Wednesday, August 13, 2008

'Year Zero' More Than Just An Album


According to the Los Angeles Times, Trent Reznor has been in discussions with HBO about turning his "Year Zero" LP, and its companion alternate-reality game, into a two-season series.

"It's the most exciting thing on the horizon, [and] it's the thing that, when I wake up in the morning, it makes me say, 'God, it would be cool if that happened,' " Reznor told the Times. "This is my grand ambition. Will it happen? I don't know. It was fun sitting and telling [the HBO] guys and watching them shake their heads and having writers on board and producers that are into it. It's been a fun thing."

Long before the album's release, Reznor said he wanted to take the "Year Zero" concept even further and was toying with the idea of transforming the story into a graphic novel. He said he'd met with a number of companies, "but it didn't feel quite right." He then considered bringing it to the big screen, "but that has a different timetable and too many people need to say yes. That wouldn't line up right."

Reznor began mulling different types of media, hoping to create a more interactive experience. That's when he hooked up with 42 Entertainment, who'd developed an ARG for Steven Spielberg's "A.I.," and the result was the Year Zero game. Now he'd like to finish the story, which is where HBO comes in.

Reznor said he met with the network two weeks ago to discuss the project. And it sounds like a green-lit series could mean another LP.

"We would have a second ARG tying into the second album and [that] ties into the series, and they all happen together with a budget needed to pull that all off. There would be a tour down the road," Reznor said. "The record completes the story — the ending that no one knows. I know what happens. I knew when I started it. And it's not what people think."

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