HBO: 'Girls' to film in Iowa City after all
The University of Iowa turned the HBO show Girls down last month when the cable network sought to film on campus.
But in a victory Thursday for fans of the show, Tobe Becker, HBO's vice president of media relations, confirmed HBO will be in Iowa City "at some point" to film for the show.
"I know there must be a lot of excitement and anticipation about this, but I do not have much in the way of answers," Becker said in an email. "Scripts are still being written and the pre-production efforts of our staff are in full force.
"The only thing I can say is that we hope to be in Iowa at some point; I have no details as to when or where. Nothing has been set or determined," she added.
Becker's comments come after Girls director Jesse Peretz told an entertainment website on Wednesday that despite the university's stance, the show will still be filmed elsewhere in Iowa City.
"Even if we can't shoot on campus, we will shoot around campus. Most of the scenes don't even take place on campus. So we'll probably cheat (with) some other campus for the campus. Some of it will be Iowa. A little more than a smidge," he told Vulture at a screening for Alan Partridge in New York.
Iowa City's potential role in the hit show emerged in a plot twist in the season three finale, which saw the show's main character Hannah Horvath — played by show creator Lena Dunham — accepted to the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the university.
Girls and UI are connected through one of show's writers, Sarah Heyward, who attended the workshop before moving to the West Coast to become a screenwriter.
On March 28, University of Iowa's Vice President of Strategic Communication Joe Brennan said he turned down HBO's request to film Girls on the UI campus because he felt the storyline would tarnish the reputation of the university.
"After reviewing the script, I felt the storyline placed the city and university in an unfavorable light, and considering the potential for disruption, I made the decision to deny the request," Brennan said, prompting dismay from members of the community who saw the filming as a financial boost for the area.
Peretz said he got a surprise when he actually started researching the college, having heard most about the writer's program. "…It's not quite as romantic as our Northeast idea of college, and I realized it's actually a big state university."