Did David Chase literally do a deal with the devil

[guest]

Here's a guy who was around for years, a jobbing writer on groundbreaking television shows like The Rockford Files, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and Alfred Hitchcock Presents...Story and exec produced Northern Exposure. Then he created arguably the greatest TV show ever. A revolutionary piece of media. Then...nothing. For years. And his eventual follow-up? Fucking awful.

Just a case of right time, right place, right luck? Or a "Dear Lucifer, let me create the best TV show ever and in return I offer you my eternal soul" type scenario?

Given the last couple of years, neither option would surprise me.

 

[Joe_Cumia_Eats_HUMAN_SHIT]

David Chase is just a marginally better Vince Gilligan

 

[Stent]

He worked his way up and eventually created something great before the fame went to his head and he became shit. It's a cliche.

 

[LingerLonger]

Here's a guy who was around for years, a jobbing writer on groundbreaking television shows like The Rockford Files, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo and Alfred Hitchcock Presents...Story and exec produced Northern Exposure. Then he created arguably the greatest TV show ever. A revolutionary piece of media. Then...nothing. For years. And his eventual follow-up? Fucking awful.

Just a case of right time, right place, right luck? Or a "Dear Lucifer, let me create the best TV show ever and in return I offer you my eternal soul" type scenario?

Given the last couple of years, neither option would surprise me.

He had some of the creators of HBO's OZ helping him and then had Tim Van Patten, Terrence Winter, and others that joined and worked on the show for long periods. Buscemi directed Pine Barrens. Pretty much all of the lead actors were perfectly cast. Gandolfini carried the show with a legendary performance. Imagine if Tony was another actor would the show have been as good?

You have to remember the pilot episode of Sopranos was bad and the tone is way different from the rest of the show. It was made in 1997 before the rest of season one was made in 1999. But when OZ was put into production and was way darker with multiple murder and rape stories, racial violence, gore, drug use. And OZ was clearly made for only adults to watch. Sopranos from that point on geared the show against slapstick comedy and more into a realistic territory. They even poached the lead actress. Without OZ, Sopranos is probably some faggy show for edgy teenagers like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But after HBO execs liked OZ it changed everything. Literally half of the major one hour drama shows had people from OZ on them. Sopranos, LOST, Wire, The Pacific, Boardwalk Empire, Generation Kill, and so on. OZ was way more influential on TV than anything else.

David Chase wanted a silly show that was like Get Shorty or Lethal Weapon with some dramatic elements but was not dark. But OZ was so insane for its time that HBO clearly wanted to move in a more serious direction. Stuff like Many Saints of Newark is probably how he always intended for The Sopranos to be. Chase did more press for Many Saints than basically all of Sopranos combined.

 

[guest]

He had some of the creators of HBO's OZ helping him and then had Tim Van Patten, Terrence Winter, and others that joined and worked on the show for long periods. Buscemi directed Pine Barrens. Pretty much all of the lead actors were perfectly cast. Gandolfini carried the show with a legendary performance. Imagine if Tony was another actor would the show have been as good?

You have to remember the pilot episode of Sopranos was bad and the tone is way different from the rest of the show. It was made in 1997 before the rest of season one was made in 1999. But when OZ was put into production and was way darker with multiple murder and rape stories, racial violence, gore, drug use. And OZ was clearly made for only adults to watch. Sopranos from that point on geared the show against slapstick comedy and more into a realistic territory. They even poached the lead actress. Without OZ, Sopranos is probably some faggy show for edgy teenagers like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But after HBO execs liked OZ it changed everything. Literally half of the major one hour drama shows had people from OZ on them. Sopranos, LOST, Wire, The Pacific, Boardwalk Empire, Generation Kill, and so on. OZ was way more influential on TV than anything else.

David Chase wanted a silly show that was like Get Shorty or Lethal Weapon with some dramatic elements but was not dark. But OZ was so insane for its time that HBO clearly wanted to move in a more serious direction. Stuff like Many Saints of Newark is probably how he always intended for The Sopranos to be. Chase did more press for Many Saints than basically all of Sopranos combined.

Some great points. You had the creators of Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men doing the bulk of writing and directing. And Gandolfini as Tony is maybe the greatest example of perfect casting ever.

 

[wbgreen]

He was in his 50s when he created The Sopranos. He was 75 when he made Many Saints. Big difference between being a middle aged man who worked all his life in TV until he was able to make his dream show vs being a smelly old man who probably poops his pants.

 

[Gay Faggot.]

Great points already made. All I have to say is, if it’s a deal with the devil, he got absolutely fucked. Dylan, the stones, Tom Brady, etc, are all fucking legends and will never have that ruined. Retard.

 

[MunchausenByProxy]

I want to see the alternate universe where Tony Soprano is Val Kilmer

 

[Cuphead]

No, he was never that great. Terrence Winter was the real genius behind The Sopranos. The same way Jerry Seinfeld takes credit when Larry David was the real creative force behind Seinfeld.

 

[AwfulManTitTankTop]

I think it's more that Hollywood is creatively bankrupt and even David Chase isn't a risk worth taking for producers unless it's something people already know.

I found this portion of his recent Hollywood Reporter interview pretty funny/sad:

 

[Stent]

I want to see the alternate universe where Tony Soprano is Val Kilmer

I ordered for the table.

 

[Naked_Militiaman]

He had some of the creators of HBO's OZ helping him and then had Tim Van Patten, Terrence Winter, and others that joined and worked on the show for long periods. Buscemi directed Pine Barrens. Pretty much all of the lead actors were perfectly cast. Gandolfini carried the show with a legendary performance. Imagine if Tony was another actor would the show have been as good?

You have to remember the pilot episode of Sopranos was bad and the tone is way different from the rest of the show. It was made in 1997 before the rest of season one was made in 1999. But when OZ was put into production and was way darker with multiple murder and rape stories, racial violence, gore, drug use. And OZ was clearly made for only adults to watch. Sopranos from that point on geared the show against slapstick comedy and more into a realistic territory. They even poached the lead actress. Without OZ, Sopranos is probably some faggy show for edgy teenagers like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. But after HBO execs liked OZ it changed everything. Literally half of the major one hour drama shows had people from OZ on them. Sopranos, LOST, Wire, The Pacific, Boardwalk Empire, Generation Kill, and so on. OZ was way more influential on TV than anything else.

David Chase wanted a silly show that was like Get Shorty or Lethal Weapon with some dramatic elements but was not dark. But OZ was so insane for its time that HBO clearly wanted to move in a more serious direction. Stuff like Many Saints of Newark is probably how he always intended for The Sopranos to be. Chase did more press for Many Saints than basically all of Sopranos combined.

You’ve been on fire with the Sopranos insights, brotherman. I remember hearing David Simon on an audio commentary (back before he became a colossal faggot on Twitter) saying how important Oz was to The Wire’s whole existence. Not to mention half the cast of The Wire are Oz rejects.

Tom Fontana (Oz creator) was also responsible for the best years of “Homicide: Life on the Street” before David Simon took over as showrunner who I’m told gayed up the show (I didn’t see the later seasons). I think the success of “The Wire” was a David Chase-type situation where writers like George Pelecanos, Ed Burns, Richard Price, and David Mills kept the creator’s lack of charisma in check.

 

[Riccardo Bosi]

I think he's just a hack. He came up with a concept that was better off in other peoples' hands.

 

[Raymond]

You forgot "Not Fade Away" and so did everybody else.