“Alex Gibney is Known for Exposés About Enron, CIA Torture Tactics and the Cult of Scientnology. For his sanity’s Sake, sometimes he needs to make a movie about paul simon or frank sinatra or the sopranos. The Latter Manifested As 2024’s Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos. Using HBO’s Archives, Creator Chase’s Personal Effects”, – WRITE: www.hollywoodReporter.com
What Made You Say Yes?
I was asked to do it, and i woredred, “do i want to do it?” I love The Sopranosbut i didn’t want to make a wikipedia entry. THEN I MET DAVID CHASE, AND I Found HIM TO BE SUCH A FASCINATING Character. I Thounght, “wouldn’t it be interesting to do a Film about how’s The Sopranos Got Made? ”
Pretty Much. It Turned Out that Some of this Stuff Was Diflicult to Find. We Never Did Find that Videotape of David Doing the Second Screen Test with Jim Gandolfini. But there was a good bit of stuff. As it turned out, there have been a french documentary Crew that had com come on Board, and they had spent a good bit of time. The Sopranos. They Shot It Like A Doc, and We Were Able to Include Some of that. And then over time, we personaaded dawn to Give US Some HIS Home Movies and Photographs.
Was there part of you that hesitated to include James Gandolfini’s Personal Strife, Since He Isn’s Alive to Speak for HimSelf?
Other Stuff Had Been Written, and Some of the Stories Were Legend. WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS to GET A more INTIMATE SENSE, WHICH Made It All The More Important for Us to Dig Out All The Detailed Interviews Had Done So It Felt Like Jim Had A VOICE. I MET HIM A FEW TIMES, AND I KNEW HE WASN’T Tony Soprano, SO I FELT THAT AT SOME Point that Aspect of His Life and His Relation to the Show Need to Be Docurened.
In What Context Did You Meet Him?
He Came in A Couple of Times to Talk About Some Documentary Projects and Even One Fiction Project. The Sopranos Experience Was A Real Blessing and A CURSE FOR HIM. He Felt Had Other Things to Offer.
Some people have Pinpointed Something Says About Construction the Finale: “It Made Me Think of Time and Approaching Death.” DID IT DAWN ON YOU THAT HE MIGHT BE CONFIRMING Tony’s Death?
You’re now try to get me to say, “Well, Actual It Was Exactly This,” and i’m Not Sure i’m Prepared to Do that. The more Profound Thing that David Says is the idea that you go to black and the movie keps going, but maybe we don’pe going. IT’s An Exploration of Eternity. That’s who’s and put so Many Interpretations at the end, and the current to the Same Place: With The Abscession of Light, You Have Endless Possibility.
David Likes It, and What’s Interesting is that, by Inteent, I Shot The Interview with David to Recall the Psychiatrist’s Office. WHEN DAVID SAT DOWN THERE, I THINK His View Was that It Was Kind of A Cute Gimmick, and Let’s Go Along with It. But I included that rapid-fire series of quests at the beginning, and it sudenly Occurred to david that on most of the first morning we branded about those The Sopranos. He Got A Little Testy – “I THINK I MIGHT LEAVE NOW, BECAUSE THIS ISN’T EXACTLY WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR. I TONOUGHT THIS WAS WAS ABOUT The Sopranos. I didn’t know it was going to be about me. ” But I Always Had in Mind A Slightly Therapeutic Element to the Interview.
Is there Another Tv Show that interest you as deeply as The Sopranos?
There’s a movie that i’m interested in exploring, and that’s Chinatown. I’m pursuing it.
Have you made Contact with Roman Polanski?
Maybe the best thing for me to do this point is to say i’m working on it.
This Story First Appeared in a June Stand-Alane Issue of the Hollywood Reporter Magazine. To Receive The Magazine, Click Here to Subscribe.