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Created by David Chase for HBO,The Sopranoshas been one of the most prestigious shows ever created for television. Starring James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, and Edie Falco among others, the series not only embedded the viewers into the lives of the Soprano family but also made them invested in their day-to-day comings and goings like no other show did.
Without a basis for a mob drama and with only the Martin Scorsese movies as a reference point,The Sopranosquickly became a household favorite among the audiences of the new century. Amid the chatter of late-night television and the laugh tracks of countless sitcoms,The Sopranoshit a home run with its grounded and unique storyline.
The SopranosContains a Huge Meta Reference
The Sopranosmight have redefined television drama, elevating the medium to a new height when TV was considered an insult to professional actors working on the big screen. But even with responsibility so heightened, theJames Gandolfiniseries could sometimes be outright ridiculous and darkly comedic.
One such episode includes the intervention of Christopher, played byMichael Imperioli, wherein he has to face his family while Dominic acts as the mediator. What follows is a hilarious escalation of events that starts off with an emotional speech from Adriana that quickly goes south, ending up with Chrissy on the floor getting kicked by 3 grown men while Tony sulks in the corner about the death of the poor dog.
“You gotta stop, you’re gonna get sick!’”: James Gandolfini Binge-eating a Dessert on ‘The Sopranos’ Put Him in a ‘sugar coma’ and Totally Destroyed the Shoot
However, what the viewers don’t realize during the scene is that it’s also a meta-reference to an intervention in James Gandolfini’s personal life that was much darker and more short-lived than the scripted episode of the show.
James Gandolfini’s Real-Life Intervention Story
InThe SopranosSeason 4 Episode 10, Christopher walks out of his bedroom and steps into his living room to find a group of people gathered there, sitting in a circle, ready to talk to him about his “drug problem.” Once he got over his initial surprise and realized what was going on, he yelled,“No, f––k this sh*t!”
For James Gandolfini, the situation was not much different, although, unlike Christopher, he neither had the patience nor the forbearing to sit through whatever the concerned parties had prepared to say to him.
In James Andrew Miller’s bookTinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers(viaInsider), the author mentions the events of that day recounting how Gandolfini’s friends, family, show’s creator David Chase, as well as a few other close associates of the actor were present in the room at the time. After two days of “rehearsals,” the group faced Gandolfini only to be dismissed at a single glance.
According to the book, Gandolfini“sized up the situation in a snap”and the intervention“lasted ten seconds”before he fled the scene saying,“Oh, f––k this. F––k all of you.”
‘The Sopranos’ Creator David Chase Found a Genius Way to Beat “confidentiality issues” on Set But Drea de Matteo Had to Be the Guinea Pig
What makes this incident even more appalling is the fact thatThe Sopranospredicted exactly when Gandolfini would die as Christopher, feeling attacked by everyone in the room, lashed out at Tony, saying,“The way you f––king going, you’re gonna have a heart attack by the time you’re 50.”Gandolfini died of a heart attack at 51 in June 2013 while vacationing in Rome, Italy.
The Sopranosis available for streaming on Max.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
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James GandolfiniMichael ImperioliThe Sopranos
