Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger dreamed up a movie 20 years ago with plans to detail the history of the music business. Eager to finally put his plan in motion, Jagger enlisted the help of Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese to make his longtime vision come to life. Realizing that they couldn't squeeze the history of music into one film, the project went forth with crafting a new HBO rock drama, Vinyl, which takes viewers directly into the heart of New York City streets in the '70s.
"It was very sprawling," Jagger told Rolling Stone. "And as TV became more refined and exciting and interesting to make, we decided to do it as a series."
Vinyl debuts on HBO in February, featuring Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Wilde, Paul Ben-Victor, P.J. Byrne and more.
Centered in New York city during 1973, the show follows Cannavale's character Richie Finestra, president of a record label with a growing cocaine habit and a crumbling marriage. The role called for the 45-year-old actor to study music history by delving into books like Hit Men and Love Goes to Buildings on Fire. Furthermore he "spent a lot of time with the right people," which includes frontman of the New York Dolls David Johansen and Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye. "It's not like researching a cop show," Cannavale continued.
Wilde recently reflected on a time where she tried bossing around the Rolling Stones legend as a child. "I was probably 10, maybe a little younger, and he was sitting in my seat at the dinner table," Wilde told People. "I came in and demanded that he get off my chair. He told me to go to bed, which was hilarious at the time, even more hilarious now that he's my boss."
Naturally, the Scorsese directed series explodes with the trifecta of violence, drugs and sex--which brings fourth a performance by Andrew Dice Clay as an unbalanced redio executive. The show comes complete with flashbacks, introducing viewers to the blues music Cannavale's character became enthralled with when beginning his wild venture into the music business.
Jagger explains the streets of New York during that time period as "a pretty raunchy place."
"I like the milieu," he added. "[The show] was always going to be set there. You do your research and your research colors your memory."
