Preview trailer for last show - Episode 77:
Preview 77 Right Click to download (save target as...) to your computer.

---

On a getaway with Rosalie, Carmela gives her position in life some consideration; Meadow re-locates to a new address; The Soprano crew finds itself in unknown money turf.

---

A very suspect ***SPOILER *** was posted at imdb the other day: See NOTE 1 at bottom of this article.

Here's a ***SPOILER*** supposedly aired early accidentally by On Demand cable: (Posted Two Hours before Air Time):

[SPOILER #2]

The episode starts off with Carmela yelling at AJ because he got fired from Blockbuster three weeks before for stealing (posters I think). He acts like a spoiled brat, like usual. Tony comes in and they exchange words as well and he also learns that AJ has been spending all of his money on Cristal at clubs.

Carmela can't sleep because she's worried about AJ and his lack of desire to do anything with his life. Meadow comes in and tells her she's leaving to California to be with Finn because she's unsure about what she wants to do with her life.

Carmela brings up a prize she won at the silent auction for a trip to Paris to Tony. She wants to go and at first he tells her to go to Italy instead but then agrees.

In the next scene Tony is in the mall alone and all of a sudden Vito is there in sunglasses along with his brother. He says he has $200,000 for Tony and blames his blood pressure medication on his gay tendencies. He also says he would like to work in Atlantic City where he has contacts. Tony gets up and leaves, turning his back to Vito.

Tony tells the rest of the crew and they all discuss it once again. Tony starts to agree with the idea of Vito working in Atlantic City.

Vito has dinner with his kids at Rockefeller Center and tells them he's a spy for the FBI and that he's going undercover. He seems hopeful but also completely in denial once again. He even mentions wanting another child.

He then calls Johnny Cakes who pretty much tells him *beep* You," and says he needs help and not to bother him anymore.

He meets one of his guys (I'm not sure of his name) in a supermarket. He lends him $20,000 for late child support payments and that's that.

Phil confronts Tony about Vito being in town. Tony just walks away.

Carmela and Roe talk about a lot of stuff in Paris (mostly about the city's history, how trivial life is, the beauty of art and Roe's dead husband and son). These are great scenes and show insight in Carmela like never before.

Tony and Sil discuss killing Vito. Tony is very upset about this and it's obvious he doesn't want to do this.

He then takes off steam by receiving "road head" from a stripper. As he drops her off, he gets a call from Vito and tells him to meet him the next day to discuss the AC deal.

Phil and his wife talk about the church and their opinion of homosexuality and how it's a sign and yadda yadda yadda. "There's nothing gay about hell."

Vito goes to his hotel where he is met with the NY crew. Phil comes out of the closet and as has been stated before they beat him with pool cues till he dies. It's not graphic and is downplayed a bit.

The next day Bobby walks in and announces that Vito was found murdered with a pool cue stuck where the sun don't shine. The entire NJ crew is angered over this, mostly because of Phil & NY killing someone as important as Vito. Tony tries to rationalize it in front of the crew, but to Sil he is PISSED.

Meanwhile, AJ still sucks.

Vito's wife is distraught as Phil and his wife try to console her. They can't drop the gay thing though even as Vito's wife cries and wishes she was dead.

The therapy session was interesting. Tony is angry and has nothing to say at first. Then he says he hates his son and calls him a schoolgirl and blames Carmela for him being small, weak and an overall waste. They discuss his father and his influence on Tony's way of life.

Carlo and Sil are cooking when Dom walks in. He makes a ton of rude comments about Vito and obviously the NJ crew aren't impressed. Sil hits [him] over the head with something and then Carlo stabs him like nobody's business. Tony then comes by and that's when Sil says "you don't wanna come in here." Tony comes in anyway, looks at the mess and walks out.

He goes home where AJ is playing video games with two other friends and asks to speak to him alone.
Tony tells him he got him a job working construction. AJ, being the brat that he is, has a "yeah right I'm not doing this" look on his face. Tony then threatens him while AJ still doesn't care. He then takes a football helmet and bashes in the car's windshield.

