Cookies On the Set

Imagine throwing a party and having the guy who tried to murder your husband show up at the door with a box of cookies?!?

Carmella (Edie Falco) slams the door in Uncle Junior's face.

Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) is left holding
the pignolis on the stoop.

Welcome to the Second Season of The Sopranos.

With a 50% chance of cloud cover and 20% chance of rain
Silvercup Studios were graced with the entire crew of
Northern New Jersey's most popular mythical mobsters
shooting interiors for an episode called: "Big Girls Don't Cry."

{They get even}

Had you bet with the House
on the odds the weather would come in
just as it was touted

you would have split.

I have said this before but never committed it in writing
so I'll say it now:

This cast is worth every dime they pay them.

To experience the thrill of being terrified
without the consequences
is the key to watching them work.

Personally, I deal with that emotion
by laughing at what I am watching when on the set.

Without giving anything away
I think it is safe to say there was a brief exchange
between "the boys"
which takes place in Tony's living room
that almost made burst out laughing during the filming
as I watched from the relative safety of about twelve feet away.

Suppressing myself as best I could I turned to
a fellow actor named Tim Klien and whispered:
"I'd never borrow money from these guys!"

The unspoken consequences of not paying
their vig on time, was implied...

and yet for reasons not explained during
this particular scene

Tony decides to cut some slack for someone
who "owes"

instead of reminding him of his obligations
by having someone break his thumbs.

Go Figure?

A Private Moment With Uncle Junior

For Dominic Chianese it was a "light" day on the set.

Although his call time to arrive was 2 PM
by 7 PM they had still not gotten to the scene he was shooting
"on the stoop."

Rather than spend time alone in his dressing room
- a viable option he chose not to exercise -
Dominic was making the best of a long waiting period by
spending time with his fellow actors and friends on the crew
just chillin'.

It was here I had the good fortune to strike up a conversation
with "The Don" of the Sopranos, and then soon found the man
behind the persona he exudes while on camera.

In truth, I can't remember the first few pleasantries we exchanged
but quickly I found Dominic to be a very warm and interesting guy to
talk to.

I noticed neither of us wanted to talk "shop."

But eventually, in conversation, the name Lee Strasberg came up
and he shared something of his experience working with the great acting
teacher during the filming of Godfather II.

Now that Sopranos is heavily represented in the Emmy nominations
Dominic mentioned the cast was thrilled to be acknowledged for
their work and members of the entertainment press were all over them
for interviews.

With that in mind as I listened, I made a note to myself not to reveal
anything he might say in private and in confidence to me, that might
get misrepresented on these pages, where, I have, for a few years,
been making a lot of tongue-in-cheek comments...

Here's why: Like everyone else in show business Dominic knows
the press often winds up getting it all wrong anyway.

He told me about his feelings of uneasiness about being "taped"
or even discovering reporters carrying hidden microphones during
an interview...

(see: Professor Spolan's Acting Exercise With Hidden Microphone.)

I kept my mouth shut and listened.

I respect the man's privacy.

The question of "Time" came up.

What exactly is valuable time? Isn't all time valuable?

Or better: what's really important in one's life that one gives
one's time to?

Although we never got to formally putting our conversation
together in that exact context, that was what was
pretty much being discussed...

He spoke about his children and grandchildren...

about "the craft"

and that it's not all about the money...

....or when and if it finally comes: the glory...

the implication being
the struggles one encounters giving one's life to
the Art of Acting.

The "life".

Here was a Godfather I wanted to listen to.

And the Godfather seemed to be interested in hearing
about my expedition experience in Nepal.

And so we talked.

By the end of our conversation I was on a friendly
first name basis with him.

I look forward to seeing him again.

Really.

Come early Monday morning
they'll all be reassembling somewhere on Staten Island...
and continue filming this episode.

I'll be tagging along with them.

Fuggetaboutit. Absolutely.

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