Don’t Stop Believing: Sopranos Movie in the Works?

Will more bodies wash ashore in a Sopranos movie? 

Okay, this falls into the category of pure, unsubstantiated rumor and speculation, but I’ll tell about it anyway, even though it may get me whacked.

Our friends at Slashfilm, reporting via Gawker, say that Nick D’Urso, manager of the Satin Dolls club in New Jersey that served as the location for the Bada Bing strip club, was supposedly called by HBO, telling him not to do any renovations to the club because of a potential Sopranos movie. It’s a good thing they called, because usually you can’t stop strip club owners from redecorating. It’s always just one interior designer coming in after another. Apparently D’Urso (did I go to high school with him?) said:

I got an inside tip that they’re going to do a movie, so I don’t want to make any major changes…I’m not going to reveal my sources, but we got a call from somebody (working) on the script.”

Again, it’s nice that they’d go to the trouble of warning D’Urso not to make any changes, because trust me, a strip club in New Jersey is always one step away from being sold and converted into an Applebee’s anyway. And besides, they wouldn’t want anything to happen to Satin Dolls, because it’s not like they’d be able to find another dark, run down strip club in the metropolitan area.

I’m one of the people who was very satisfied with the blackout ending of the show. No one will ever believe me because I didn’t write it down anywhere, but I did say before the final episode, “Watch, I bet it will just end with the family sitting around having dinner,” because the show was supposed to be about gangster life AND the mundane details of suburban life. Anyway, that said, I find it hard to believe a movie is in the works, mainly because I think James Gandolfini was just done with the Tony Soprano character and ready to move on. He’s involved in other projects and I just can’t picture him interrupting that to go back to Tony. Maybe someday he’ll be ready to revisit the role, but not this soon. If there is  a chance for a movie this soon, my guess is that it would be some kind of prequel that a restless David Chase put together. Good idea or bad idea? Well, I think a prequel isn’t a terrible thing to consider. If it’s well-written and not too tethered to the series, why not? But if it’s just kind of thrown together or if it’s a present day continuation of the show, I wouldn’t be too optimistic.

Anyway, keep in mind, this is all in good fun, and these are rumors of the lightest sort. Tell me more when it’s all down in writing and contracts are signed.