David Chase Hints at a Sopranos Prequel

[jakeXT]

David Chase gave Sopranos fans reason to dream this week by admitting he is "intrigued" by the idea of writing a spin-off series from the show.

Speaking to Associated Press, the 69-year-old said the death of James Gandolfini last year means that the show would most likely be set in a period before the original’s 1999-2007 storyline.

“It wouldn’t be The Sopranos that was on the air,” he said.

“There are a couple of eras that would be interesting for me to talk about, about Newark, New Jersey.

“One would be the late '60s, early '70s, about all the racial animosity. Or the beginning, the really true beginning of the flood of drugs.”

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/sopranos-prequel

[Auggie]

1. Cool ... and I imagine, challenging

The most successful mob treatments are centered around strong personalities and family relationships ... Michael Corleone, Henry Hill, Tony Soprano. He'll have to develop an intriguing story line and character relationships we haven't seen before.

[jakeXT]

2. Coppola used what he knew from his own family life, a different director may have left it out

One reason for the longevity of "The Godfather" over the past 40 years is that, behind its gangster plot, is a classic story of an American family, tracing its journey from immigration and poverty toward assimilation and success. In fact, it's not just the story of the Corleone family, but of the Coppola family as well. The movie feels like a personal glimpse into a family album, but it's director/co-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola's family album as much as it is the fictional Michael Corleone's.
...

Although I had no experience or knowledge of the Mafia, in the end, they were just an Italian-American family. I based the film all on my uncles and my relatives. Now, they were musicians, or they were little businessmen or tool and die makers, but they were true first- and second-generation, third-generation Italian-Americans. I used my memories of what it was like in my family. How they sat around the table. How my uncles would get Chinese food. What the family dinner table was like. How my sister would serve and how the uncles would discuss world events. All I did was take another profession of Italian-Americans, which was what my family was like. In acting they call it substitution.... All I did was apply what I knew intimately, which was my own family. All that detail, and I just said, 'Oh, the gangsters were probably just like that.'

http://news.moviefone.com/2012/03/22/the-godfather-francis-ford-coppola-family/

The stories are certainly out there, and usually a couple of actors even have a mob background. That was the case with The Godfather and the Sopranos.

Here is an interview with with Gianni Russo who played Carlo in The Godfather
http://sideshownetwork.tv/podcastsEpisode.cfm?podcastid=104&episodeID=4866

[Auggie]

3. Well, nothing brought more change than the 60s and 70s ...

Maybe we'll see Archie Bunker as Mob Boss.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. "Late 60's early 70's"

I see them focusing on Simone and John Riggi. . . how they intersected with the rise of Gotti. Could be a very interesting show.


Instead of a strip club - play on the Kenilworth Heating and Air Conditioning front.
Play up how Sam (Simone) played at being a descendent of Italian royalty.
Gotti and Ruggiero's rising up.
Fighting it out for the porn business in NYC.

Just from 1964 to 1976 you've got five/six seasons of good stuff to use.

And because I was such a huge fan of Boardwalk Empire - I'm okay with them skipping a few years to move the story along from season to season.




ETA - Sopranos was based on the DeCalvicante Crime Family - even included the downfall of member for being gay. Simone and John Riggi were the preceding crooks.