Carmela has a dream about Adriana. Adriana is walking her dog in Paris with Carmela. A police officer all of a sudden says "Your friend. Somebody needs to tell her she's dead." Then Carmela wakes up with a disturbed look on her face.

Vito's children read the newspaper and find out their father isn't with the FBI but is really a gay mobster. This scene is absolutely heartbreaking.

AJ gets up at 7am and presumably goes to work while Carmela washes clothing (she's now at home).

The last scene is from the Thin Club photographer. He's reading the newspaper and remembers photographing Vito. He finds the photo and the last shot of the episode is Vito posing for the Thing [Thin?] Club with his pants.

[/SPOILER #2]

Well, this is about the best laid out spoiler I have seen in a long time. We'll know shortly.

---

The Spoiler is a fair recap so I will add only a few comments:

When AJ complains that he can't live on what BlockBuster pays him we see Tony give a little smile like "that's right - those kind of jobs are for saps".

If you are wondering what AJ was referring to when he called BlockBuster religious fanatics read this entry in Wiki.

AJ gives the finger to Tony's back betraying his true feeling for him.

Phil meets with Tony at Costco to let me know that the Tidelands project can't support 5 no-shows for Tony's captains. Money is getting tight. It looks like Phil shorted Tony on the Centrum deal with Phil complaining that there weren't 1500 cartons as promised. Interestingly, Phil mentions Johnny Sack as a boss in name only, that now all responsibility has fallen on his shoulders.

When Vito meets Tony at the mall and points out that his brother Brian is standing in the distance, Tony takes it as a personal insult: "You sandbag me? I'll cut your f*kn throat open." Tony doesn't buy into Vito's explanation that his medication screwed up his head and made him seem gay. Obviously Vito doesn't know about Finn ratting him out about the security guard.

Vito: "I could probably get a letter from my doctor." Oh yeah, that'll clear up things with the boys.

Vito offers Tony a 200K bribe (only for Tony, no one else) to be let back in, perhaps running book or other related stuff in Atlantic City, close but not too close. Tony walks away without committing to anything.

Later at the Bing Tony toys with the idea of letting Vito do his thing in AC, "We get a trickle of cash coming in each month." Paulie is disgusted with that idea and walks out.

Carmela wins a trip to Paris, she really needs the vacation away from AJ and the spec house, and as a gift for her trip, Tony gives her a $550.00 Louis Vuitton wallet organizer stuffed with three $10,000 fed packs. Carmela: "I should tell you more often - I love you." Tony's quick response: "No one is stopping you."

Sad to see Vito be in denial about his homosexuality to his wife. Later that night he calls Johnny Cakes to explain why he left: "I got kids, I couldn't live without em." Jimbo will have none of that, saying that he knows Vito really left because he needs the mob life, gambling, etc. And don't call back, Click.

Vito called one of his goombahs to meet him at the local food store but I couldn't catch the reason for the meet other than to find out if Tony said anything to him about letting him back in. 'Hopalong' hits Vito with a sob story and asks him to float 20k at 2 points. Vito agrees but only for 2 and a half points. That's $500 a week in vig for you non-bank types.

At Costello Park in Paterson, Phil confronts Tony about taking care of that f*kn finoik. He suspects Vito is back in town. Tony: "You're Karnak the Great, now!" and walks away from Phil.

Meanwhile throughout all this, Carmela is entranced with the cold stones and statues of Paris.

Back at the Bing, Tony now sees that to get the no show jobs and to deal with Phil, Vito has to go.

The only importance of Meadow going to California is to set Tony up with a house empty of women. Of course, as soon as this is so, Tony has a Bada Bing girl give him a pipe-cleaning. And quite a knock-out I may add. She almost looks like she's going to Walrus without a punch to the stomach.

Phil's wife is more concerned about their tailor going blind than about the plight of Vito's children and wife.

Tony wants to know Vito contacts before they take him out, setting up a meet at the mall for the next day at 11 o'clock.

