Great Quotes: The Sopranos

Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri: Fuckin' Italian people. How did we miss out on this?

Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero: What?

Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri: Fuckin' expresso, cappuccino. We invented this shit and all these other cocksuckers are gettin' rich off it.

Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero: Yeah, isn't it amazing?

Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri: And it's not just the money. It's a pride thing. All our food: pizza, calzone, buffalo moozarell', olive oil. These fucks had nothin'. They ate pootsie before we gave them the gift of our cuisine. But this, this is the worst. This expresso shit.

Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero: Take it easy.

'The Godfather,' at Its Greatest

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/movies/features/bonus-points/092308.html
'The Godfather,' at Its Greatest
By JEN CHANEY
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008

Stop what you're doing and clear a space on that crowded home entertainment center shelf. Room must be made for "The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration," ($69.99) the box set that releases today and delivers one of the most influential series in cinema history, looking better than it ever has before.

A team of technicians spent more than a year meticulously restoring the three "Godfather" films, which also make their debut today on Blu-ray disc ($124.99). The results? A sun that shines even brighter on Connie Corleone's wedding day in "The Godfather"; blacker-than-midnight shadows in Michael Corleone's study in "The Godfather Part II"; and blood that pops with crisper crimson color during the Atlantic City shoot-out in "The Godfather Part III." In short, anyone who loves the movies simply must experience filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola's classics -- or at least the first two, since, let's face it, the third one most of us could take or leave -- through these DVDs, which capitalize on modern technology in a way that only enhances Coppola's and cinematographer Gordon Willis's original vision.

For those whose adoration of The Godfather" borders on religious fervor -- you know these people, they're the ones who can never resist a "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli" joke -- this collection is the definitive one to own. Everything that came with the 2001 box set, including several featurettes, 34 deleted scenes and three solid commentary tracks by Coppola, is here. But so is another disc with an all new slate of excellent extras, including one that explains every detail behind the restoration of the movies in more technical terms than some fans may have ever thought they needed.

Another smart addition: "Godfather World," a featurette that has great fun digging up homages to the mafia saga in everything from "The Simpsons" to "The Sopranos" to a recent Audi commercial. A wide range of admirers -- "Sopranos" creator David Chase, "South Park" mastermind Trey Parker, Coppola pal Steven Spielberg -- also appear in the interviews to explain why these movies have so widely influenced pop culture. (As actor Joe Mantegna puts it, "The Godfather" is "the Italian 'Star Wars.'")

Given the intense popularity and acclaim earned by this trilogy, some viewers may be surprised to realize how perilously close "The Godfather" came to never happening at all. The half-hour documentary "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't" delves into all that ugly behind-the-scenes history. For Corleone family scholars, many of the details -- about the shake-ups at Paramount in the late '60s and early '70s, the studio's desire to remove Coppola from the production and Al Pacino's near failure to be cast as Michael -- will sound very familiar. But for those just discovering these epics, the documentary does a fine, concise job of explaining this Oscar-winning enterprise's place in cinema history.

As fantastic as "The Coppola Restoration" is, the box set is not without its flaws. For one, none of the major cast members participate in any of the featurettes, and their absences are keenly felt. Surely Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro have some memories and insights about "The Godfather" to share. Even more maddening, though, is "'The Godfather' on the Red Carpet." Based on the title, I assumed this featurette would consist of archival footage from the original film's premiere back in 1972. Instead, it contains nothing more than a series of interviews with actors who showed up at the premiere of this year's handheld horror movie "Cloverfield," another Paramount picture. It's great that these young stars share a fondness for these unforgettable films. But as extras go, this one stands as an offer you can, and should, refuse.

Most Oddly Comforting Bonus Point: With the economy on shaky ground, many Americans may find themselves living in fear of getting fired. Maybe some of them will feel better to know that, as "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't" and Coppola's commentary explain, the director lived with that same fear. And this guy is one of his generation's finest filmmakers. "It's a good reminder of what a delicate thing it is to create a really fine work of art, in any discipline," notes San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick LaSalle. "And how dangerous it is to interfere with that."

