The mayor and city officials from the city of Oakland, Calif., are concerned about the production of HBO’s new pimp-themed show and what it may do to the city’s reputation, the San Jose Mercury News reports. “Gentlemen of Leisure,” an HBO series based on the 1999 documentary “American Pimp,” is scheduled to begin production in 2009, and while filming may help the local economy, officials believe the show may harm the city’s efforts to become a “model city,” the paper says. No official permits to film in the city have been issued yet, the newspaper says.
—Sergio Ibarra