David Chase Speaks Out

Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger snagged the interview with David Chase, and it may help answer some of the questions surrounding the final episode of The Sopranos.

Sopranos Finale: Do Not Adjust Your Television

After all the buildup for the final Sopranos episode, the final scene went blank in mid-scene, leaving probably 99% of viewers wondering if their cable went out.

What's the deal with that? Leaving it open to our imaginations to figure what may have happened? Leaving the door ajar to perhaps return another time?

Anyway, Phil Leotardo was whacked and then his head was crushed under the wheels of an SUV; this coming after a sitdown between Phil's crew and Tony arranged by an oddly silent Little Carmine. FBI Agent Harris played a crucial role by tipping Tony to Phil's whereabouts and later rejoicing when he hears the news about his demise.

A.J. snapped out of his depression after his vehicle went up in flames, just as he was getting busy with Rhiannon. He decides to join the Army but is talked out of it by his parents and set up with a job on a film crew. Meanwhile, Meadow and Patrick Parisi appear headed for the altar, with Meadow likely landing a plum job at a high-profile law office.

So Tony, Carmela and A.J. are sitting in Holsten's in Bloomfield eating onion rings (the best in New Jersey, according to Tony) with mysterious characters milling about, as they wait on Meadow, who's having parking issues out on Broad Street (she should have parked behind Mastroianni's; it's a lot easier). Tony plays Journey's Don't Stop Believing, and you see a character who has been eyeballing the family get up and head to the bathroom, so you figure something is going down.

Then, a blank screen.

Go figure.

Naturally, most of my predictions went out the window, with the exception of an incoherent Uncle Junior in a state psych ward.

Captain Ed has more. Additional reaction here.

The Sopranos: How Will It End?

The highly anticipated finale to one of television's greatest shows is upon us and conjecture about how it will end is flying about.

Where else would you go than to Tony Soprano's favorite newspaper to get your Sopranos fix? Or perhaps another New Jersey source.

Other predictions here.

I think either Meadow or AJ are killed inadvertently in a scheme to whack Tony and he realizes in order to save any semblance of his real family, he has to get out of the business and cooperate with the FBI to bring down Phil Leotardo. Whether he assumes the name Kevin Finnerty is anyone's guess.

Paulie Walnuts will go down in a gunfight, not at the hands of Valery the Russian, Junior Soprano will last be seen babbling incoherently in a state mental facility, and Janice will change her name back to Parvati and flee back to Washington.

Of course, knowing how creative David Chase is, none of the above will likely happen.

Mrs. JWF thinks Silvio has been working for the FBI and will return with Adriana. That seems far-fetched, but she's been right on some of these predictions. Earlier this season I thought perhaps Silvio was an informant all along, but it seems he wouldn't be functioning after last week's hit in the Bada Bing parking lot.

Whatever the case may be, I believe this is the last we'll see of this landmark program, as any thought of a movie seems ridiculous after 86 episodes.

(Image via HBO).

Sopranos Can Film in Bloomfield

Score one for sanity in a blow against intolerant political correctness.

Tony Soprano is welcome in the North Jersey town of Bloomfield after all. Earlier this week, the town's mayor and council had denied a permit to film the series' final scene, saying they found the HBO mob drama a disparaging portrait of Italian-Americans.

However, township attorney Brian Aloia determined the council doesn't have a say in the permit process unless a waiver is needed, and said the town clerk has now issued the filming permit.

A waiver wasn't needed because producers would be filming in a commercial area after 8 p.m., he said.

HBO intended to shoot the scene at an ice cream shop in Bloomfield. The town borders Newark, where fictional mob boss Tony Soprano grew up.

Previously: Bloomfield to Sopranos: Fuhgeddaboutit.

Bloomfield to Sopranos: Fuhgeddaboutit

This is incredibly lame.

A Garden State town council whacked "The Sopranos" Monday night, barring the Cosa Nostra drama from filming in suburban Bloomfield, N.J.

Local lawmakers hit the wildly popular HBO series due to what it called "negative depictions of Italian-Americans," said the town's mayor, Raymond McCarthy, a leading opponent of the show.

McCarthy - whose wife is Italian - said the show had intended to film the very last scene, for the very last episode, at a local Broad Street ice cream parlor, Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery.

As a former Bloomfield resident, I'm very disappointed the town has become so namby-pamby and weak-kneed, caving in to political correctness like their neighboring town, Montclair, once did.

Back in the first season of the program, the scene where an attempted hit was made on Tony Soprano was filmed in Montclair, an affluent, ultra-liberal enclave. Following that, the locals decided to bar The Sopranos from being filmed there because they used guns while filming. Shocking a mob hit would involve guns, isn't it? Of course, they failed to take into account the show is fiction and nobody was really being shot.

Still, there is still hope things can be resolved.

Holsten's owner is now complaining that the town's touchy politicians denied him a place in television history.

"We were excited," said the historic parlor's co-owner, Chris Carley, 53. "If it's good for the area and businesses, your personal opinions shouldn't be mixed in."

The council originally met in a closed-door conference last week and approved the shoot planned for later this month, following routine approvals from Bloomfield's traffic department.

But after pressure from McCarthy and Italian-American organizations, the council flipped and refused to allow the show to be filmed just one week later during its bi-weekly meeting.

Now, the county executive will try to step in to bring the matter back to a vote next Monday - and make the council an offer they can't refuse.

" 'The Sopranos' will hopefully have their last episode here," said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo. "Hey, I'm an Italian-American and to me it's about the arts, it's about TV."

Good for DiVincenzo, and I hope he can exert some influence in this case.

One of the great things about The Sopranos, especially for New Jersey residents, is recognizing places you know while watching the program. I've had the opportunity to witness filming in past years and wherever you go, the show has been immensely popular for the locals as well as being a source of revenue. To deny a local establishment in a town like Bloomfield, with a heavily Italian population, to have the final scene in this landmark program, is really a disgrace. Having frequented the establishement in question makes it even more disappointing.