'Sons of Anarchy'

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/sons-of-anarchy/sons-of-anarchy-premieres-toni-22457.aspx

'Sons of Anarchy' Premieres Tonight
Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The wait is finally over for FX's highly anticipated motorcycle club series, Sons of Anarchy. Tonight at 10pm, the network gives viewers a taste of the edgy yet humorous drama with its pilot episode that introduces the members of the notorious outlaw motorcycle club and their intent to protect their sheltered town of Charming, California from drug dealers and local corporate developers.

Tagged as The Sopranos on Harleys, Sons of Anarchy stars Charlie Hunnam as Jax Teller, the son of SAMCRO's (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original) late co-founder John Teller. At present, Jax is the vice president of the club, next to his step-father president (and other co-founder) Clay. Seeing that there's two co-founders, one died and the other married the dead guy's wife, viewers can expect this to become an issue at some point.

In the season opener, a rival gang robs and destroys Samcro's illegal-arms warehouse. Meanwhile, there's a politically ambitious cop out to bring the club down and some local white supremacists are looking to expand their meth trade inside Charming's borders. There's also a medical emergency involving the newborn son of Samcro leader Jax.

For the rest of the series, Jax's love for the brotherhood comes into direct conflict with his growing trepidation regarding the club's lack of control.

Aside from Charlie Hunnam, Sons of Anarchy also stars Katey Sagal (8 Simple Rules, Married... with Children), who appears as Gemma Teller, Jax's force-of-nature mother who, along with the club's president, Jax's stepfather, has her own ideas about the direction of the Sons of Anarchy. Ron Perlman (Enemy at the Gates, Blade II, The Magnificent Seven) also appears as Clay Morrow. Additional co-stars include Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos, Joey) and Maggie Siff (Mad Men, Nip/Tuck). The show also features Mark Boone, Jr., Kim Coates and Tommy Flanagan, just to name a few.

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: FX

'The Shield' changed basic cable

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/01/DDF412M1J1.DTL

TV review: 'The Shield' changed basic cable
Tim Goodman
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

The Shield. Drama. 10 p.m. Tuesdays on FX.

A few episodes into the final season of "The Shield" - one of television's finest achievements and a game-changer in the cop genre - Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) finds himself in yet another complicated jam. The strain is wearing on him, the desperation more transparent than in the past. He jumps to his feet.

"I've got a card to play," he says, and bolts out the door.

Unfortunately for Mackey - who's played more shady cards than a backroom poker player - he's running out of them. In fact, one of television's most complicated, ethically challenged anti-heroes is about to be played out himself. In this final season, something has to give.

"The Shield" has always been about police corruption, bad choices for good reasons, human frailty, justice versus vengeance and the end justifying the means. In the very first episode, Mackey shoots another cop in cold blood. The next five seasons were about the fallout from that and a series of other ethical failures, including the hijacking of "the Armenian money train" - stealing the profits from a deadly Armenian gang - which has been the dramatic catalyst from Season 2 until the bitter end of this final season.

And anyone who doubts that "The Shield" will go out bitterly - and bloodily - hasn't been paying attention.

Gambling on 'Shield'

To fully appreciate the legacy of "The Shield," you have to go back to its premiere on the FX channel in March 2002, a time when there were roughly eight scripted series on basic cable, none on which had any gravitas. HBO had "The Sopranos," but the consensus was that high-end quality cable fare could exist only on a premium channel - one without commercials - because even toned down, the language, sex and violence of such a drama would discourage advertisers.

But FX believed in the ultra-gritty "Shield" and took the gamble. Backed by enormous critical praise, "The Shield" premiered to more than 5 million viewers, which shattered the basic-cable ratings record. FX's decision to boldly jump into the scripted-series business altered basic cable - and television - forever. Now everybody's in the game.

But not everybody has something like "The Shield" in its arsenal. With its fearless writing and the ferocious intensity of Chiklis leading the way, "The Shield" reinvented the cop genre. An argument can be made that "The Wire" and "The Shield" have so far surpassed the creative achievements of the great network cop series - "Homicide" and "NYPD Blue" specifically - that it would almost be pointless to attempt such a series now.

What remains compelling about "The Shield" as it heads into its last hurrah are the gray areas and ethical gradations of the characters that have defined it. Creator Shawn Ryan found, in the Vic Mackey character, a likable monster. Much in the way that Tony Soprano's actions conflicted viewers, Mackey's poisonous mix of God-complex-meets-sanctimonious-criminality is hard to turn away from. Mackey is the ultimate anti-hero on television right now.

