Latest news with #TheSopranos'
Los Angeles Times
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The creators of ‘Industry': 5 choices that saved the HBO show from oblivion
Bill Goldman has a well-worn line about Hollywood: 'Nobody knows anything.' He meant that nobody involved in the making of a movie knows whether it's going to work, even if they claim to. As first-time creators of a TV show for HBO, we made good on Bill's words in the most literal sense: We knew nothing. When we first pitched the show to Casey Bloys and the creative team at HBO, we said it would be 'glacially slow, with no big bang theory of dramatics.' Sit in the building that originated 'The Sopranos' and 'The Wire' and you feel a certain pressure to intellectualize your ideas, to overstress your originality. We should have just said, 'Sexy graduate 'Hunger Games' on a trading floor.' But we were determined to tell them that the show was more than this, that it had a soul. This was naive. We knew nothing because at that point there was nothing. We could only understand the show by making it. So many choices that seem hard-coded into the show's DNA are accidents or evolutions of choices totally out of our control. We watch early cuts of episodes and worry. The show is baggy, dour and a little self-serious. We pace up the cut: we hack, nip, tuck. It becomes kinetic and engaging. We were given the latitude in postproduction to lean into the mistakes and make virtues of them — to cut the show at the breakneck pace that became its hallmark. Luckily, we cast well — there was something undeniable about the young actors' freshness and charisma. They made you lean in. Ken Leung made you lean in further. Eric (Leung) and Harper (Myha'la) share a scene and something happens — we don't prepare for it, but we sense something: the touch-paper being lit. Next time we redraft, we lean into that feeling — a yearning — and it will sit underneath the words of everything we write for them going forward. Is that the show's soul? We never could have communicated it in a pitch. We knew nothing. Now we know something. Likewise, its soundscape. The scenes feel a little inert. How to solve that? We hire Nathan Micay. He overlays them with his unique sound. It's a techno-forward, Michael Mann-coded balm for scenes that need juice. These scenes now seem to swell. Wait: There's romance in this universe after all. Why don't we write into that? What if the characters who people reductively call monsters actually love each other but are not incentivized to express it, so they can't? Have we fallen into saying something about capitalism? Maybe we found another piece of the show's soul. We feel the show's sound design could be more immersive. We realize the show is too dry. We solve both problems at once. We decide that background chatter could be an avenue for comedy. We write a secondary ADR [automated dialogue replacement] script and lay it carefully so it falls between the lines of featured dialogue. Here we find Rishi's voice. We road test it in the background before pushing Sagar [Radia] and the character to center stage in Season 3. The arc on the writers' room wall gives you an illusion of control and intention, but the real road is unknowable. Unmapped. Where you land is an act of faith. We write a two-dimensional finance bro called Robert. He's a cartoon who loves cocaine and thinks with his d—. We cast Harry Lawtey, who plays him with a boyish, broken quality, wide eyes looking for home. The Robert we initially wrote is dead. The actor — his sensitivity and skill — rewrites the story. Barely consciously, we find ourselves writing a story of escape. How quickly can Robert leave and at what cost to himself? People tell us they think this version of Robert, the one we didn't envisage and the one we don't fully control, is the show's soul. Maybe we are getting somewhere finally. The making of 'Industry' over four seasons is a synthesis of many things. Our own development as creators: trying to be as impartial and brutal as we can, leaning into what we feel worked and doing away with what we think didn't. The hive-mind of our writers' room and cast: a back-and-forth that writes and overwrites the characters and their choices, enriching the psychological stock of the soup. The brilliant creative minds of our department heads, who use all their ingenuity to make a show that operates on a fraction of the budget of most streaming-era shows look like an HBO Sunday night event. Our producers at Bad Wolf and collaborators at HBO, who gave the series time and space to grow, to find an audience and find a soul. Bad Wolf's CEO Jane Tranter, who has shepherded the show from a bag of often contradictory ideas into its fourth season, always called 'Industry' 'the little show that could.' Somehow, we continue to prove her right. We are so buried in the moment, the flow of problem-solving, the laying of track to the next shoot day and the next character beat, that we know we can never fully grasp the totality of the work. We will never see it with fresh eyes. We know the contours of every turn and every compromise, and because we never experience it cold, there is a very real sense that ultimately its meaning and its soul has nothing to do with us. It is its own thing, experienced by you. It's a truism that working in TV is a collaboration, but the definition is usually limited to a collaboration between people, rather than between the people and the show itself — a living organism that will guide you as to how it wants to be written. It's constantly speaking; our job is to be alive to transcribe its lessons, metabolize them through our process and put them onscreen as best we can. We still know nothing, but now we have our faith. Things will be revealed in the making.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
