The Sopranos, The Vanity Fair Oral History

Kaufman of her influence, Kaufman became involved in the characters' psychological development. Strangely enough, these fictional characters have, in fact, behaved in the way she predicted they might, even though we might have forgotten she ever wrote it. I thought he hated my audition, because David's a poker-faced guy," Imperioli told Vanity Fair in Chris-ta-fuh's better half almost didn't make the cut, either.

Drea de Matteo was brought in to read for the role of Adriana La Cerva during the initial round of casting, but, according to de Matteo, Chase "didn't think she was Italian enough. It wasn't until after the series was picked up that de Matteo became the Adriana we all know and love. According to the Los Angeles Times , his rap sheet was longer than his acting credits: And as both Sirico and Chase tell it, the similarities between Sirico and his character didn't end there.

Paulie's neat-freak tendencies and unusual living arrangements were transferred directly from Sirico's real life to the screen. David knew that going in. That became one of my story lines," he told Vanity Fair. David Chase and the Sopranos producers worked with a technical consultant, New York assistant district attorney Dan Castleman, to fully understand the way the real mob made their money. According to Castleman, Tony Soprano's estimated net worth was 5 to 6 million dollars—but this number often fluctuated due to Tony's gambling habits. When Schirripa got his first script, and saw all the fat jokes Tony directed at Bobby, he thought he had been miscast—he was barely larger than Gandolfini!

But a couple days before filming began, he was fitted for his fat suit, which he wore for the first few seasons. The Bing, however, was no studio creation. And on the wire taps they'd collected from the weekend, that's all the real-life mobsters could talk about as well. Terence Winter told Vanity Fair , "We would hear back that real wiseguys used to think that we had somebody on the inside. They couldn't believe how accurate the show was. According to Edie Falco, the cast staged a sort of "Occupy Vesuvio" sit-in that shut down the set. Were you shocked to see Sil whack Adriana in season 5?

So was Drea de Matteo. De Matteo told Vanity Fair that David Chase had the cast and crew film two different versions of the dramatic episode: According to de Matteo, this practice of filming multiple versions of the same scene to keep the cast and crew guessing along with interviewers and fans was a common occurrence.

Originally, David Chase wanted to use a different song during the opening credits of each episode, but the other producers convinced him otherwise. Oblivious to the fact that his song would one day become synonymous with Jersey mobsters, Alabama 3 frontman Rob Spragg wrote the song after hearing about the murder trial of Sara Thornton, who stabbed her alcoholic husband to death after suffering years of domestic abuse at his hands.

As Tony exits the Lincoln Tunnel on his drive from New York to his Jersey 'burb, the twin towers can be seen in his rearview mirror in a bit of Hollywood magic, since the World Trade Center isn't actually visible from the Lincoln Tunnel's exit. This shot was removed beginning with the first episode following the terrorist attacks on September 11, It would continue to be nominated every year it was eligible, winning again for its final season in The famous cut-to-black—and impeccably truncated version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"—in The Sopranos finale is heralded as one of the most shocking, and controversial, cliff-hangers of all time.

Does Tony get shot?

Does he get arrested? Or does the whole family finish their sundaes and go home? No one but David Chase can say for sure. You remember some little details and something catches your eye and that's it. You don't know the aftermath because you're gone. Oskar Schindler, a Nazi party member, used his pull within the party to save the lives of more than Jewish individuals by recruiting them to work in his Polish factory.

In October , Australian novelist Thomas Keneally had stopped into a leather goods shop off of Rodeo Drive after a book tour stopover from a film festival in Sorrento, Italy, where one of his books was adapted into a movie. Page gave Keneally photocopies of documents related to Schindler, including speeches, firsthand accounts, testimonies, and the actual list of names of the people he saved. Page whose real name was Poldek Pfefferberg ended up becoming a consultant on the film.

Gosch told the story to her husband, who agreed to produce a film version, even going so far as hiring Casablanca co-screenwriter Howard Koch to write the script. Koch and Gosch began interviewing Schindler Jews in and around the Los Angeles area, and even Schindler himself, before the project stalled, leaving the story unknown to the public at large.

Seven lists in all were made by Oskar Schindler and his associates during the war, while four are known to still exist. Eventually the studio bought the rights to the book, and when Page met with Spielberg to discuss the story, the director promised the Holocaust survivor that he would make the film adaptation within 10 years.

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You are a subscriber but you have not yet set up your account for premium online access. Add your preferred email address and password to your account. Chase had been fascinated by organized crime and the mafia from an early age, witnessing such people growing up. He also was raised on classic gangster films , such as The Public Enemy , and the crime series The Untouchables. The series is partly inspired by the Boiardo family , a prominent New Jersey organized crime family when Chase was growing up, and partly on New Jersey's DeCavalcante family. Chase and producer Brad Grey pitched The Sopranos to several networks; Fox showed interest but passed on it after Chase presented them the pilot script.

