Have you wondered what David Chase has been doing since his phenomenal HBO series "The Sopranos" concluded nearly three years ago? Apparently he's moved on completely from the cable mafia drama and is headed for the big screen. According to Deadline Hollywood, Chase is set to begin filming later this year a coming of age movie set in the 1960s.
Specifically the untitled film deals with the formation of a rock band, which immediately calls to mind anything from "The Doors" to Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do." Probably more like the latter, given that Chase will distribute the film under the indie-minded Paramount Vantage banner. The "Sopranos" creator wrote and will direct the film, which he's producing with Mark Johnson, who gave us the '60s-set films "Good Morning, Vietnam' and "Tin Men," as well as the period romance "The Notebook."
I wonder if this is a personal work for the TV vet, who himself came of age in the '60s. He played the drums throughout his teenage years and sang in a garage band that never played publicly. Perhaps this is an autobiographical film about that time and that dream, which ultimately he says was "the great motivator in my life."
Hopefully that '60s nostalgia that has made big hits out of "The Wonder Years" and "American Graffiti" isn't dead half a century later. Last year's "Taking Woodstock" was a big flop despite being made by Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee and starring the fresh young face of Demitri Martin. Possibly because audiences have stopped romanticizing that era.
Of course, Paramount just need capitalize on the fact that this is Chase's first project since he left fans stunned by his "Sopranos" finale. Though many could see little point in anything but a spin-off film that answers all their questions about that last episode, those who followed Tony and family for six years because of Chase's brilliant storytelling have to be curious what else he's got up his sleeve.
Are you still interested in that old time rock and roll? Does it help that the film comes from the guy who made "The Sopranos"?
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