Trust me. I’d much rather speak with “Deadwood” actors W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority, left) and Jim Beaver (Ellsworth, right) under happier circumstances. But I had to see if they would confirm and react to costar Ian McShane’s claims that the Western’s set was being dismantled and that the show was, in fact, done.

In August, days after Brown used the metaphor of a horse, “lying trailside foaming at the nostrils and heaving for breath” to describe the state of the show to subscribers of his blog, he was more optimistic about the series’ return in an Aug. 23 MySpace message to me. But in responding tonight at 7:44 p.m. EST to my follow-up inquiry, he confirmed the report of the tear-down and predicted “Deadwood’s” demise:

I called Ian, it seems that it is true—the sets are being dismantled. It makes sense, HBO had a 5 year deal to lease the lot. We started in Oct. 02. Those five years are up. The earliest possible date to even start a DW film would be June 08, due to Ian’s schedule. The industry is fearing a possible strike that would start June 08. To keep leasing the property, set dressing, and costumes would cost at least a year’s rental. So… I guess the horse is dead.

Beaver responded to me, in the more traditional e-mail format, 21 minutes later. His take was just as grim:

I saw the McShane quote. I don’t doubt it. I have NO insights or special knowledge, but my sense of things is that it’s over. I talked to David Milch today. He mentioned he was working on a movie for HBO, but the tone of our conversation led me to believe it was completely unrelated to Deadwood. Funny, I didn’t even think to ask straight out, though. At any rate, my gut tells me that if the movies or a fourth season were going to be made, the announcement would already have been made. That’s just my gut. But Ian’s remarks didn’t surprise me in the least.

“Deadwood” actor W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority) just informed me that he couldn’t really inform me about a lunch he was supposed to have last week with costars Ian McShane (Al Swearengen) and Sean Bridgers (Johnny Burns).

On Aug. 20, Brown told readers of his MySpace blog about the pending lunch date: “If we concoct a new take on things, I’ll be sure to let you know. We best open a can of peaches…”

Well, the lid on the peaches might be open, but out of respect for his fellow diners, Dority’s keeping his shut for the most part. And I can’t say that I blame him, given all the attention his previous blog posts have drawn.

I messaged him today to see if anything fun, interesting or profound resulted from this get-together. He replied a few hours later:

“It ended up being a larger affair than (initially) planned with five cast members in attendance,” Brown wrote. “One of the first things spoken at the table was ‘Earl, don’t put any of this online…’ My lil blog caused a stir. My only hope is that the end result is a positive one. Only time will tell.”

W. Earl Brown (right), who plays Dan Dority on HBO’s “Deadwood,” sent me two MySpace messages Thursday to address recent exchanges with series creator David Milch.

“There is still a slight chance the show could come back,” Brown wrote. “I called Milch’s office regarding a separate matter (Thursday) afternoon. David got on the phone… his tone of voice about ‘the future’ was a bit brighter than it was when I saw him face to face. The word ‘Deadwood’ was never spoken, but it floated above every other syllable spoken. The next couple of weeks should let us know for sure.”

Brown’s assessment mirrors sentiments expressed on his MySpace blog Aug. 20, somewhat of a shift from the more pessimistic tone of his blog entry three days earlier. In other words, it might not quite be time to open a can of peaches, but it couldn’t hurt to at least dust it off.

On Aug. 17, Brown documented an in-person encounter with Milch shortly after HBO canned Milch’s “Deadwood” successor, “John from Cincinnati”: “I left David’s office with my optimism on the wane. It doesn’t look good, dear DEADWOOD fans, it doesn’t look good … That ain’t to to say the horse is completely dead yet. It is just lying trailside foaming at the nostrils and heaving for breath.”

In his Aug. 20 blog post, called “Further Musing on the Dying Horse,” Brown gave a nod to the reporters (ahem) who viewed his insights as news. He wrote: “As I sit here (Aug. 20), my hastily written (Aug. 17) blog has found its way onto the Web and into a few high profile, legitimate newspapers. Wow.”

I’m reasonably confident those other newspapers discovered the story because Remote Access’ scoop was promulgated by Google News, but that’s neither here nor there.

After the break, learn more about the struggles behind the scenes—including a supposed spat between Milch and “Deadwood” star Ian McShane.

W. Earl Brown, who plays Dan Dority on HBO’s “Deadwood,” just posted this disheartening update at 1:43 p.m. today on his MySpace blog:

Deadwood News
Current mood: disappointed

I had a meeting yesterday at an office complex where David Milch’s office is located. After completing my scheduled appointment, I stopped by David’s to say hello and see what was going on. Luckily, the Maestro was in. And well…

I had been very optimistic that we would be seeing more DEADWOOD episodes, at the least the two promised “movies.” I left David’s office with my optimism on the wane. It doesn’t look good, dear DEADWOOD fans, it doesn’t look good…

That ain’t to to say the horse is completely dead yet. It is just lying trailside foaming at the nostrils and heaving for breath. Once it is completely dead, I’ll try my damnedest to stop beating it.

Earl