At ‘only 94,' ‘Sopranos' star Dominic Chianese eyes second act as troubadour
NEW YORK — Dominic Chianese still has a lot of living to do. And he thinks Tony Soprano may too. The 94-year-old actor best known for playing Uncle Junior on HBO's mob hit 'The Sopranos' is coming to Town Hall on June 30 where he plans to tell stories about his life so far and play folk songs. Chianese told the Daily News from England, where he's spent the past eight years, that he workshopped material in London to suss out whether there's an audience for such a performance. 'I did about seven shows to see if people are interested in stories, and they are,' he said. The Bronx native's show draws from the 25 years of stage work he did before landing a role in 1974's 'The Godfather Part II' and beyond. That included being reunited with 'Godfather' star Al Pacino in 1979 to do Shakespeare's 'Richard III' at the Cort Theatre. While he remembers that experience fondly, Chianese has a clear favorite. ''Requiem for a Heavyweight' with John Lithgow,' he stated convincingly. 'That was my favorite — 1985.' Chianese thanks lots of live theater work for making him a solid actor and said his best performances have happened on stage. But it was his role as crime family boss Corrado Soprano, better known as 'Uncle Junior,' that made him a household name with a few dollars in his bank account. 'I didn't really make any money until 'Sopranos,'' he said. 'It's the best role I ever had and the most financially gratifying role I ever had.' Eighteen years later and 3,400 miles from the gambling dens of New Jersey, he's still known as Uncle June. 'I get recognized all the time,' Chianese said. 'That's gratifying because I like people.' 'The Sopranos' famously concluded with lead character Tony Soprano sitting at a diner where maybe he got whacked. Who knows? The 2013 death of James Gandolfini pretty much put to rest any possibility the beloved gangster series would someday be revived. Like the rest of us, Chianese was stunned when the series' final episode cut to black as a character who may or may not have been a hit man walked toward Tony. 'The way it ended he's still alive,' Chianese said. 'Nobody knows.' Likewise, nobody including Chianese knows how and when his career will end either, but he hopes to wind up in New York City where it all began. 'I'd like to be in Manhattan because there's a lot I'd like to do in my career,' he said. 'I'm only 94.' Being married to an English woman made life overseas alluring to Chianese. He's been bouncing between the U.S. and England for more than 30 years and says it's time to come home where he has family, and hopefully, more career opportunities. Someday performing at Radio City Music Halls tops his bucket list. 'When you go up on 6th Avenue and you see that big place with the Rockettes, that's such a place. That would be nice wouldn't it?' he beamed. Chianese doesn't see becoming a Rockette in his future. But his Town Hall show should give fans a taste of what he wants to do next. It draws from his work in film and television as well as his days as an emcee at Greenwich Village's Gerde's Folk City in the 1960s and '70s. He estimates that he met 600 folk musicians during that period including an already famous Bob Dylan, whom he calls one of his favorite writers. He also had the pleasure of introducing downtown music fans to a local duo named Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, who were fine-tuning a new song called 'The Sound of Silence.' Fans who come to hear Chianese tell stories and play tunes can expect him to perform songs by Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and 'maybe' Leonard Cohen. They'll also hear some Italian classics the Cuban anthem 'Guantanamera' made famous by acts including Pete Seeger, José Feliciano and the Sandpipers. 'That's one of my favorites,' he said. Chianese said music has been an important part of his development as an artist, which he hopes to prove when he hits the stage with a guitar in hand rather than the the mafioso scowl he wore on more than 50 episodes of 'The Sopranos.' 'It's a wonderful career and I want it to keep going,' he said. Chianese said he has friends in New York keeping an eye out for available properties while he tries to figure out what to do with his place in England. He hopes people in his hometown will respond to his June 30 performance — and whatever follows— as well as fans have abroad. It's his feeling New Yorkers may find his stories particularly relatable. 'They should want to know how a Bronx kid made it,' Chianese said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Last of Us' Season 2 finale: [Spoiler] dies, and a tease of what's to come in Season 3
