Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos documentary by Alex Gibney

Uncle Jun’s looking great at 93.

Edie Falco looks good de-butched.

I wonder when it will come to HBO. I’m watching The Sopranos right now, and watching The Talking Sopranos podcast as well.

[quote] Annabella Sciorra (Gloria Trillo, one of Tony’s mistresses): The actress mentioned how she learned after the fact that Chase wanted her for Dr. Melfi. Her agent at the time told the TV creator that the Jungle Fever actress wasn’t interested in TV. Turns out Sciorra was never given the note from Chase.

Huh? On Talking Sopranos, I recall her saying that she turned down (knew about the offer) the role of Melfi because she felt it was too old for her or something. I'm starting to think she's nutty.

[quote] Robert Iler, aka Tony Soprano’s son A.J., said it best Thursday night at Tribeca Festival’s 25th anniversary The Sopranos get-together: “Now my friends are going to shitty high school reunions and I’m going to cool stuff like this.”

He sounds like a douchebag and was one of the worst actors on the show.

R5 Yeah as he got older it kinda became apparent he wasn’t that talented of an actor. I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything else.

Such a fascinating series, I was completely hooked.

I miss James Gandolfini.

[quote] “Now my friends are going to shitty high school reunions and I’m going to cool stuff like this.”

He is the only free man on that train.

Seriously, he’s right though.

James Gandolfini was a sexy bear. RIP.

Yippee! They just announced that it will air on HBO Sept 7.

Can’t wait.

This came up on my YouTube feed. It's a compilation of Carmela's parents, Hugh and Mary DeAngelis. I never realized that these two were really good actors until I saw this compilation. Very hilarious, as well. I liked the interactions between Tony and Hugh.

I watched the whole doc last night. Surprisingly emotional, and Chase seems to have mellowed in his golden years. A lot of Gandolfini, and that's the best part of it. Some of the auditions for Tony and his Ma are hysterical.

Suzanne Shepherd, who played Mary DeAngelis, read for Livia Soprano.

I thought the show was highly overrated. Most episodes were boring.

Watching the documentary really made me want to watch the series again. (Friends of mine did a rewatch of The Sopranos last winter, two episodes/night, which somehow broke their DVD player). I watched the show faithfully as it originally aired and bought the DVDs -- which I've never watched (yet I've rewatched The WIre on DVD a couple of times). Maybe I'll take a deep breath and revisit Tone 'n' Cahm after I finish Homicide on Peacock (if the annoying commercials there don't piss me off first).

I’ve only seen the first part of the documentary but I enjoyed it.

Was that Jonathan LaPaglia reading for Christopher?

Funny enough. The original mail order Netflix allowed to me really get into the series. I started watching when the 5th season premiered. Then that summer I ordered all the original seasons on Netflix. I caught up by the time season 6 premiered and HBO has come out with its on demand service by that time so I could rewatch season 5. Ughh nostalgia.

I binge watched after seeing I'd missed most of the week long Labor Day airing, I can recite the first three seasons by this point. Loved this doc! Interesting how similar both Chase and Gandolfini are to Tony. Also found it interesting how Chase felt the role was 'too easy' for the actor. Loved seeing the casting videos, and this cast was perfect. (The way Drea annunciated that extra-ah, landing her the role of Adrianna, reminds me of how PJ Soles was cast for the way she pronounced 'totally' in Halloween.- sorry digressing).

Definitely worth watching, Chase is an interesting guy (his Italian uncles' stories, needs a show). I think he had said that the ending meant Tony was getting popped was partially to squash the show like a bug, people weren't moving on. I must be in the minority, I liked the ending. Also, thought that the attachment to the characters by Chase was interesting in their portrayal (Silvio and Ade) in the series. Great way to revisit this series, including the audio of Gandolfini in parts.

The actress who plays Charmaine looks fantastic, definitely has had work, but it was good work as she really looks great.

I highly recommend this. I also recommend the Talking Sopranos podcast, but it can be very irritating when Steve Schirripa went on his rants.

Forgot about this, Tony 'Paulie Walnuts' dedication to his hair is epic. Loved that, he WAS the character. An element that is also largely unique to this series (Ginny being another).

Any other comments? I haven't watched yet...

I love Alex Gibney he's one of the nicest, smartest people I've ever met and worked with. However, he has a woman that works for him that's a raving nasty bitch. Alex wake up she will destroy your brand!

^^Maybe she learned from Elizabeth Holmes when they worked on the Theranos documentary...

I SO loved Drea back then- and now I HATE that bitch. Imperioli, despite being a very stealth haughty snob- is actually on the right side of history, politics- and frankly has great taste in authors and actors. I wonder what he thinks of that cunt.

Edie seemed -distant- but that is how she survived it. She would never go down that road of partying again as a former addict-

It has been widely reported that she and Jim had a quick affair- I sense she has VERY deep feelings for that lovely man- You can see it in her eyes.. I found her very compelling-

[quote] She would never go down that road of partying again as a former addict-

Huh? People relapse all the time.

R27- Well she did not- I guess that's my point- She has that steely/steadfast determination-

[quote] Imperioli, despite being a very stealth haughty snob- is actually on the right side of history, politics- and frankly has great taste in authors and actors.

He’s perfect except for his state in interiors. I love the rococco nightmare of the apartment his Russian set designer wife decorated. It’s like something backstage at the Phantom of the Opera.

R16 I kind of agree. The first 3 seasons (39 episodes) were all great-to-very good, probably because they were shot on something like a regular schedule; the final 47 episodes were so scattershot, repetitive, and hit-or-miss, and took 6 years to film. As the show went along it became impossible to disguise how terrible Robert Iler and Jamie-Lynn Sigler were as actors, and we were treated to ever-increasing helpings of Janice, surely one of the worst characters in TV history.

R29- I was THIS CLOSE to mentioning their home that was on one of those Home Tour channels (I swear I found the video through DL)

Holy SHIT they both apparently think they are ladies of the manor- It looked so, so- uncomfortable and RED..

He really is a snob and a half, which I find really funny. Every bit the "artiste".

Here's the DL thread about Michael Imperioli's apartment, which was "designed" by his wife, who is a "designer."

I've watched every episode of Sopranos and Talking Sopranos. I didn't find Imperioli to be pretentious. My overall assessment of him was positive. He was necessary to balance out the oaf, Steve Schirripa.

He always tells this story, though, about the night he won an Emmy. He and his wife argued (I'm guessing both were drunk) and she threw the Emmy in the trash (telling him: you think you're so big).

He also said that he and his wife got married, on the spur of the moment, after a night of arguing.

I think his wife is ball-breaker and he likes it, for whatever reason. She sounds disrespectful and I'm guessing that all of her design "clients" are Imperioli's friends.

Imperioli was so hot during The Sopranos; in high school I'd watch the latest episode on HBO each Sunday and then jerk off thinking about him fucking me senseless.

R32 I assumed she is a theatrical designer, not an interior designer (apart from herself).