The final season

Even in this last season, when we should all know better - when the drumbeat for justice (or something) for Mackey grows louder and more incessant, he's still able to sell you his good side. The season begins with Strike Team outcast Shane (Walton Goggins) trying to make up for his own past indiscretions with Mackey and to stop the Armenians from killing Mackey's family as revenge for the money train rip-off.

Shane - easily the most emotionally damaged member of the Strike Team because of what it has taken to cover up all the lies - thinks he's found a way to strike a deal and avert the vengeance. But Mackey, whose unpredictable moral compass has held viewers in awe all these seasons, can't abide the collateral damage that the deal may entail. "Do you think I'd let three random kids get killed in Chicago just to save my own?"

That one simple sentence illustrates Mackey perfectly.

Here's a guy who killed a fellow cop to cover up his own ethical deviations - a pattern of wanting and taking and justifying that grew ever more dangerous (and less gray) through the years. And yet the same guy rids the streets of Los Angeles of gangbangers and heinous criminals, loves his family and is loyal to his closest fellow cops. What kept "The Shield" moving forward and avoiding monotony is that Ryan and the writers continued to muddy the lines of acceptable behavior that had already forced the viewers to play a game of situational ethics while they watched at home.

It was as if Ryan said, "OK, you're comfortable with Mackey doing this. How about this? Hey, the strains of having an autistic child are compelling him to get a little money on the side from bad guys. That's all right, isn't it? But how about if we make him go two steps further?"

Each season, the noose around Mackey's neck tightened and loosened. The writers deftly played on our emotions - our feelings that Mackey needed to get nailed, but our relief when he squirmed out of the grasp of justice, or our satisfaction as the sanctimonious higher-ups bent on nailing Mackey also went beyond the letter of the law. Was their pursuit of justice any different than his?

It was the kind of institutional failure mixed with human foibles that we all understand and sometimes condone. "The Shield" gave us a visceral and intellectual account of the human condition under duress. It wasn't so simple as "What would you do?" It was, "How slippery is the slope when you're on it? Good people can do bad things, but how much bad is acceptable? Can deviant behavior that saves lives or rights a wrong be rationalized?"

But now it all ends. And with that comes judgment time. Does Mackey get caught and do time? Does he die? Is his family harmed? Does he walk away just in time? Or does he win, the money and the badge proving that the end justifies the means?

One thing is clear: There will be no vague finale, no unfinished business. It's not the way of "The Shield." And when it goes out, spare a moment of appreciation for a series that changed the way cable television looked at content.

E-mail Tim Goodman at tgoodman@sfchronicle.com. You can read his TV blog, the Bastard Machine, at www.thebastardmachine.com.

This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

'Grand Theft Auto IV' is exhilarating adventure

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/marcsaltzman/2008-04-28-grand-theft-auto-iv_N.htm

'Grand Theft Auto IV' is exhilarating adventure

Let's cut right to the chase: Grand Theft Auto IV is not a video game for kids, tweens or even young teenagers. As with its controversial predecessors, the latest in the 70 million unit-selling series is a Mature-rated adventure, created for players 17 years of age and older as it gives you a virtual taste of the criminal underworld. Think of it as an interactive episode of The Sopranos, if you will.

Because of its tremendous following and the fact it's available on both high-definition consoles, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV will likely be the best-selling game of 2008. It also helps that it's the first game in the series to offer online multiplayer modes. Having spent the better part of 10 days living this dangerous alternate life, rest assured this GTA sequel more than lives up to the hype.

In Grand Theft Auto IV, you play as Niko Bellic, a tough-looking character who arrives in the U.S. from somewhere in Eastern Europe, expecting the streets to be paved with gold. It seems Niko's American cousin, Roman, lied about his extravagant lifestyle: Instead of being wealthy and living in a mansion, Roman is indebted to loan sharks and lives in a cockroach-infested apartment the size of a walk-in closet.

Nevertheless, Niko decides to help Roman with his rundown cabstand and keep thugs off his back until he can figure out how to make money and connections in Liberty City, the same city as 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, modeled after New York City and New Jersey. If you're questioning how Niko could forgive his scheming cousin, you'll discover a few hours into the game that there are other reasons why Niko left his homeland.