Before that can happen Phil comes out of Vito's Fort Lee hotel closet (yeah that's right) and watches while his two goons Gerry and Fat Dom pool que him to death.

At Satriale's Bobby breaks the news that Vito was dead and found with a pool que up his ass.

Carlo: [Phil] "He saved us whole lot of trouble, right?"

Patsy: "I wish I had borrowed money from Vito." In the foreground, Hopalong (Terry Doria) is smiling. Perhaps he was the one to let Phil know that Vito was back in town.

Tony (privately) to Sil fumes that Phil killed a member of his Family and he can't do a thing about it.

Sil says that people are going expect a response from Tony about the killing of a made guy, but Tony quashes the idea: "When guys are on the mattresses they're not out earning." Sil doesn't get what Tony is thinking to do instead for revenge. Tony brings up the idea of doing something with Phil's wire-room in Sheepshead Bay. A money revenge. This will have to play out in the last episode.

AJ is laughing while typing in a chat-room on his computer - Tony looks at him with pity.

Carm ponders mortality and man's place in the Universe.

Phil's funny line about his feelings for Vito: "I loved him like a brother-in-law." While his wife Patty starts crying about her tailor going blind. Everyone has their own private tragedy.

At Dr Melfi's Tony admits he hates his son in his underwear in a "chitchat room with some other jackoff" and that he's too small to hit.

Back in Paris, Carm brings up Rosalie's lighting two candles at the Church of Saint Eustace, but Ro doesn't want to talk about it. "We're on vacation, why would you bring this up?"

Fat Dom comes into the Bada Bing and starts mocking Vito's death wondering if the cue stick up Vito butt was chalked, 3-ball in pocket, etc. "just breaking balls" until Sil and Carlo can't take the dissing anymore and knife him to death.

When Tony comes into the Bing and sees the dead body Sil points the finger at Carlo and Carlo says, "Sil hit him first" like two siblings afraid to take the blame for some childish prank.

Sil: "They kill a made guy this is what happens."

Tony gets AJ a job in construction. AJ: "So it's outdoors... it's winter." And gives his father attitude. Tony for once calls AJ's bluff that his father will do nothing and smashes AJ's car windshield (it breaks in a plain glass fashion) with a football helmet. Tony: "Don't put me to the test."

OMFG, I see Ade and Cosette both alive - but no - it's only a dream. A gendarme tells Carm, "You're friend, someone needs to tell her she's dead." Carm finally comes to realize the truth about Ade. We all do.

We see Phil losing sleep - but not over Vito. Does he know Dom is missing? Is there a New York/New Jersey war looming?

Carm's last moments in Paris are spent in reverie.

Vito's children are reading about their father's death and his homosexuality. "Dad wasn't a spy?" Pathetic.

We see AJ leaving very early for his new job.

A photographer notes the picture of Vito in the paper and recalls that he shot a photo of him for the thin club.

[Fade to black]

---

Cast List Episode 76
Clyde Baldo (Photographer)
Jeffrey M. Marchetti (Peter "Bissell" La Rosa)
Anne Assante (Caterina Cella)
Vinnie Orofino (Brian Spatafore)
Emily Wickersham (Rhiannon)
Vincent Piazza (Hernan O'Brien)
Paulina Gerzon (Francesca Spatafore)
Frank Borrelli (Vito Spatafore, Jr.)
Ron Castellano (Terry Doria)
Tony Cucci (Fat Dom Gamiello)
John Bianco (Gerry Torciano)
Geraldine LiBrandi (Patty Leotardo)
Drea De Mateo (Adriana La Cerva)
Edie Falco (Carmela Soprano)
James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano)

---

Jamie Lynn Sigler (Meadow Soprano)

