Martin Scorsese is in negotiations to make a rare foray into television by directing HBO's drama pilot "Boardwalk Empire," which chronicles the 1920s origins of Atlantic City.

Scorsese already is an executive producer on the project, along with actor Mark Wahlberg.

After HBO gave the green light to the adaptation of Nelson Johnson's book last month, there had been some speculation that Scorsese might take the helm, but given his busy schedule, that was not easy to pull off. "Boardwalk" marks Scorsese's first foray into drama series; his only other TV directing credit is one episode of Steven Spielberg's mid-'80s anthology series "Amazing Stories."

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