Tony Soprano (and his creator, David Chase) may have considered “remember when” to be the lowest form of conversation, but HBO disagrees. Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, a new two-part documentary from filmmaker Alex Gibney, delves into the origins and cultural impact of the series on its 25th anniversary. The first trailer for the series, which will premiere on September 7, offers a tantalizing look at the
In the trailer, Chase details the origins of Tony Soprano; he wanted to write about his fraught relationship with his own demanding mother, but wondered who would want to watch it. Then, however, he hit upon the idea of taking that relationship and giving it to a character who was “a really badass guy”. The rest, of course, was TV history, remaking HBO and the entire television landscape to usher in the era of “prestige TV”. The trailer teases rare behind-the-scenes footage and retrospective interviews with cast and crew, including actors Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco, Steven Van Zandt, and Drea de Matteo, and writer/producer Terence Winter. It also touches on the at-times contentious relationship the series had with star James Gandolfini, and how he handled playing such a violent, amoral character; Van Zandt jokingly notes that the late star “probably quit the show every other day”.
Who Is David Chase?
A native of Mount Vernon, New Jersey, Chase toiled for decades in relative anonymity in the world of network television, working on shows like Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Magician, and The Rockford Files. He co-created the short-lived Tim Daly/Eve Gordon drama Almost Grown, but it was canceled after a single season. Inspired by his experiences with organized crime, his time in therapy, and his relationship with his mother, he created The Sopranos; it was rejected by every broadcaster save for HBO. The cable channel did not have an extensive history with drama series at the time, but the show was an instant sensation. Chase stayed on the show for its entire run, writing and directing the show’s famously ambiguous finale. After its conclusion, he wrote and directed the coming of age drama film Not Fade Away, and the Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark.
