The Many Saints of Newark had been in the making for years, and with the delay caused by COVID-19, Sopranos fans had to be patient. During that time, many stories about the movie's production came to light, and they're almost as interesting as the movie itself.
Between actors not knowing what they're auditioning for, Edie Falco appearing in a deleted scene, and consultations with Steven Van Zandt, a lot has been revealed about the secretive production of The Many Saints of Newark.
It seems only natural for Michael Gandolfini to take on the role of Tony Soprano, a role that was once held by his father, especially considering he has such a striking resemblance to him. However, it wasn't an immediate yes from the actor.
After saying that he loved the process and that it was the best experience of his life, the younger Gandolfini said that he was conflicted about taking the role because he was worried about what everyone was going to say about it. But that thought quickly transitioned into praying that he got the part after auditioning, as he fell in love with the writing of David Chase, who created The Sopranos and wrote The Many Saints of Newark.
In the new movie, Leslie Odom Jr. plays Harold, a new character who was never seen in the series. He's an exciting addition to the ensemble cast, and as Harold's fate is left unknown in Many Saints, it's one of the ways The Sopranos could continue after the 2021 movie.
However, not only did he not know how much of an imperative role he'd have in the movie, but Odom Jr. didn't even know what he was auditioning for. The actor said that HBO was acting like the MCU, where every minor detail is kept under wraps. And when he was auditioning, all of the character names and locations were completely changed.
The newcomer admitted that he had never seen an episode of The Sopranos before he was offered to audition for the role of Tony. It comes as a huge surprise, as the show's finale had 12 million viewers in the U.S. alone. However, at the time, he was just a child, and he told Jimmy Fallon that he just saw the set as one giant jungle gym when he was there with his father.
Gandolfini did watch the first season during the audition process to get the gist of the character, and he then eventually watched the rest of the series after getting the part. But still, it's strange that he wasn't intrigued to watch the show when he was finally old enough.
The focus of the film isn't on Tony Soprano, but the man who made him, Dickie DiMeo. Tony has loads of likable relatives, and Dickie is one of the best, even despite his vicious actions. Being played by Alessandro Nivola, the actor was surprised to find out that he was the lead character.
Similar to how Leslie Odom Jr. was kept in the dark, Nivola was only given five scenes from the movie for the audition process. He thought that they were the only scenes he was in, but when he was finally given the whole screenplay, only then did he learn that he was auditioning for the lead role.
There are many brave characters in Many Saints, but few of them come close to how Carmela was throughout the whole of The Sopranos.
Edie Falco played Carmela in the series, and as Many Saints director Alan Taylor had worked with her so much when he directed episodes of the show, he brought her back for the film. From what Taylor says, it sounds like she was in an alternative opening, but unfortunately, her scene was cut out of the movie. Carmela does appear in the film, but as a much younger version.
Being James Gandolfini's son, there's no doubt that Michael Gandolfini can easily pick up his father's little ticks and mannerisms. The actor said that he was playing up to Tony's biggest quirks from the series, which is what he thought fans would have wanted to see.
However, Taylor told the actor to reign in the performance a little and apparently told him, "you can't yell at the principal like you're 30." But the end result is incredible, and Gandolfini gives the best young Soprano performance.
Warner Bros.'s decision to give all of their upcoming movies day-and-date HBO Max releases has been well documented, as has the fallout between the studio and the directors. Christopher Nolan has ended his long-running relationship with the studio, and Denis Villeneuve has been very vocal about his feelings around Dune's HBO Max release too.
Adding to the list of disgruntled creators is David Chase, who is allegedly still angry about it. However, the movie was much more successful on the streaming platform than it was in theatres. Many Saints only made $7 million at the worldwide box office, but it has been streamed in more than one million households on HBO Max.
In doing the press junket rounds for the movie, Vera Farmiga, who plays Livia, recalls her very awkward audition. However, that audition wasn't for The Many Saints of Newark, but for The Sopranos. Farmiga auditioned for the role of Valentina Le Paz, who was Tony Soprano's girlfriend in seasons 4 and 5.
The actor recalls the audition where David Chase was quietly staring at her, and she doesn't know if it was because she killed it or if she sucked. But it worked out in the end, as Livia is one of the best characters in the movie, and it's largely thanks to Farmiga's depiction.
Along with directing episodes of The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and The West Wing, Alan Taylor was also the man behind huge blockbuster movies such as Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys.
But despite being responsible for movies with $200 million budgets, Taylor said that directing The Many Saints of Newark was the hardest job he's ever had. The director claimed that he lied awake at night thinking about how to bring David Chase's vision to life. It's hardly surprising, as not only did he have to please Chase, but millions of fans too.
In The Sopranos, Steven Van Zandt played Silvio, one of the fan-favorite soldiers for Tony's crew. The 30-year-younger version of the character appears in the new movie, and it's a great impression of Zandt's raspy vernacular.
Apparently, the actor-musician was consulted during the post-production of the film, and Chase had him watch several early cuts of the movie. However, Zandt didn't give away what he thought of the new portrayal of the character that he made famous more than 14 years ago.
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