Is it weird to anyone else that we’re getting a The Sopranos movie in October? Not bad weird, mind you. I’m very excited and think it will be great. But it’s been 14 years since the series finale (and 14 years of arguments about the series finale), so I do a double take every time I see a trailer or headline about The Many Saints of Newark — including Alan Sepinwall’s interview with creator David Chase for Rolling Stone.
After being asked when did he start thinking about casting the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, in the prequel movie as Tony Soprano, Chase answered, “Right away. Mostly because he looks like his father, and moves a little bit like him. He is his father’s son. So for a movie that’s supposed to be the same character, I thought, that would be the best.” Chase also called Gandolfini’s performance “miraculous.”
“Sometimes when things are miraculous or astounding, you start laughing, because it’s so incredible. But I remember looking across the room at the table read. And he was sitting there like this [re-creates adult Tony’s suspicious posture], and it wasn’t his scene.”
Chase’s reaction: “Holy sh*t. That’s incredible.”
The Many Saints of Newark hits theaters and HBO Max on October 1.
(Via Rolling Stone)