“The Many Saints of Newark” is a prequel film to HBO crime series, “The Sopranos”, and it had its premiere this Friday.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about this movie.
- The Many Saints of Newark is a 2021 American crime drama film
- The film is marketed with the subtitle A Sopranos Story
- The film is directed by Alan Taylor
- It is written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner
- A prequel to Chase’s HBO crime drama series The Sopranos
- It takes place during the 1960s and 1970s in Newark, New Jersey
- The film follows a violent gang war from the perspectives of mobster Dickie Moltisanti and his teenage nephew, Tony Soprano, in the midst of the city’s 1967 riots
- It stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie and Michael Gandolfini as Tony
- The character originated by his father in the series
- With Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Michela De Rossi, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga in supporting roles
- Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema obtained the rights to produce The Many Saints of Newark alongside HBO Films
- The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Fall Preview on September 22, 2021
- It was theatrically released in the United States on October 1, 2021
- Along with a month-long simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising Gandolfini’s performance
- The origins of what ultimately took shape of The Many Saints of Newark happened when David Chase finished film school
- Having the idea of making a film about four white persons living around Newark, New Jersey who joined the National Guard to avoid being drafted to the Vietnam War only to be sent instead to the 1967 Newark riots
- Though the film went unproduced
- Following the release of The Sopranos, Chase was suggested by Oz creator Tom Fontana to write a film centered on Tony Soprano’s father Giovanni “Johnny Boy” Soprano set in the 1930s or 1940s
- However, the idea eventually fell off due to Chase’s lack of interest
- Chase ruled out the idea of continuing The Sopranos story in June 2017
- While simultaneously expressing an interest in a prequel to the series
- He had earlier been against the idea of making a film based on The Sopranos
- Especially a sequel to the series, given James Gandolfini’s death in 2013
- He became interested in Newark due to the 1967 Newark riots and his family ties to the city
- Acknowledging that a prequel film could explore the period of Tony’s life that he glorified in the show’s early episodes
- Chase said that the main storyline centers on the 1967 Newark riots and racial tensions between the Italian-American and African-American communities
- Chase’s biggest challenge during writing was the inclusion of many storylines for different characters
- Some aspects of those storylines were dropped during editing to let the storylines “take shape” within the film’s overall narrative
- In March 2018, New Line Cinema announced that it purchased the rights to produce the film along with HBO Films
- With Chase co-writing the screenplay with Lawrence Konner
- Chase wasn’t concerned about alienating audiences unfamiliar to the show
- For him and Konner, their intention was to tell a realistic and respectable dramatic criminal story, under the “auspices” of The Sopranos
- Alan Taylor, who directed several episodes of The Sopranos, was hired to direct the film in July 2018
- Chase offered Taylor to direct the film one day while they lunched together, feeling that Taylor had worked in the show’s best episodes and had given him “the most trouble”
- In contrast to the show, Taylor felt that Chase allowed more creative control over the film than when he ran the show, as Chase spent most of the time outlining the story sequestered in the writer’s room
- Principal photography began in Brooklyn on April 3, 2019
- It moved to Newark on May 7
- It wrapped in June 2019
- Branford Place, a street in Newark, was transformed to fit the 1960s time period for the riots, including detailed storefronts, the old Adams Theatre marquee, and the retro neon sign for Hobby’s Delicatessen
- Luther Engler, a retired Newark police officer, served as a technical adviser for the film
- Filming also took place in Bloomfield
- Satriale’s Pork Store, which was featured in The Sopranos, was recreated in Paterson
- Filming was halted upon the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
- The production returned for re-shoots in September 2020
- During which the filmmakers shot some important aspects that improved the film’s story
- In the United States and Canada, The Many Saints of Newark was released alongside Venom: Let There Be Carnage and The Addams Family 2
- It is projected to gross around $10 million from 3,180 theaters in its opening weekend
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 74%
- Based on 133 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.9/10
- The site’s critical consensus reads, “Even as its storytelling chafes at the edges of its cinematic constraints, The Many Saints of Newark proves The Sopranos’ allure is still powerful”
- On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100
- Based on 43 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- Chase has expressed interest in producing a sequel to The Many Saints of Newark that follows Tony Soprano in his 20s
- Provided he could collaborate with former Sopranos writer Terence Winter
- Upon hearing this, Winter replied he would do it “in a heartbeat. Absolutely”
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