lost on Long Island," an HBO documentary premiering at 9 Monday night and repeating throughout the month on HBO and HBO2. I have not seen anything on-air, online or in print that so deftly nails one of the most important and least reported stories of our economic and political lives in this presidential election year.

HBO Monday announced that it is picking up Aaron Sorkin's"The Newsroom" for a second season, along with "True Blood" for a sixth. I love the way "The Newsroom"  calls out the press for losing its sense of purpose. Some members of the press didn't like being called out that way. (See my other blog posts about "The Newsroom" to the left of this post.) A couple of pieces of very good news from HBO.  

UPDATE: I am going to be on CNN's "Reliable Sources" at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday discussing "The Newsroom" with Maureen Ryan, from the Huffington Post, and Adam Buckman, of Xfinity TV. The Aaron Sorkin series premieres Sunday night at 10 on HBO. This is one of the 20 best pilots of the last 20 years. Don't miss it. I have been thinking about the pilot for Aaron Sorkin's new HBO drama, "The Newsroom," for more than a week now. I screened it last week for a radio piece on WYPR-FM (88.1)

For the second week in a row, Baltimore got some prime-time, Sunday-night love on high-end cable TV. Two weeks ago, Lutherville got a mention on "Mad Men. " Granted, it was a throwaway line, but a mention is a mention in self-conscious Baltimore -- and its north county cousins. This Sunday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice got the shoutout on HBO's "VEEP," which is made in Maryland. The mention came when Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)