Grand Theft Auto games offer "sandbox" play, meaning you can virtually go anywhere and do anything in this fully realized 3-D city with pedestrians, traffic and storefronts. This play from a third-person perspective includes carjacking any vehicle, listening to more than a hundred songs on car radios and playing minigames such as billiards, darts, bowling or arcade games. Niko can go on dates, swim, surf the Internet and buy clothing and weapons.

But it's the seedy missions that unravel the lengthy single-player story. In person or via his cellphone, Niko will be asked to perform missions that include escorting someone, taking out drug dealers, evading police cruisers, racing to one end of the city before someone else, flying a helicopter, retrieving stolen money or looking up an informant's address. In many cases you'll have three offers at once and will be forced to make decisions, which will affect the storyline and your friendships.

Grand Theft Auto IV offers high-definition graphics that trump 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, including impressive lip-synching, non-interactive story sequences that were motion-captured for added realism, varying weather and a new physics engine that models everything authentically. This sequel also adds more hand-to-hand combat and optional in-car GPS to help you better navigate the city.

Without question, though, the biggest new feature is something gamers have been asking about for years: multiplayer modes. In Grand Theft Auto IV, up to 16 gamers can play online in a host of cooperative and competitive games including "Deathmatch" (every person for himself), "Team Deathmatch" and "Cops & Crooks" (a racing game). Because we reviewed the game before launch, however, this online component was disabled.

Xbox 360 gamers will also be able to download bonus missions and other content later this year, via the Xbox Live service.

Controversy is unavoidable with this game. As with past GTA titles you can shoot at cops, drive into pedestrians and request "services" from a prostitute. This sequel is also laced with foul language, plus you can drink and drive and watch pole dancers at a strip club. Again, take heed to the "M" rating.

Aside from a slightly choppy frame rate at times, when the action stutters a bit, and hard-to-read green GPS directions on your map, there is little to complain about with Grand Theft Auto IV. Adult gamers will find a single-player story that can easily last a month, not to mention the ability to hop online and play with friends anywhere, anytime. Expect a lot of bang for your buck in this highly polished sequel.

Fans flock to 'Sopranos' Jersey haunts

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_en_tv/sopranos_mania

Fans flock to 'Sopranos' Jersey haunts
By JANET FRANKSTON LORIN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jun 21, 2007

Fade to black? Not a chance for fans of "The Sopranos." Almost two weeks after the series finale, the addiction to the show seems stronger than ever, with legions of fans making a journey to Jersey to see real-life remnants of the hit TV mob drama.

For many, their obsession starts at the place where the series ended: Business is booming at the diner where lead character Tony Soprano sat with his family in the controversial series finale.

Fans not only want to eat at Holsten's (actually an ice cream parlor in Bloomfield), they want to sit in the same booth where Tony, the fictional New Jersey mob boss, played the Journey song, "Don't Stop Believin'."

"The phone just rings constantly all day from people wanting to make reservations," said co-owner Chris Carley. "They ask `Can we reserve the booth? Can we get a T-shirt?'"

Carley, who watched the final scenes filmed there over two days, fields calls from fans wanting to talk about the ending. Customers who want to relive Tony's last meal can buy some of the onion rings he raved about(for $2.50), but they cannot listen to the juke box, which was a prop for the show.

"It's just so funny that people want to sit in that booth," Carley said. "A lot of people are taking pictures."

The Emmy-winning HBO show explored the life of the fictional Jersey mob boss and his family, and scores of scenes have been shot across the Garden State since it debuted in 1999.

The series buzz-inducing final scene ended abruptly with the screen suddenly going black as Tony and his family sit down to dinner at Holsten's, leaving fans guessing about what happens next.

Part of "The Sopranos" fascination is fueled by the lack of a real ending, said Roland T. Rust, chairman of the marketing department at the University of Maryland.

"The fact you don't have that resolution makes it more difficult for people to let go," Rust said.

Some fans are flocking to a "Sopranos"-themed bus tour. With 47 sites, it's one way fans can still connect with the show. The cost is $42 per person, which includes a cannoli (a nod to "The Godfather"). Afternoon tours for the next two weekends are already sold out.