---

Joseph R. Gannascoli (Vito Spatafore)
Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts)
Steve Van Zandt (Silvio Dante)
Steve Schirripa (Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri)
Robert Iler (Anthony Soprano, Jr.)
Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti)
Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Jennifer Melfi)
Dan Grimaldi (Patsy Parisi)
Elizabeth Bracco (Marie Spatafore),
Arthur J. Nascarella (Carlo Gervasi)
Lenny Venito (James "Murmur" Zancone)
Louis Gross (Perry Annunziata)
John Costelloe (Jim Witowski)
Nathalie Walker (Lori)
Melissa Schneider (Photographer's Assistant)
Alexandre Varga (Michel)
Michel Winogradoff (Head Waiter)
Doug Rand (Gendarme)
Luc Sonzogni (Waiter)
Marni Penning (Shopper)
Gerald Hubert (Priest)
Chaouki El Oufir (Arab Cab Driver)

---

Season 6 Episode Guide

---

So how is the season going to end?

CanWest News Service, 11 Mar 2006, Settling the Score: The Sopranos final season

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Great is the art of beginning, but greater still is the art of ending, as David Chase is all too well aware.

As Tony Soprano readies his last aria, the reclusive, soft-spoken Chase is feeling the pressure of finding that elusive, perfect ending that will send one of television's most culturally defining touchstones out on a high note.

Chase -- The Sopranos' creator, head writer, silent partner and the closest the critically lauded, award-winning series has to an actual behind-the-scenes godfather -- is looking slightly dishevelled on this day, his thinning hair combed back across an increasingly bald pate, bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.

Like a made man appearing before a senate subcommittee hearing on the eve of his entering the witness protection program, Chase has just fielded questions from a room full of reporters eager to learn what will happen in the Sopranos' sixth and final season.

True to his reputation as a man who would rather turn big rocks into little rocks for a living than reveal The Sopranos' most closely guarded secrets, Chase has told the reporters little -- beyond the fact that Hal Holbrook will appear this season as "a scientist who used to work for Bell labs in New Jersey (who's) ill (and) becomes involved with the Mob."

Or that Julianna Margulies will appear as "a real estate agent," and Ben Kingsley will appear as Ben Kingsley.

The season's theme, Chase says, is of unease.

"Kind of disquieted, sort of rattled, not feeling like things are going well. The theme is the temporal nature of life, how briefly we're here and the way we realize we're probably going to be on our deathbeds one day. That's been in the show a lot, but I think you're going to see more of it this year. The coming of autumn."

Sopranos devotees can expect the season to end on a downbeat note, in other words.

Chase will end The Sopranos with an uncharacteristically drawn-out season -- 20 episodes rather than 13. Twelve will air beginning Sunday. (8 p.m., Movie Central). The remaining eight will air in January 2007. The oft-rumoured feature film is just that, a rumour -- a figment of the media's imagination, Chase says.

"It's hard to see how it would work. I think what we're going to be doing over the next year will be what would have been that movie."

The broken season is an invention spawned from necessity, Chase says. The 12th episode in May will not end in a cliffhanger. Chase would never consider anything so -- gauche. "I would simply hope that, when people are done watching the first few episodes, they want to see more. A real cliffhanger? We don't usually do that. It'll be our kind of cliffhanger, I guess, whatever that is."

Note 1: This Spoiler was published a few days before air time but was far off the mark:
[SPOILER]

by - ben_00068 (Wed May 17 2006 17:56:25) Ignore this User | Report Abuse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last night I saw the final episodes of the Sopranos at a private screening. There was about 50 people there, and it cost a $1,000 to attend. All proceeds went to the MS foundation. I was able to get in for free since my wife is on the committee for the foundation.

Below is a summary of how the season will end. If you don't want to know how the season ends, do NOT read.

1) AJ gets picked up for possession of X and is arrested. Tony becomes unglued and tells AJ the next time he gets picked up he will not bail him out. He and AJ get into a heated arguement and Tony makes an off handed comment that AJ needs a stint in the Army to get his head right. Well, the season ends showing AJ walking into a recruitment office, so I guess AJ is a army soldier in the next season

2) Chris goes on a massive herion bender, and hits a kid on a bike while driving. The kid is badly messed up, but Chris being Chris takes off and leaves the kid in a ditch. The next day its in the paper the kid died and Chris freaks out, but since nobody saw him he is in the clear.