During this time, Chase considered asking HBO for additional funding to shoot 45 more minutes of footage and release The Sopranos as a feature film. In December , HBO decided to produce the series and ordered 12 more episodes for a episode season. The Sopranos was the second hour-long television drama series produced by HBO, the first being the prison drama Oz. North Jersey prosecutor and municipal judge Robert Baer filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Chase in Trenton, New Jersey federal court, alleging that he helped to create the show.

Baer lost the suit, but he won a ruling that a jury should decide how much he should be paid for services as a location scout , researcher, and story consultant. Baer argued that he had introduced Chase to Tony Spirito a restaurateur and gambler with alleged mob ties and Thomas Koczur a homicide detective for the Elizabeth Police Department , with whom Chase had conducted interviews and tours which strongly inspired some characters, settings, and storylines portrayed in The Sopranos.

Like the characters they portray on the show, many of the actors on The Sopranos are Italian American. Many cast members had appeared together in films and television series before joining the cast of The Sopranos. The series shares a total of 27 actors with the Martin Scorsese gangster film , Goodfellas , including main cast members Lorraine Bracco , Michael Imperioli , and Tony Sirico.

The main cast was put together through a process of auditions and readings. Actors often did not know whether Chase liked their performances or not. I thought, I'm not getting this. So he said, 'Thank you,' and I left. I didn't expect to hear back. And then they called.

She took the role of Dr. Jennifer Melfi instead because she wanted to try something different and felt the part of the highly educated Dr. Melfi would be more of a challenge for her. Van Zandt, who had never acted before, originally auditioned for the role of Tony Soprano but HBO felt the role should go to an experienced actor. After the breakthrough success of the show, many cast members were noted for their acting ability and received mainstream attention for their performances.

Series creator and executive producer David Chase served as showrunner and head writer for the production of all six seasons of the show. He was deeply involved with the general production of every episode and is noted for being a very controlling, demanding, and specific producer. Many of the show's writers worked in television prior to joining the writing staff of The Sopranos.

Writing team and married couple Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess worked on the series as writers and producers from the first to the fifth season; they had previously worked with Chase on Northern Exposure. He practiced law for two years before deciding to pursue a career as a screenwriter, and he caught the attention of Chase through writer Frank Renzulli.

He wrote a spec script for the series Mad Men in The script was passed on to Chase who was so impressed that he immediately offered Weiner a job as a writer for The Sopranos. Imperioli wrote five episodes of seasons two through five, and Kalem wrote one episode of season five. Other writers included Frank Renzulli, Todd A. In total, 20 writers or writing teams 22 people are credited with writing episodes of The Sopranos. Of these, Tim Van Patten and Maria Laurino receive a single story credit, and eight others are credited with writing a sole episode.

The most prolific writers of the series were Chase 30 credited episodes, including story credits , Winter 25 episodes , Green and Burgess 22 episodes , Weiner 12 episodes , and Renzulli 9 episodes. Many of the directors had previously worked on television series and independent films. That's what you do with feature films. The Sopranos is noted for its eclectic music selections and has received considerable critical attention for its effective use of previously recorded songs. While the show utilizes a wealth of previously recorded music, it is also notable for its lack of originally composed incidental music , compared to other television programs.

Two soundtrack albums containing music from the series have been released. The first, titled The Sopranos: It contains selections from the show's first two seasons and reached 54 on the U. This double-disc album contains songs and selected dialogue from the show's first three seasons.

The majority of the exterior scenes taking place in New Jersey were filmed on location, with the majority of the interior shots—including most indoor shots of the Soprano residence, the back room of the strip club Bada Bing! The pork store, a frequent hangout for the mobsters on the show, was in the pilot episode known as Centanni's Meat Market, an actual butchery in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

As such, a business arrangement was worked out with the owner. After the destruction of Vesuvio within the context of the series, Artie opened a new restaurant called Nuovo Vesuvio; exterior scenes set there were filmed at an Italian restaurant called Punta Dura located in Long Island City. Numerous landmarks in and around Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey , are then shown passing by the camera as Tony drives down the highway.

Chase has said that the goal of the title sequence was to show that this particular mafia show was about New Jersey , as opposed to New York, where most similar dramas have been set. In the first three seasons, between Tony leaving the tunnel and passing through the toll plaza, the show had a shot of the World Trade Center towers in Tony's rear-view mirror.

After the September 11, attacks , this shot was removed and replaced with a more generic shot, beginning with the show's fourth season. The Sopranos features a large cast of characters, many of whom get significant amounts of character development—regardless of level of importance. Some only appear in certain seasons, while others appear sporadically or constantly throughout the entire series.