WARNING: The following piece contains spoilers about The Last of Us Season 2 finale The Last of Us ended its traumatic second season with the death of another beloved character. More from GoldDerby 'Have I said too much?' David Chase and Alex Gibney on revisiting 'The Sopranos' for 'Wise Guy' doc - and, yes, that finale Every Disney live-action remake, ranked from worst to first (updated) All the 'Mission: Impossible' movies, ranked (updated) During Sunday's season finale, Jesse (Emmy Award nominee Young Mazino) was killed by Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), an act of further retaliation against Ellie (Bella Ramsey) after she murdered Abby's friends. 'You can't just commit acts of violence, walk away, and have your story end,' The Last of Us cocreator Craig Mazin said after the Season 2 premiere in April, establishing the moral ground rules of the episodes to come. 'The repercussions create more of them, not fewer of them.' Those ripple effects have been felt all season. After tracking Abby to Seattle, Ellie and Dina (Isabela Merced) became unwittingly embroiled in a war between the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) and a religious group known as the Seraphites. Against the backdrop of their cyclical violence, Ellie and Dina hunted down Abby and her friends to get revenge on Abby for murdering Joel (Pedro Pascal), who had killed Abby's father in the Season 1 finale. In Episode 5, Ellie encountered Nora (Tati Gabrielle), who was with Abby when she killed Joel. Ellie beat and tortured Nora, who became infected with Cordyceps, and left her to die. The act of violence shook Ellie, as she explained to Dina during the season finale, but not enough to stop her quest for vengeance. During the finale, Ellie tracked Abby to an abandoned aquarium, where she encountered Owen (Spencer Lord) and Mel (Ariela Barer) instead of her target. A standoff ensued and, after Owen pulled a gun on Ellie, Ellie killed him and Mel, who was pregnant. Abby was never found, and it seemed clear from their conversations that Owen and Mel had also lost track of their friend. In the aftermath, Ellie, Jesse, Dina, and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) prepared to leave Seattle, but not before a surprise appearance from Abby. She incapacitated Tommy, shot and killed Jesse, and held a gun on Ellie. The season ended with Abby shooting her weapon in the direction of Ellie, whom she admonished for wasting her second chance at life. It's unclear if Abby shot Ellie or if she merely fired a shot in her direction. (Game fans know Ellie's fate, even if the show left it ambiguous heading into Season 3.) The actual end of Season 2 is a flashback: After Abby shoots at Ellie, the show cuts to black and returns with Abby as the focus three days before the finale events. Season 3 is expected to show what happened to Abby during that period and what led her to confront Ellie and kill Jesse. Speaking to Gold Derby before the finale, Mazino said he was excited for people to see his final episode. 'There's a performance between Bella Ramsey and Kaitlyn Dever that is absolutely phenomenal in the last episode, brilliant stuff,' he said. 'I had the pleasure of being able to be there on set for that, and it was tremendous. It carries so much weight in their words and their stillness in that moment. It was really cool stuff.' Best of GoldDerby 'The Pitt' star Supriya Ganesh on Mohan 'reworking' her trauma and when she'll realize Abbot is flirting with her Dream Team: 'Étoile' creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino on the secrets of their partnership: 'You want to be jealous of something someone has done' TV sound editors roundtable: 'Adolescence' and 'Secret Level' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The dialogue is king': ‘Adolescence' sound editor James Drake on the ‘chaotic and intense' first episode
'We've worked together on pretty much all of Phil's stuff, and I worked on his very first short film,' says James Drake of how he became involved in the Netflix limited series Adolescence, directed by Phil Barantini. The two have collaborated on projects including the Boiling Point short film, feature film, and television series, all which also featured Adolescence creator and star Stephen Graham. Drake discussed the buzzy Netflix series as part of our Meet the Experts: TV Sound panel. (Watch our full interview above). Drake says that Barantini first mentioned Adolescence while the two were working on Boiling Point. 'It sounded unbelievable what they wanted to achieve,' admits the sound editor. He knew from this early moment that each episode of the show would be shot in a single, continuous take, which added to the excitement. 'He explained the opening of Episode 1, going from the car to the house to the van to the police station, all around the police station. … Nothing had been done like this, at least in the U.K.,' reflects the BAFTA nominee. More from GoldDerby 'Have I said too much?' David Chase and Alex Gibney on revisiting 'The Sopranos' for 'Wise Guy' doc - and, yes, that finale Every Disney live-action remake, ranked from worst to first (updated) All the 'Mission: Impossible' movies, ranked (updated) This unique approach to the production of Adolescence meant Drake became involved earlier than usual. 'The process was different, and really early on Phil said you really need to come to set,' remembers the sound editor. He explains that he was there for the shoot of both Episode 1 and Episode 2, which afforded him and the sound team unique opportunities: 'We had this approach where post sound and production sound were working together. … We were doing two takes a day, which meant we had down time after every single take to go away, go up to the edit room, and listen to everything.' The result was 'a huge library of 600 sound effects recorded on set' and '10 takes of each episode' from which Drake could work. SEE 'It's saving lives': 'Adolescence' stars Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper on the series' stunning success The first episode of Adolescence wastes no time in gripping the audience, as the series begins with police breaking down the door of the Miller house and conducting a home search to arrest Jamie and collect evidence of the crime he is accused of committing. 