Also, there is tension between Chris and Tony. Tony is pissed because Adriana's mother keeps pestering Carmella about her death. Tony tells Chris to never put him in a position like this again. Tony then confides with Silvio about the risk factor with Chris with the FBI lurking around Adriana's death. Silvio informs Tony that Chris is using herion again, and how "the needle makes people say things". One of the last scenes shows Tony staring down Chris....so this will develop next season for sure. Chris may get whacked.

3) Meadow catches Finn in the sack with another chick. She runs home freaking out, crying. The next day Tony confronts Finn and demands him to apologize to Meadow. Finn agrees, but when he meets with Meadow the next day, he simply breaks up with her, no apology, and Meadow freaks out again. Tony finds Finn the next day and literally b-itch slaps him. Lets jusy say Finn's face will not be the same.

4) Tony arranges to burn down Carmella's spec house for insurance. She does not know he did it.

5) Vito comes home, meets with Tony. Tony "suggests" he leave Jersey for good. Vito says he can't run away any longer, and Tony makes it clear he cannot protect him. Anyway, Vito's wife's cousin (not sure his name, but the guy from the other mob family) approaches Vito in a dark parking lot and Vito gets pistol whipped, saying he disgraced his name....right when you think Vito is going to die, he grabs a piece of metal and sticks it in the guys neck. He hit a artery and the guy dies on the spot.

Anyway, Vito invites down Johnny Cakes to NJ, saying he will explain everything. Right before Cakes arrives, Vito gets whacked...not sure the guy's name who did the hit, but the guy who does it was the same guy who tried to extort the Starbucks manager. The death happened in his car, pistol to the back of the head. It was pretty erie scene, I really can't describe it. Vito almost seemed relieved and asked it be quick.

There were some other storyline, but these were the main ones. Its pretty clear Chris is on thin ice with Tony. That is what I took out of it.

[/SPOILER]

From imdb board

I have a few problems with this "spoiler":
I checked with the MSF and they only had one event in May which was a cruise for the cause on Royal Caribbean. If 50 people went to this event, there should be 49 more variations of this spoiler around the blogosphere. If this guy really had a wife help him get in for free, he certainly was told by her not to mention anything and certainly not to mention her name or position. If David Chase were crazy enough to screen such a showing to 50 people he would have all of them sign a NDA.

Notwithstanding the above what can we say about each line?

1) AJ doesn't know what X is. Tony would never ever think of sending him to the military again.
2) Chris hits a kid on a bike while driving and Chris freaks out. So what?
Tony is pissed because Adriana's mother keeps pestering Carmella about her death. What she comes over the house all the time? Chris may get whacked. So what? Chris is such a screw-up I expect him to get whacked every episode.
3) Tony bitch slaps Finn. Sounds like a lot of effort for Tony to go see Finn and only bitch slap him. Big yawn.
4) Tony arranges to burn down Carmella's spec house? Maybe somebody else's house but Tony always says never to shit in your own kitchen. Also, it's not a finished house, so with contractor insurance he would only get enough for the level of construction it was in. The building department will attest that it wasn't far in the construction process. Not much money to be made there, no, it would never happen.
5) a) Vito kills Phil. Well, at least that would be interesting. But a body double for Vito has already said his character gets a ballpeen to the back of his head.
5) b) Vito gets whacked by Patsy Parisi in the back of his car? Vito wouldn't get into the front seat of anybody's car.

Looking at it in toto, so much of it is unbelievable that the whole thing has to be bogus. Also it seems at odds with final episode 77 which has these themes: Phil Leotardo is not happy with the current situation. Meanwhile, Chris is becoming more like Tony. Tony helps Carmela go back to work, and A.J. finds that his job has some fringe benefits.