The tour begins in Midtown Manhattan and transports up to 54 people through the Lincoln Tunnel into Jersey (the start of Tony's journey in the opening credits). Fans see the fictional Satriale's pork store in Kearny and the diner under the Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City where Tony's nephew, Christopher, got shot.

For many the highlight is Satin Dolls, a strip club that fronts for the "Bada Bing," on Route 17 in Lodi.

"People are really in withdrawal," says Georgette Blau, president of On Location Tours. A third tour has been added, and a fourth is likely to begin next month, Blau said.

Satriale's, which is one of the most popular stops, is slated to be whacked come August or September.

Manny Costeira, the owner of the building who leased it to HBO, is demolishing it to make way for nine condos and a garage, aptly named "Soprano Court."

Costeira said construction will begin in the fall or spring and fans can buy a piece of the building.

"We'll be salvaging the stones off the building for those people who are totally heartbroken about the pork store going down," he said.

The obsession with "The Sopranos" doesn't just include New Jersey.

Music downloads of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" jumped 371 percent in the week after it played in the show's final scene, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign borrowed from the series ending when it unveiled its new campaign song with a Web video spoof of the "Sopranos" exit.

Even Pizzaland, a shack that zips by in the show's opening credits, has seen a huge spike in business from fans trying to still starving for the show.

The store got so busy fielding requests for custom pizzas from across the country — the pies are sent by mail in dry ice — that it had to shut its doors to walk-in customers five days before the final episode aired.

"We had to stop answering the phones," said owner Todd Maino.

His employees worked for 48 hours straight to accommodate 800 to 1,000 orders before the finale, and they're still taking 300 to 400 weekly orders for the thin-crust pizza.

Pizzaland shipped two pies to Jeri Hershberger last week in Spokane, Wash. The 56-year-old is still looking for a connection to the show.

"It never was finalized," she said. "It keeps people's imaginations going."
___
On the Net:

http://www.hbo.com

Clinton spoofs Sopranos in Web video

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_video

Clinton spoofs Sopranos in Web video
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 19, 2007

The scene: A diner and a jukebox. A nostalgic song. A cut to black. It worked as a finale for "The Sopranos." It now marks a new beginning for "The Clintons." Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign on Tuesday unveiled its new campaign song with a Web video that spoofs the final scene of the popular HBO mobster series.

The video and the announcement of Celine Dion's "You and I" as the official Clinton tune cap a monthlong, interactive Internet campaign that drew more than a million viewers to the Clinton campaign Web site and to YouTube, the popular online video display room.

The selection of Dion, who was born in Canada, resulted in some smirking accusations from Republicans that Clinton had "outsourced" her music. In fact, Dion's "You and I" has done a turn as a theme song already — for Air Canada in 2004.

But the song campaign and the video also illustrates the growing effort by some of the more technologically savvy campaigns to connect with voters and potential donors in clever, relatively inexpensive formats that are infused with pop culture references, contemporary themes or intimate moments.

Just this week, the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, posted a video featuring Romney's wife, Ann, narrating scenes of Christmas vacation last year when the family reached the decision to pursue the White House.

In the new Clinton clip, Hillary Clinton, like Tony Soprano, spins through the musical selections in a diner in Mount Kisco, N.Y., near her home in Chappaqua, as her husband, former President Clinton, quizzes her about the campaign and the song contest winner.

The Soprano touches are subtle but perfectly obvious to any fan of the series.

The music that plays through the video is not Dion's but Journey's "Don't Stop Believin,'" the same song that Tony Soprano chooses from the jukebox in the show's final scene. At one point, actor Vince Curatola, who played New York mob boss Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni in the series, walks menacingly by the Clintons' table.

Tony Soprano ordered onion rings. Hillary orders carrots for Bill. "No onion rings?" the former president asks forlornly.

"Where's Chelsea?" Sen. Clinton asks. Outside a car tire hits the curb. "Parallel parking," President Clinton replies.

"How's the campaign going?" he asks.

"Well, like you always say, focus on the good times."

"So what's the winning song," he presses.

"You'll see."

"My money is on Smash Mouth," he says. "Everybody in America wants to know how it's going to end."

"Ready?" Hillary asks.

The scene cuts to black.

But, no, unlike the Sopranos, it's not over. You can click to hear Dion's song. A new page pops up. The most prominent word stands out against a red background:

"Contribute."
____
On the Net:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/