All characters were created by David Chase , unless otherwise noted. Tony Soprano James Gandolfini is the series' protagonist. Tony is one of the capos and the unofficial underboss of the New Jersey -based DiMeo crime family , at the beginning of the series; he eventually becomes its undisputed boss. He is also the patriarch of the Soprano household. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting requirements of his family —wife Carmela , daughter Meadow , son A. Jennifer Melfi Lorraine Bracco , in the show's first episode. She treats Tony to the best of her ability despite the fact that they routinely clash over various issues.

Melfi is usually thoughtful, rational and humane—a stark contrast to Tony's personality. Tony, a serial womanizer, occasionally divulges his sexual attraction to Dr. Melfi; Melfi harbors some degree of attraction to Tony, too, but never admits or acts on it. Melfi is far more attracted to Tony's dangerousness and power. She is drawn to the challenge of helping such an unusual client, and naively assumes that their doctor-patient relationship will not affect her personal life in any way.

Adding to Tony's complicated life is his relationship with his wife Carmela Edie Falco , [90] which is strained by his constant infidelity and her struggle to reconcile the reality of Tony's business which she is often in denial of , with the affluent lifestyle and higher social status it brings her. Both have up-and-down relationships with their two children: Robert Iler , [92] whose everyday teenage issues are further complicated by their eventual knowledge of their father's criminal activities and reputation.

The starring cast includes members of Tony's extended family, including: Both 'Livia and Janice are scheming, treacherous, shrewd manipulators with major-yet-unaddressed psychological issues of their own. The single-mindedly ambitious Uncle Junior is chronically frustrated by having not been made boss of the DiMeo family, despite old-school mob traditions entitling him to the position by virtue of seniority.

He feels his authority is perpetually undermined by Tony's greater influence in the organization, and barely contains his seething jealousy at having to watch both his younger brother Tony's father and now Tony, himself, leapfrog him in the organization. As their professional tensions escalate, Uncle Junior employs increasingly desperate, behind-the-scenes measures to solve his problems with Tony, who still idolizes his uncle, and wants to retain Junior's affection and approval. Uncle Junior and Christopher are fixtures in Tony's real family, as well as his crime family, so their actions in one realm often create further conflicts in the other.

Christopher, an entitled, insecure DiMeo associate who is as ambitious as he is insubordinate and incompetent, is also a chronic substance abuser. Tony Blundetto is a well-respected DiMeo family soldier who returns after completing a lengthy prison sentence; he leaves prison committed to "going straight" to Tony's dismay , but also has an intense violent streak.

Silvio is Tony's consigliere and best friend. He runs the family's strip club headquarters, and other businesses. Other significant characters in the DiMeo family include: Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri Steven R. Ralph is a clever, ambitious top-earner; but his arrogant, obnoxious, disrespectful, and unpredictably violent tendencies turn Tony resentful. Richie Aprile is released from prison in season 2, and quickly makes waves.

Pontecorvo is a young soldier who becomes a "made" man alongside Christopher. Spatafore works his way up through the ranks to become top earner of the Aprile crew, but is secretly homosexual. Friends of the Soprano family include: Adriana is Christopher's loyal and long-suffering girlfriend; the two have a volatile relationship, but appear destined to stay together.

COLLECTIONS

Christopher often ignores Adriana's advice, and winds up regretting it. Angie is Salvatore Bonpensiero's wife; she later goes into "business" for herself, and quite successfully. Charmaine wishes to have no association with Tony and his crew due to fears that Tony's criminal ways will ultimately ruin everything she and Artie have achieved.

Artie, however—a law-abiding, hard-working man—is drawn to his childhood friend Tony's glamorous, seemingly carefree lifestyle.

Charmaine bitterly resents Artie's chronic tendency to disregard her wishes while catering to Tony's; their marriage suffers greatly as a result. Charmaine also had a brief sexual encounter with Tony when he and Carmela had temporarily broken-up when all four were teenagers.

Ray Abruzzo [] are all significant characters from the New York City-based Lupertazzi crime family , which shares a good amount of its business with the Soprano organization. Although the Lupertazzis' and DiMeos' interests are often at odds, Tony maintains a cordial, business-like relationship with "Johnny Sack", preferring to make mutually beneficial deals, not war.

Johnny Sack's second-in-command and eventual successor, Phil Leotardo, is less friendly and harder for Tony to do business with. Little Carmine is the son of the family's first boss, and vies for power with its other members. When Tony Soprano collapses after suffering a panic attack , he begins therapy with Dr.

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Details of Tony's upbringing—with his father's influence looming large on his development as a gangster, but more so that Tony's mother, Livia , was vengeful and possibly psychopathic —are revealed. His complicated relationship with his wife Carmela is also explored, as well as her feelings regarding her husband's cosa nostra ties. Meadow and Anthony Jr. Later, federal indictments are brought as a result of someone in his organization talking to the FBI.

