The director of HBO's upcoming documentary is renowned documentarian Alex Gibney Smart Guy: David Chase and The Sopranosreminded New York Post The 'very disturbing' moment Chase 'almost' walked away from the project.
Feel yourself a The Sopranos Fan of extensive work including Scientology exposé Going to Cleaninspired to create a profile The Sopranos Creator Chase and his groundbreaking mob series, after meeting his creator and finding him to be a “fascinating and surprising character.”
“It occurred to me that it was possible to make an interesting film… how [The Sopranos] “It was done and … how personal it was to him,” Gibney said. “This was because of David's relationship with his mother,” he added. “His mother issues were the driving force behind this The SopranosThat was interesting to me.”
“He's been in therapy for a long time, so he was kind of willing to go there,” Gibney said of Chase agreeing to participate in the docuseries, which will air on HBO on Sept. 7.
But despite this compelling premise, Chase “almost walked out” on Gibney on the first day of production, which was set on a set that painstakingly recreated the office of Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) therapist Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). When Gibney started asking personal questions, Chase backed away.
“‘What am I doing, talking about myself?’” Gibney recalled Chase saying, “‘Who cares who cares about this?’ And he almost walked.”
Gibney continued: “But he didn't. He did. I think he's a very thoughtful guy and he's done a lot of self-reflection.” The director added that while they eventually worked things out, the incident on set was “very disturbing.”
But Gibney admitted he would have made the documentary even if Chase had declined to participate. “There's always a way [to continue the project]”However, it would have been weird if the main character had decided not to appear,” he admitted.
Smart Man It features archival interviews with Gandolfini and supporting actors Michael Imperioli, Drea De Matteo, Edie Falco and Bracco before his death in 2013 at the age of 51. The two-part documentary also features network executive Chris Albrecht's recollections of organizing an intervention for Gandolfini, who struggled with substance abuse during the series.
“[Gandolfini] “He's so important to this show and he's a phenomenal actor,” Gibney said. New Year Party“And he brought such dimension to this role. But at the same time, he's had some pretty famous challenges himself. His own personal challenges.”
Smart Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos It will premiere on HBO on September 7 at 8 p.m. You can watch the trailer below.