sopranos Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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?

David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos -- you know, the greatest television show of all time -- has signed on to write, produce, and direct his first feature film, for Paramount Pictures. Calm down, fans of Tony and the gang -- this will not be a Sopranos flick. In fact, Deadline Hollywood Daily doesn't have much about the movie at all, other than that it's "an original drama," and that Brad Grey, Chase's Sopranos producing partner and CEO of Paramount, brought him on board. Chase says of their relationship: "Brad has always been adventurous as a producer and looked for different ways of doing things. I look forward to once again working with him, and now his team. For years, Brad has been a great partner, who helped enable me to do what I need to creatively."

Returning the love, Grey says "David is one of the great storytellers of our time, and his debut as a filmmaker is both highly anticipated and long overdue." I second that! "In truth, David has been creating cinematic-quality filmed drama for more than a decade – spanning nine seasons and 86 episodes of The Sopranos. Having worked with David as a producer, I'm delighted to be with him again and to bring his unique vision to the big screen." The Sopranos indeed delivered an hour-long movie each week, and each was better than 99% of films. I simply can not wait. And with the Sex and the City movie likely to be a big hit, here's hoping Chase can be talked into dropping that Sopranos movie on us and making my life worthwhile again.

Hell ... what if this "original drama" is the Sopranos movie and they're trying to keep it secret? There have been rumors swirling lately, and I don't stop believin'.

At least one Sopranos star is looking to exit the small screen for a fancy big-screen lifestyle. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Michael Imperioli (aka Christopher on the show) has signed on to co-star in the highly-anticipated adaptation of The Lovely Bones, to be directed by everyone's favorite gorilla Peter Jackson. The film (like the book) revolves around a young girl who is murdered, but continues to watch her grief-stricken family, as well as her murderer (as he gets ready to kill again), from heaven. Imperioli, unfortunately, will not be playing the nephew of a crime boss in the film. Nope, instead, he'll be on the opposite side of the law -- taking on the role of Len Fenerman, the detective in charge of investigating the little girl's death.

Imperioli joins a star-studded cast that already includes Ryan Gosling (as the girl's father), Rachel Weisz (as her mother), Stanley Tucci (as her killer), Susan Sarandon (as her grandmother) and newcomer Saoirse Ronan (as the girl in question). Adapted for the screen by Jackson and his two Lord of the Rings cohorts (Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh), Paramount will distribute The Lovely Bones next year; most likely during the fall so that it can start knocking on Oscar's door. I haven't read the book yet, but my wife has said plenty of fantastic things about it. It was part of my summer reading material until I opted to go for I Love You Beth Cooper instead (what can I say, I love me a good teen comedy). That being said, I can't say for sure how good the casting choices are. I will, however, tell you that I love all the actors involved and look forward to seeing Jackson return to telling smaller stories, rather than giant epics.

Random sidenote: Had Christopher not died, how much fun would it have been to see a spin-off show called Christopher Goes to Hollywood?

There may not be a Sopranos movie in the pipeline, but that doesn't mean Hollywood has officially whacked the Mafia. The LA Times reports that someone has finally landed the rights to produce a biopic on the life and times of infamous gangster, Lucky Luciano. Throughout the years, several Hollywood studios have tried to snag the rights away from Luciano's family, who have been reluctant to give them up. But now, producer Joseph Isgro (Hoffa) has somehow managed to land the goods, and he claims to have already approached a "specific A-list actor" to play the lead role. He's also said to be "wooing several actors from The Sopranos to join the cast." Considered the father of modern organized crime, Luciano was named one of the 20 most influential builders and titans of the 20th century. But he also helped orchestrate a number of gangland killings, as well as a massive international heroin operation, along the way.

According to Isgro (who's repeatedly denied his own ties to the Mafia), the film will cover all of Luciano's life, but focus mainly on his time in prison and the period after he received a presidential pardon for using the Mafia to help the government during World War II. Apart from actors, Isgro has also interviewed potential writers and directors; one of which is Charles Matthau, son of Walter Matthau. Currently, New Line is in talks to distribute. I'm not sure who they're going after to play Luciano -- hopefully it's not Christian Slater, who played the man in the 1991 flick Mobsters. There are a number of actors who could pull off the role; I guess it depends on whether they're willing to age-up a younger actor or age-down an older one. If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say Alec Baldwin might be a good fit. What do you think?