HBO Wants a 'Sopranos' Movie
Filed under: Drama, Fandom, Newsstand
Sorry we missed this earlier, but during that same press tour mentioned in the Sex and the City sequel post, Michael Lombardo (president of HBO's programming group) also said that HBO would be interested in a Sopranos film if David Chase is willing. The comments came about during an announcement that Martin Scorsese, Sopranos exec producer Terence Winter and the Entourage team of Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson will get behind a new series called Boardwalk Express, about the birth of organized crime in Atlantic City during the 1920s. It's no surprise HBO is looking to head back to the land of organized crime, and of course they'd be behind a feature film based on The Sopranos -- especially after seeing the damage done by Sex and the City at the box office. But David Chase seems to have put this show behind him, and I personally think a feature film would be too much of a stretch. As is, the show gave us one of the best endings in the history of television -- don't go futzing that up just because you all want to make some more money. Let it go. I'm sure this Boardwalk Express -- with all the talent behind it -- will quench your thirst for more mafia. But maybe I'm in the minority.
Do you really want a Sopranos movie?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-11-2008 @ 11:37AM
Slappy said...
NO! NO! NO! NO!
The final scene of the television series was the perfect grace note to end the story on. I will be infuriated if it gets dragged out further. It's perfect as is! Leave well enough alone!
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9-25-2008 @ 11:32PM
Buck Sunderland said...
Great ending?!! It was cheap and cheesy. They couldn't think of an ending so they just slapped that idiotic "black out" on the end? Oh, how artsy! This was the cheapest ending in tv history and everyone involved should have been ashamed.
7-11-2008 @ 11:43AM
Dan said...
As a HUGE and loyal fan to the show, no, I don't want to see a movie. I'm with you about the ending; it was perfect. I once heard the best way to end a story is by leaving it so even though the story is over, the characters will live on. David Chase did that perfectly. He ended the show not with a big bang but the same way it began, uneventfully, like our time with Tony and the gang was over, and they were to go back to their lives.
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7-11-2008 @ 11:44AM
Brice_J said...
I'm with you, Erik! I thought the ending was brilliant, also. If nothing else, it got people talking, and what else should a controversial show about the modern-day family life of a mafia mob boss be?
I trust David Chase either way, though. If there would be a movie, maybe he'd mess with the timeline somehow? Each hour-long episode covered about a month or so in the character's lives if I'm not mistaken...maybe there is a lot left unsaid that would captivate fans' interest?
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7-11-2008 @ 11:51AM
Riley Freeman said...
i dont know anything about the sopranos but i do know all ive ever seen was complaints about the ending/ this blog is the first time ive seen anyone have anything good to say about it. so i think it could go either way. but for sure it would make money. doubt it would get good reviews
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7-11-2008 @ 11:58AM
lionel said...
How can there be a movie when Tony was killed in the final episode?
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7-11-2008 @ 12:52PM
Mr.R said...
He wasn't killed, he didn't live either, it's up to you to decide. The way I see it, to say he died is to give into everyone's usual thirst for blood. Sopranos ended the way many of it's most gruesome episodes did, with pretty much life just going on.
No, no Sopranos movie is needed, thanks.
9-12-2008 @ 3:54PM
Slayer said...
Tony Wasn't killed in the final episode. Nothing happened, Meadow parked the car finally, once she entered the diner the screen went black.
7-11-2008 @ 11:58AM
Erik Davis said...
People complain about the ending because it wasn't served to them on a silver platter like other series finales. Chase made folks work for it; he left it up in the air and helped ignite intelligent discussions which had people talking for weeks. In my mind, that's a success. I've always thought it was a brilliant way to end the show.
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7-11-2008 @ 12:23PM
vinceb said...
Come on, think out of the box!
They movie should be a pre-quel to the series timeframe.
Lets see Tony's Dad and Uncle Junior as young men and watch young Tony get initiated into the family business.
I know they had some flashbacks like this in the series but never liked the young actor playing Tony. Looked nothing like him. Can't you see the young Johnny Sack or Nickie Aprile?
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7-11-2008 @ 2:36PM
vinceb said...
plus didn't "The Godfather part II" go this route?
7-14-2008 @ 10:47AM
Jonathan said...
That's exactly what Chase should do. Start off with a storyline that's with BIg Pussy and Tony before he turns informant.
Go back to when they were younger just getting started and Junior and Johnny Boy were running the show. Good chance for some younger, early 20's Tony and Big Pussy stuff, with an older Paulie (just a tinge of the side wings starting) and a younger, hotter Carmella. Can even show when Tony banged Charmane Bucco before she married Artie. Tons of good stuff that was alluded to in the series. Don't have to mess with the ending at all.
GImme more DC but gimme a prequel!!!
7-11-2008 @ 3:43PM
ZJ said...
Absolutely not. The greatest show in TV history ended perfectly. I just don't know how you can improve on the legacy of the Sopranos. Leave it alone.
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7-11-2008 @ 6:15PM
Gary said...
Yes, Yes, Yes.
I would love to see a Soprano's movie if it were handled right.
I miss Paulie Walnuts.
It opens at Tony's funeral and is a revenge flick centering on Anthony Junior out to avenge Tony's death.
Silvio gets wacked, Paulie gets wacked, Meadow gets wacked.
Fun, fun, fun.
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7-11-2008 @ 9:48PM
Gary said...
So I just searched for this article on the site as I was interested in seeing if there had been any more comments on this since I posted. None, oh well.
But in the search results I noticed something a bit odd.
The last time you asked the question "Will there be a Soprano's movie?" was 11th June 2007.
I assuming this is just a coincidence, but a weird one, I thought.
Is the 11th of June now set to become Soprano day?
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8-06-2008 @ 7:32AM
sam said...
Star Wars started with episode III. They came back with I and II. I'm curious to see how Anthony became the Anthony in the movie, to see his father, etcetera.
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8-06-2008 @ 10:11AM
lw said...
Star Wars started w/ episode IV, A New Hope. The prequels were I thru III.
8-18-2008 @ 1:56PM
Phil said...
Yes i want closure! Does Carlo rat them out, does sil live? What was the deal with the fbi agent who gave up Phil? Whose the guy in the bath room?
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8-18-2008 @ 3:33PM
i3adash said...
IDEA!!! Carmela gets uzi under diner table (while T has panic attack) and mows down... wait... scratch that...
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9-01-2008 @ 2:10AM
membersonly said...
I don't think there is much there in terms of a story worth telling, unless what I suspect was being hinted at, (possibly reaching) is true: Sil and Paulie are turncoats, and Tony needs to face their betrayal. This could make a great conflict for the film, and would use Van Zandt and Sirico, fan favourites among the cast, as villains.
I do not necessarily see them as FBI informants, but there seemed to be indicators through season 4-onward, that these guys, Tony's most "loyal", were talking out of school to New York (Paulie), and running their own little heist operation without Tony's approval (Sil). Having narrowly survived the war with Phil, Tony's crew has to be unhappy post finale.
However, the cat that "sucks the life out of little baby's" leads me to believe that Chase was metaphorically setting up Tony's demise, because in season 1, the pivotal point for Tony is his dream, which is analyzed by Melfi revealing that he is the little nursing baby.
I could go on and on about the indications that Chase was building from season 4 on to the final episode, and why I believe there is little chance at a movie, but then again, I'm speculating, and knowing how the film business works, they can't turn their backs on a money machine. Just look at sex in the city...
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