Dustin Hoffman tries his ‘Luck’ in new HBO series
about the project and ready for her new role because she enjoys high school life. “The program will really make us laugh, but it will also teach a lot of lessons. Young people out there can really relate with this,” she added.
Ocampo then expressed her gratitude for Goin’ Bulilit, where she started doing comedy. “Direk Bobot Mortiz didn’t only train us to be good actors, he also instilled in us values that can be helpful in our careers,” she said.
Also in the cast are Bangs Garcia, Rhap Salazar, Alfred Labatos, Banjo and veteran comedians Joy Viado, Smokey Manaloto and Hyubs Azarcon.
Luv U premieres on February 19 after “ASAP Rocks” on ABS-CBN.
Luv U
HORSES. They are such incredibly gorgeous, majestic, graceful, strong creatures. I see them in the movies—seabiscuit, Secretariat, Kingdom of Heaven, Mame and Braveheart to name a few. Then there are the Westerns of which they are a staple. In the Lord of the Rings, there is a land called Rohan, whose flag is a white horse upon a green background. It is home to the horse lords, the Rohirrim—ruddy, proud, true-hearted, brave, generous and highly skilled when it comes to dealing with horses.
Horses have been a companion and a servant to man both in peace and in war. And while PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is against it, horses have been racing for ages form Central Asia to Babylon, Syria, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
Modern horse races had its origins in the 12th century when English knights came back from the Crusades with Arab horses. These continued to be imported and bred, and Jockey Clubs and Studbooks containing the lineage of horses emerged in cities around the world.
Horse racing today serves the backdrop for HBO’S newest series, Luck. For some people the races themselves are the pinnacle of excitement; but for others, there’s a whole world behind the scenes involving deal makers, horse owners, big business, trainers, agents, jockeys and gamblers with different backgrounds, skills, philosophies and driving forces.
Dustin Hoffman plays Chester “Ace” Bernstein—a man involved in gambling enterprises all his life. He’s fresh out of jail and has a mission of his own, beginning with a horse he purchased under the name of his right hand man Gus ( Dennis Farina). Also in the cast are Nick Nolte, Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), Jason Gedrick (Iron Eagle—those with a penchant for 80s pop culture will know what that is), and Kevin Dunn ( Transformers). Michael Gambon ( a. k. a. Albus Dumbledore) also has a guest role.
Executive producers Michael Mann ( Heat, Miami Vice) and David Milch (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Deadwood) personally worked on the pilot, and both continue to supervise the directing and writing on the show.
With the work of Milch, it’s a bit of a slow burn when it comes to getting to know the characters—how they are involved with each other and roles they play. And it’s challenging in that the characters don’t always make sense the first time you hear them speak. I suppose no one expects to be immersed in the nuances of this world in an hour.
If this show were a horse, the viewer must hold on to it and make an effort to get to know it to appreciate it fully. And if one must go based on track record, certainly Mann, Milch, Hoffman, Nolte and company are likely to deliver a satisfying return on your viewing investment.
Luck premieres on HBO Asia at 10 p.m. on Monday, February 20, with encores on Fridays at 9 p.m. Nine episodes run until April 16.