'I spent a week just on the production dialogue of that first 12 minutes,' says Drake, continuing, 'I knew that was going to be the biggest challenge we were going to have, maybe in the series.' A big element of that challenge was conveying the chaos of the situation without sacrificing the audience's ability to gleam important information. 'We needed the audience to understand as much as they could about what was going on, so it was very much taking a very slow approach with the dialogues and working through and finding alt takes,' he says, adding, 'The dialogue is king … so we're always trying to keep that clear and front and center, but also … it needed to feel chaotic and intense.' Another standout scene from a sound perspective comes much later in the episode, when Jamie undergoes saliva and blood tests and a strip search. Part of creating the intrusiveness of that scene came from 'the air condition unit in the room, the room tones being more abrasive, more uncomfortable, and being able to shave those away and have this really stark and really upsetting moment of a dad hearing his son being strip searched a meter away from him,' describes Drake. He and Barantini also wanted to foreground Graham's performance as Jamie's father, Eddie: 'It should at that moment be Eddie's breath and hearing P.C. Jenkins and Jamie going through the strip search. … When the performances are that good as well, we just want to let them shine.' Episode one culminates in a long interrogation scene, where the detectives lay out their case against Jamie to the teenager, his father, and their attorney. Drake notes that an early cut of the scene featured 'a few sounds coming from the police station,' but he and the sound team quickly realized 'we want to be behind that door and be sealed off from the world.' He shares that the biggest hurdle in getting the sound design right for this pivotal sequence was separating the performances from the technical aspects of the shoot, revealing, 'There's three or four people — camera operator, two boom operators — actually walking around that room, all throughout that scene, and in real life, that's a tiny, tiny room.' The sound editor thus embarked on a 'really careful cleaning process so we didn't affect anything, but kept every performance we could.' This article and video are presented by Netflix. SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby Dream Team: 'Étoile' creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino on the secrets of their partnership: 'You want to be jealous of something someone has done' TV sound editors roundtable: 'Adolescence' and 'Secret Level' 'Secret Level' sound editor Matt Yocum on using the 'punchy aesthetic' of video game audio for new animated series Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Everything to know about HBO's ‘Harry Potter' TV series — including the cast and controversy
Years in the making, HBO's planned Harry Potter series adaptation is closer than ever to coming to the small screen. First revealed as a possibility in early 2021, the upcoming television show is expected to last for several years, with each season adapting one of the seven Harry Potter novels written by J.K. Rowling. More from GoldDerby 'Harry Potter' TV series casts its Harry, Hermione, and Ron Dream Team: 'Étoile' creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino on the secrets of their partnership: 'You want to be jealous of something someone has done' 'Have I said too much?' David Chase and Alex Gibney on revisiting 'The Sopranos' for 'Wise Guy' doc - and, yes, that finale 'The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much-loved characters, and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years,' Warner Bros. Discovery said in a press release in 2023. 'Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic, and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.' In a statement released at the time, Rowling seemed pleased with the concept. 'Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I'm looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series,' the author said. (When it was first announced, the series was going to be produced exclusively for Max. However, as part of a corporate strategic shift made public this year, the project will now debut as an HBO property.) Ahead, everything to know about the Harry Potter TV series, including its cast, potential release date, and why the controversy about Rowling continues to hang over the project. On May 27, 2025, HBO announced the three child stars of the series: Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton will play Hermione Granger. HBO held a casting call in October 2024 to fill the parts, with thousands of kids auditioning. Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann are the show's primary casting directors. Bevan has worked on several hit projects, including Barbie, The Batman, Belfast, and Cruella. "After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron," showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner and director and executive producer Mark Mylod said in a statement. "The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there." On April 14, 2025, HBO confirmed the long-rumored casting choices for several members of the faculty staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, among other students, go to school. John Lithgow was cast as school headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the famed wizard and Harry's mentor. Richard Harris originally played the character in the Potter film franchise. After Harris died following Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the late Michael Gambon took over the part. Janet McTeer is set to star as Minerva McGonagall, the character originally played by the late Maggie Smith in the movies. Paapa Essiedu was hired to play Severus Snape, the complicated antagonist originally played by the late Alan Rickman. Nick Frost, meanwhile, was chosen to star as Rubeus Hagrid, the school's gamekeeper. The late Robbie Coltrane played the part in the movies. Lithgow, McTeer, Essiedu, and Frost will be series regulars on the show for the life of its run. For Season 1, which will adapt Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Luke Thallon was cast as key character Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, the school's caretaker. Respectively, those roles were played in the film franchise by Ian Hart and David Bradley. 'We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch,' said Francesca Gardiner (Killing Eve, Succession), the Harry Potter series showrunner and executive producer, and Mark Mylod (Succession, The Last of Us), director of multiple episodes and executive producer. 'We're delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can't wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life.' HBO has not yet set a date for the show. However, the expectation is that the series will premiere in 2026, potentially in the second half of the year, depending on when production starts. The series itself isn't necessarily controversial, although there has been a strong response to Essiedu playing Snape (more on that below). However, Rowling is a polarizing figure because of her frequent comments about gender views and transgender community. When the series was first announced in 2023 with Rowling listed as an executive producer, many online critics spoke out against the choice to include the author in the adaptation. Asked then about the author and her views on transgender rights, Bloys declined to discuss the issue. 'I don't have a comment on that today,' he said. 'No, I don't think this is the forum [to discuss that]. That's a very online conversation, obviously very nuanced and complicated and not something we're going to get into.' 'Our priority is what's on the screen,' Bloys added. 'Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That's our priority — what's on screen.' Rowling has been a lightning rod for controversy for years due to her comments. Film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson (who played Hermione), and Rupert Grint (who played Ron) have all distanced themselves from her views on the transgender community. This decision has drawn the ire of Rowling. More recently, after Rowling celebrated the United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex and not gender, celebrities like Pedro Pascal, whose sister identifies as trans, and Nicola Coughlan, who has supported transgender rights, have blasted Rowling and the HBO adaptation. Commenting on an Instagram post critical of Rowling this month, Pascal wrote, 'Awful disgusting SH-T is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.' 'Keep your new Harry Potter lads. Wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole,' Coughlan, who stars on Bridgerton, wrote on social media. The backlash to Rowling has also reached the new cast members of the HBO adaptation. In an interview published this month, Lithgow said he was surprised when people took offense to his participation in the show. 'I thought, 'Why is this a factor at all?' I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it,' he told the U.K. The Sunday Times. 'I suppose at a certain point I'll meet her, and I'm curious to talk to her.' When asked in the same interview if the criticism had made him reconsider his choice to star on the show, Lithgow said no. Beyond Rowling, the series was also criticized for casting Essiedu, who is Black, as the character of Snape. The character is white in Rowling's books, and so some racist Potter fans took offense to the choice to race-swap the character for the series. However, the decision to cast a Black actor as Snape also drew concern from progressive fans of the franchise. 'I actually am not really bothered by this new Hollywood trend of race-swapping actors at all. A black Commissioner Gordon in Batman, Nick Fury in the MCU etc were all casting choices I fully supported. With Snape, however, I feel it is a different situation,' wrote a fan on Reddit. 'Snape being portrayed by a Black actor, I think, has potential for several of Snape's decisions and experiences to be now attributed to racial issues instead of simply who he is.' Best of GoldDerby 'The Pitt' star Supriya Ganesh on Mohan 'reworking' her trauma and when she'll realize Abbot is flirting with her Dream Team: 'Étoile' creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino on the secrets of their partnership: 'You want to be jealous of something someone has done' TV sound editors roundtable: 'Adolescence' and 'Secret Level' Click here to read the full article.
