The Sopranos Discussion/Appreciation Thread

[eradicator]

Furio whacked Tony

I actually thought Hesh had Tony killed thinking that Tony would rather just kill him instead if pay back the money he owes him. Tony eventually paid the money back but maybe he had already put the hit in motion and simply didn’t call the hit off?

It could have been anyone really. Maybe Pauli was afraid for his life or someone from New York, I think the point is that it could have been anyone

 

[TigerMandingo]

It was Patsy. Check out the way he looked at Tony in the last episode when Tony came over for dinner. Plus he never forgave him for whacking his twin brother.

Whoever it was, and assuming he really did die, Tony had it coming. He became a real piece of shit over the last 2 seasons. Junior's bullet should've finished him off. The rest of the season would've been interesting to watch the power struggle that would ensue.

 

[Piankhi]

Patsy didnt have the balls to do it. Remember him pissing in Tonys pool? Why would he wait 5 seasons to to do it? Plus he seemed happy that his son was marrying into the Sopranos.


You cant kill a made guy in front of his family like what happened with Phil. Which is why Tony got whacked before his familys eyes.

 

[TooFineAPoint]

"Wave bye-bye Grandpa"

 

[Malone]

One thing I noticed on this watch through: A shitload of product placement.

 

[456]

Any examples?

 

[Malone]

Any examples?

Snapple was big the first 3 seasons. They were always drinking it.

Coors Light in a few scenes.

Maytag duo washer and dryer, with a little push there about how it was state of the art.

Coke, a fair bit.

Some of the shit they boost or buy - high end watches, whatever.

Next time you watch, just remember that every time you see a brand, they're getting paid.

 

[456]

Got it — I used to think a lot about such placements in TV.

At some point is it ever natural and unpaid?

“Grab me one of those generic cola beverages and hurry the fuck up about it!”

It didn’t distract me from the show.

 

[Monty_Brogan]

Any examples?

Mercreds Benz

When Tony buys Carm the Porsche SUV -it’s very prominent in many scenes. Would love to see the sales numbers after that episode

When what’s his face -forgot his name, gives Tony a box of watches -forget the name of them too, when he’s trying to retire to FL.

So many others.

 

[griffinmill]

Snapple was big in the Soprano household.

 

[Nemausus]

I seem to recall reading that The Sopranos did not take part in product placement. The creators just insisted on using real brands to make the show as realistic as possible. Remember during the scene of Christopher's final drive, him and Tony are listening to the soundtrack from The Departed, which, had they been real people, they would have certainly loved.

I found an article from 2006 that claims:

HBO and Porsche's advertising agency say no money changed hands for the plug on "The Sopranos." Writer Terence Winter's script mentioned the Cayenne, and the Porsche was loaned to producers.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-03-15/business/0603150036_1_product-placement-sopranos-episodes-porsche-cayenne-turbo

The article goes on to make a good point. If you are a brand that lobbies to do placement with The Sopranos, you have no idea how they're going to use your product. RAID was used in Ralph's final scene, a Ford SUV finishes off Phil, etc.

Although who knows if the the quotes in these old articles are truthful.

 

[456]

^-- thanks -- that's along the lines of what I expected.

Of course brands make an appearance, and it's MUCH more realistic to not have "generica" or obvious placements.

Carm WOULD want a gaudy Porsche SUV, she just would.

Not surprised to hear that money didn't change hands for some of the prominent examples. I vaguely recall reading that a decade ago.

Thanks for fleshing that out, guys!

 

[RIslander]

I seem to remember Snapped being very popular when I lived in New Jersey. No idea why.

 

[Meadowlark]

Wasn't Tony ALWAYS driving a Chevrolet SUV for the whole run?

 

[Malone]

Wasn't Tony ALWAYS driving a Chevrolet SUV for the whole run?

For the first 3-4 seasons he was driving it, switching to an Escalade in the 4th-5th. Although at one point he crashes the Escalade (swerving to avoid a raccoon, the idiot) so he goes back to the Chevy. Chris then shoots it up, and I haven't seen it since.

Just finished the 5th season. Tony B really fucked him over.

 

[TooFineAPoint]

^-- thanks -- that's along the lines of what I expected.

Of course brands make an appearance, and it's MUCH more realistic to not have "generica" or obvious placements.

Carm WOULD want a gaudy Porsche SUV, she just would.

Not surprised to hear that money didn't change hands for some of the prominent examples. I vaguely recall reading that a decade ago.

Thanks for fleshing that out, guys!

When you grew up writing movies and wanting to be a filmmaker, like I did, you always put real products and particular songs in your scripts, and then knew that when push came to shove you wouldn't be able to use them.

Even if money did change hands, so what?

Like 456 says, it's better/more realistic when the characters can use real products.

Or you can be like Tarantino and invent fake brands to use in your movies. But then you still have to pay a designer and a prop person to make them.

 

[RIslander]

Product placement only works when the character is "cool", like Superhero movies or anything with Will Smith. Nobody wants to be more like a character on the Sopranos.

 

[Malone]

I don't think you're right there. I think just seeing the brand helps the brand.

Also - I cooked baked Ziti because of this recent rewatch. It's really good. It's basically lazy man lasagna. They are literally always eating that.

 

[Kona]

I don't think you're right there. I think just seeing the brand helps the brand.

Also - I cooked baked Ziti because of this recent rewatch. It's really good. It's basically lazy man lasagna. They are literally always eating that.

So what, no fuckin ziti now?

Aloha!

 

[Dragan]

Chris and Adriana smoke marlboro lights.