The Sopranos, the Vanity Fair Oral History - Graydon Carter, Sam Kashner, Jim Kelly • BookLikes

Tony's uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano orders the murder of Brendan Filone and the mock execution of Chris Moltisanti , associates of Tony, as reprisal for repeated hijackings of trucks under Corrado's protection. Tony defuses the situation by allowing his uncle to be installed as boss of the family following the death of previous boss Jackie Aprile Sr. Corrado discovers the artifice, however, and orders an attempt on Tony's life. The assassination is nevertheless botched and Tony responds violently, before confronting his mother for her role in plotting his downfall; she appears to have a psychologically-triggered stroke.

Jackie's brother Richie Aprile is released from prison, proving to be uncontrollable in the business arena, starts a relationship with Janice , Tony's sister, who has arrived from Seattle. Christopher Moltisanti becomes engaged to his girlfriend Adriana La Cerva. Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte , two low-level associates dissatisfied with their perceived lack of success in the Soprano crew, try to make a name for themselves by attempting to kill Christopher. Their plan backfires; Christopher kills Sean and, though critically wounded, survives their attack.

Tony and Big Pussy locate Matthew and kill him. However, a witness goes to the FBI and identifies Tony. Junior is placed under house arrest as he awaits trial. Richie, frustrated with Tony's authority over him, entreats Junior to have Tony killed. Junior feigns interest, then informs Tony of Richie's intentions, leaving Tony with another problem to address. However, the situation is defused unexpectedly when Janice kills Richie in a violent argument; Tony and his men conceal all evidence of the murder, and Janice returns to Seattle.

Tony, realizing Big Pussy is an FBI informant, kills him on board a boat with assistance from Silvio Dante and Paulie Gualtieri , then wraps his corpse in chains and throws it overboard. Following the "disappearance" of Aprile crew capo Richie Aprile , the return of the ambitious Ralph Cifaretto , having spent an extended period of leisure time in Miami , marks the third season. He renews a relationship with Rosalie Aprile , the widow of the deceased acting boss Jackie Aprile Sr.

With Richie assumed to have joined the Witness Protection Program, Ralph unofficially usurps control over the Aprile crew, proving to be an exceptionally dexterous earner for the crew. While Ralph's competitive merit would seemingly have him next in line to ascend to capo, his insubordination inclines Tony not to promote him and instead gives the promotion to the unqualified, but complacent, Gigi Cestone , causing much resentment and tension between him and Ralph. Livia dies of a stroke.

Tony initially attempts to act as a mentor to Jackie but becomes increasingly impatient with his escalating misbehavior, particularly as Jackie's relationship with Meadow begins to become serious. Inspired by a story from Ralph about how Tony, Jackie Sr. The plan takes a turn for the worse when Jackie panics due to the heckling of the card dealer "Sunshine" and shoots him to death.

'Vanity Fair' Publishes 'Sopranos' E-book

Dino and Carlo are killed during the robbery, but Jackie manages to escape. Tony decides to give Ralph the decision regarding Jackie Jr. Despite his role as a surrogate father, Ralph decides to have Jackie Jr. Ralph ultimately crosses the line when, in a cocaine-induced rage, he gets into a confrontation with girlfriend Tracee and beats her to death. She may have been pregnant with his child at the time. This infuriates Tony to the point where he violates traditional mafia code by striking him repeatedly in front of the entire family.

Bad blood temporarily surfaces between the two but is shortly resolved after Cestone suffers a fatal heart attack , thereby forcing Tony to reluctantly promote Ralph to capo. Tony begins an affair with Gloria Trillo , who is also a patient of Dr. Their relationship is brief and tumultuous.

See a Problem?

Junior is diagnosed with stomach cancer; following chemotherapy, it goes into remission. Tony and Christopher stake out the retirement party of Detective Lieutenant Barry Haydu , the man who murdered Christopher's father. Tony gives Christopher Haydu's address. When Christopher asks why he had been allowed to live all these years, Tony says that he had been valuable, but that he has outlived his worth.

Christopher waits inside Haydu's home, ambushes him as he returns from his party, and shoots him. New York underboss Johnny Sack becomes enraged after learning Ralph Cifaretto made an inappropriate joke about his wife's weight. He seeks permission from boss Carmine Lupertazzi to have Ralph clipped, but is denied. Johnny orders the hit anyway. Tony receives the okay from Carmine to hit Johnny Sack for insubordination.

Junior Soprano tips Tony to use an old outfit in Providence for the work. After catching his wife eating sweets secretly, instead of following the diet plan, Johnny Sack gives in, and bloodshed is averted. Tony and Ralph invest in a race horse named Pie-O-My , who wins several races and makes them both a great deal of money.