[Fernando Coelho]

Whole Lotta Clams for "Sopranos"
By Lia Haberman

Hey, A.J.: Sixty thousand smackers will buy you a lot of (bleeping) ziti.

With news of five Sopranos stars renegotiating their contracts for another season of the HBO hit series, Robert Iler won't be the only one able to afford all the pasta casseroles he can eat.

The actor who plays Anthony Jr. was joined at the bargaining table by Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, Drea de Matteo and Jamie-Lynn Sigler (news), who all signed on for a fifth and possible sixth season, according to today's Hollywood Reporter. (A sixth season isn't out of the question, considering HBO has been pulling creator David Chase back in ever since the fourth season.)

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[Fernando Coelho]

Great, James Gandolfini just had to go and get full of himself and want more money. Now the show is on hold. I'm sure his fellow cast members are real happy with him now...

HBO gets tough, ices 'Sopranos'
March 13, 2003

The legal battle between HBO and "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini has extended to the set of the Emmy-winning series. The cable network has postponed the start of production on the mob drama's fifth season indefinitely, pending the resolution of the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed last week by Gandolfini in Los Angeles Superior Court (HR 3/12). The show had been set to resume production March 24 at New York's Silvercup Studios. HBO sent out letters on Wednesday to "Sopranos" cast and crew members notifying them that the production start date has been postponed because of the lawsuit and a $100 million countersuit filed by HBO on Tuesday. A skeleton crew of production staffers had already started preproduction work on the show. Those staffers and other crew members who work on a week-to-week basis were told that they would not be needed next week. (Cynthia Littleton)

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[Fernando Coelho]

More on the ongoing saga of the Sopranos..

"Sopranos" to Sleep with Fishes?

by Lia Haberman
Mar 13, 2003, 10:00 AM PT

Tony Soprano could disappear without even a rumble, if the real-life feud between James Gandolfini and HBO goes unresolved.

But the real upsetting point to all this is the amount of money we are talking about...

At stake is money--or lack thereof. According to HBO insiders quoted in the trades, the last offer HBO hoped Gandolfini couldn't refuse was $11 million for the season, or about $850,000 per episode. He currently pulls in about $400,000 per episode. However, the TV tough guy is reportedly seeking a paycheck closer to $1.5 million an episode, which would put him in league with broadcast peer Kelsey Grammer ($1.6 million).

James Gandolfini is not making friends in the industry with stunts like this.

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[Fernando Coelho]

Mo' money, mo' money…

Here is the latest news on the return of the Sopranos...

"Sopranos" Back to Shady Business

by Lia Haberman
Mar 19, 2003, 9:30 AM PT

Finally, a truce has been declared between TV godfather James Gandolfini and network dons at HBO, clearing the way for production to begin on the fifth season of The Sopranos.
Letters were sent out to cast and crew members on Wednesday advising them that production would begin the first week of April. The season's premiere, tentatively slated for early 2004, will not be affected.

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