QUICK TAKES - March 17, 2009

David Chase, whose series “The Sopranos” helped shape HBO’s reputation for high-impact dramas, is bringing another project to the network: a period miniseries about the birth and growth of Hollywood.

“A Ribbon of Dreams” will tell the story of two men with disparate backgrounds who get their start in motion pictures in 1913 working for director D.W. Griffith. The men -- one a college-educated mechanical engineer and the other a cowboy with a violent past -- ultimately work with the likes of John Ford, Bette Davis and Billy Wilder as they rise through the nascent film industry.

Chase will write and executive-produce the miniseries and direct the initial episodes, HBO said Monday. Paramount Pictures Chief Executive Brad Grey, who served as executive producer of “The Sopranos” with Chase, will also executive-produce “A Ribbon of Dreams.”

Separately, Turner Classic Movies also announced Monday that it was producing a 10-part documentary series with a similar theme: “Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood.”

-- Matea Gold