MEDIA ALERT:
UPDATE 12/19/02
Gandolfini, Ben May 'Survive' Together
STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
Never mind Ben Affleck and J.Lo. Get ready for Ben and Tony Soprano.
Variety reports that "The Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, 41, is in negotiations to star opposite Affleck in DreamWorks' "Surviving Christmas," a comedy about a man (played by Gandolfini) so neurotic that he doesn't have a family of his own -- so he hires one for the holidays. Affleck is presumably a member of that family.
The snag is the family turns out to be psychotic. (Well, aren't they all?)
Mike Mitchell ("Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo") is set to direct "Surviving Christmas," according to the trade paper, which adds that Gandolfini's deal will hinge on whether he can first finish an independent film called "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" as well as fit in the fifth and, presumably, last season of "The Sopranos" next spring.
Last week, the HBO Mob hit's 75-minute fourth-season finale attracted 12.5 million viewers -- the second-most-watched program in the pay-cable network's history, after the show's season opener, which drew 13.4 million. (HBO, like PEOPLE, is part of AOL Time Warner.)
In previous breaks in his "Sopranos" schedule, Gandolfini appeared in two other DreamWorks features -- 2001's "The Mexican," with Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, and "The Last Castle," with Robert Redford.
UPDATE 12/16/02
Gandolfini Gets Offer He Can't Refuse
Monday, December 16, 2002
By Roger Friedman
Click on the URL below for the rest of this story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,73067,00.html.
UPDATE 10/15/02
James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano from The Sopranos) will be at Soup As Art, October 30th, from 5 to 7 PM! That's October 30th, 5 to 7 PM. Click here for the address and map to Soup as Art.
UPDATE 8/23/02
James Gandolfini will be a presenter at the MTV Music Awards on August 29.
UPDATE 5/15/02
SOPRANOS FOURTH SEASON BEGINS SEPTEMBER 15, 2002 ON HBO
UPDATE 5/14/02
SOPRANOS SEASON 3 OUT AUGUST 27, 2002
August 27, 2002 will be the formal US release for "The Sopranos: The Complete Third Season", on DVD. It will feature 13 episodes presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with English 5.1 and English, French and Spanish 2.0 Dolby stereo tracks. Pre-order at amazon.com now!
Michael Imperioli will narrate Episode 9 in a special commentary track. Also, "Pine Barrens" director Steve Buscemi will do a narration track, and David Chase himself with narrate "Amour Fou," Episode 12, one of the heavier' episodes for the season. Expect the usual extras like"A Day on the Set of The Sopranos."
From: CapoFranks News.
UPDATE 5/8/02
Jim Gandolfini will recite Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium on June 1, 2002, to call attention to "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" which caused Gehrig's death.
UPDATE 4/19/02
Article dated Friday, April 19th, 2002 - New York Post
UPDATE 4/3/02
GANDOLFINI WRITES JUDGE TO AID ILER DEFENSE
UPDATE 4/2/02
Gandolfini gives voice to D'Works animated feature "Sharkslayer"
Tue. Apr. 2, 2:47 AM ET LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) -- James Gandolfini has signed on to
voice the "Soprano" of all sharks in DreamWorks Pictures' animated project
"Sharkslayer." Animation helmers Eric "Bibo" Bergeron ("The Road to El
Dorado") and Vicky Jenson ("Shrek") are teaming for the first time to direct
the CGI-animated project, which will also feature the voices of Will Smith,
Angelina Jolie and Renee Zellweger. "Sharkslayer" -- described as an underwater mob film -- is in preproduction,
with a 2004 release date planned. It tells the story of how the undersea
underworld is shaken up when the son of the "Soprano" of all sharks gets
killed and a young fish named Oscar is found at the scene of the crime. Being
the bottom-feeder hustler that he is, Oscar takes advantage of the
opportunity to play the hero, only to find that there are serious
consequences to posing as the great Sharkslayer. Michael Wilson, who wrote the Jackie Chan-Jennifer Love Hewitt starrer "The
Tuxedo" for DreamWorks, penned the screenplay. Gandolfini, repped by Writers & Artists Agency, has worked for DreamWorks
twice before. He starred opposite Robert Redford and Mark Ruffalo in the
prison action-drama "The Last Castle" and opposite Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt
in "The Mexican." He is in front of the cameras on his fourth season of the
award-winning HBO series "The Sopranos (news - Y! TV)." His other feature
credits include "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "A Civil Action."
By Zorianna Kit and Chris Gardner
UPDATE 1/10/02
'Sopranos' Mob Takes Over Aqueduct by Steve Haskin
Actor James Gandolfini was among the cast from "The Sopranos" at Aqueduct Monday.
Photo: Associated Press
Cast members of the megahit HBO series "The Sopranos" were at Aqueduct Racetrack Monday taping an episode to be aired during next season's schedule. Among the more notable stars present in the Equestris dining room, where the scenes were shot, were James Gandolfini, who plays Tony Soprano, Steve Van Zandt, who plays Silvio, Joe Pantoliano, who was cast last year as Ralph, and Jerry Adler, who plays Hesh.
Three scenes were shot, with the main focus being the running of a race, in which Tony has an interest in a horse named Pie-O-My, and Ralph a $5,000 wager on the horse. Jockeys have been called many things by irate bettors, but few can compare to Ralph's R-rated description of the rider on Pie-O-My during the running of the race. The only live action on the track was a brief parade of horses shown as background on one of the shots.
HBO has been pretty tight-lipped regarding the plot of the episode, although NYRA officials did have access to the script to make sure it was in the best interests of the sport.
Some of the crew began arriving at Aqueduct at 2 a.m. to check out locations and put up signage. The crew call was at 6:30, with rehearsal beginning at 7. In order to simulate a real race and a crowded Equestris, 75 extras were placed in strategic locations. Odds were placed on the tote board, a race was shown (with a new call) on the Jumbotron board and on TV monitors that was selected from five choices supplied by NYRA, and a toy horse head mounted on a stick was moved in synchronization with the race for the actors' eyes to follow. We won't give the result of the race away.
One actor who was taken with the racetrack scene, even though it was a fabricated one, was Pantoliano, who has appeared in dozens of top hits, such as Risky Business, Empire of the Sun, Eddie and the Cruisers, and Midnight Run. "Racing's never been my game," he said, "but it looks like a lot of fun. After this, I would definitely come back and bring a bunch of friends, lose 30 or 40 bucks."
The episode, which is expected to air sometime in September or October, was written by Mitch Burgess and Robin Green, and directed by Henry Bronchtein. Trainer Joe Aquilino served as technical adviser.
Copyright © 2002 The Blood-Horse, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
UPDATE 1/5/02
Saturday January 5, 2002 10:03 PM ET
TV Winners for AFI Awards
Winners for the American Film Institute Awards for film and television presented Saturday:
TELEVISON
Drama series: "The Sopranos."
Series actor: James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos."
Series actress: Edie Falco, "The Sopranos."
UPDATE 1/4/02
Congratulations to James Gandolfini on his Golden Globe® and American Film
Institute nominations for his work as Tony Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos! The following is a complete list of the nominations: - 2001 Golden Globe® Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role - Drama
Series: James Gandolfini
- 2001 Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Drama Series - 2001 AFI Television Drama Series of the Year - 2001 AFI Actor of the Year - Television Series: James Gandolfini
