Mildred Pierce

Todd Haynes has spent his filmmaking career working far outside the mainstream - yet he seems surprised when a reporter refers to his new miniseries, HBO's Mildred Pierce, as surprisingly conventional for him.

Haynes points out that he did direct Far From Heaven, another "women's" picture, inspired by Haynes' love of the work of Douglas Sirk and 1950s-era melodrama. But that film offered a twist on racial and sexuality politics that Sirk could only deal with obliquely, even in films like Imitation of Life.

Still, Far From Heaven seems like an anomaly, an accessible entry in a filmography that includes the Sundance-winning (and homophobe-provoking) Jean Genet adaptation, Poison, and the conceptually challenging Bob Dylan homage, I'm Not There. But Haynes sees Mildred Pierce, based on the James M. Cain novel, as right in line with his other films.

"As I thought about it, I was thinking of revisionist genre films of the '70s," Haynes says, sitting in a small conference room at HBO, "and what it was that made those genres feel relevant again. Films like The Godfather, The Exorcist, Klute, Chinatown, Network and The Parallax View: They were drawn from the genre tradition, but they dressed down the stylistic telling of those traditions and genres.

"There's a pulled back quality to them that I liked. The audience feels like there's room for them to find things themselves in those films. The locations feel like real places with natural light. There's a relatability. I felt like, well, this is TV - I want people to feel drawn into the story and still feel respected as viewers."

Haynes' take on Cain's novel is faithful to the book, which makes it a departure from the 1945 film version, in which Joan Crawford was directed in the title role by Michael Curtiz.

"I admire the original as a beautiful piece of Hollywood product," Haynes says of the 1945 film, which departed significantly from Cain's plot.

Mildred Pierce Premiere

Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Melissa Leo Go to HBO

Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and the stars of "Mildred Pierce," the Todd Haynes directed HBO series based on James M. Cain's 1941 cult novel, walked the red carpet Monday to debut their new miniseries.

The series stars Winslet as a divorcee and single mother attempting to make ends meet while gaining her daughters' respect during the Great Depression. Joan Crawford starred in the 1954 film also based on the book and snagged a best actress Oscar her only Academy Award for the role.

Winslet arrived at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York in a black sheath with sheer polka dots down the left side. She posed for photographs with costar Pearce, who plays the fictional Pierce's second husband Monty Beragon.

Haynes co-wrote the script and directed the 2002 Julianne Moore movie "Far From Heaven."

Oscar-winner Melissa Leo, who plays Mildred's friend Lucy Gessler, made the scene and we like to imagine that she and Winslet discussed how to keep their Oscars so shiny.

Evan Rachel Wood, who stars as Mildred's disgusted and rebellious daughter, Veda Pierce, arrived in a plum-colored Elie Saab dress. Morgan Turner plays the younger version of Veda, while the adorable Quinn McColgan plays Pierce's younger daughter, Ray. Their father Bert Pierce is played by Brian O'Byrne, who posed for photographers with his on-screen daughters. Click the pics for more photos from the premiere.

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