---

Some Sopranos commentary on previous Episode 76:

Entertainment Weekly: We'll Always Have Paris: Excerpt:

Ah, Paris — don't you wish you were there right now? Especially given the way this bountiful and satisfying episode kept cross-cutting between the romance and beauty of the City of Lights (where Carm, who had won the trip in a church raffle, took a well-deserved vacation with pal Ro) and the sordidness of Tony's world back in Jersey, with its strippers, vermin, and murders.

Over the Top: Sopranos: Is That Enough Violence for You? Excerpt:

Yet for all of that bloodletting, it was kind of a quiet episode. Much of it was spent following Carm and Ro on their tour of Paris -- hilarious that every time we Carmela she's wearing a new coat, carrying a new purse (she can't wait to pick up her new Hermes Kelly bag...

Tim Goodman the Bastard Machine: Believe Me, The Vitamins Are Just The Beginning" Sopranos, Ep. 11: Excerpt:

"The Sopranos" could very well be heading into a gigantic turf war, Phil vs. Tony, New York vs. New Jersey. It could be bloody. It could cost lives. If it doesn't take down Tony, some kind of fall out, some emotional shrapnel, could further weaken his soul, which just might be as devastating to him.

But even if all of those scenarios play out, and there's no guarantee they will, I doubt that any of them will be the main storyline at the end. Series creator David Chase set sail this season with Tony, a man already searching for answers to his past, confonting new ones in his future: "Who am I? Where am I going?" I think whatever happens to Tony in the end, it won't be in a blaze of glory and gunshots. It will be emotional in a completely different way, more internal, more intellectual, than physical. And I'm sticking with my theory of Carmela stepping in as boss, despite fluctuations in that probability, episode by episode.

Alan Sepinwall: Sins of the past catching up with everyone: Excerpt:

"The Sopranos" cast has so many "Goodfellas" alums that the writers can't help but pay occasional homage. In season one, it was Christopher shooting that baker in the toe, and last night it was Carlo and Sil's virtual re-creation of the taunting-inspired murder of Billy Batts -- played by smilin' Frank Vincent, the man at the center of this new mess.

This is very, very bad what these two did. Phil can get away with killing one of Tony's captains because Vito was marked for death anyway and because, hey, he's the boss of New York. Even if Tony wanted to go to the mattresses, he doesn't have the manpower to do it. But if/when Phil -- who's wanted Jersey blood since the Tony B. thing -- figures out what happened, he can rain five boroughs worth of fury down on Tony and what the late Carmine called "a glorified crew."

The New York Observer Mondo Weiss: Brokeback Sopranos: Excerpt:

What hath Annie (Proulx) wrought? The gay Vito subplot on The Sopranos, now concluded with his beating death, seems an homage to Proulx's landmark New Yorker story of 1997—and the Ang Lee movie that was based on it. How many Brokeback quotes did you catch? I noticed the rear mounting in golden light in bed on the last episode, and the sad, no-closure interstate phone call between the doomed gay lovers in the latest. But really it was the storyline: Vito's delusion about having a family life ending with a savage homophobic beating. That's what happened to Jack Twist, 'way down in Texas in the Proulx story.

MovieQuoteSite [dead link]:

Blood and Tenderness Reign on 'Sopranos'

"The Sopranos" has always been a curious hybrid — a drama that mixes the bloodiest violence with achingly tender moments. This week was no exception: While Carmela contemplated the meaning of life on a trip to Paris with Rosalie Aprile, brutal murders took place back home.

Underground Online: Excerpt:

The Sopranos finally ended the sad, surprising tale of Vito Spatafore, the gangster who was forced out of the closet and wound up facing some pretty harsh consequences. Let's be honest. Vito wasn't the nicest guy in the world, but you've got to hand it to Joseph Gannascoli for taking a fairly minor figure in the Sopranos universe and turning him into a strangely compelling leading character.

---

AOL Cityguide, Sopranos Season Six: Episode 76 Thoughts

For all the anti-gay macho-mafioso supporters out there -- congrats, your wish has come true.

For all the culturally inspired trend-setting artists -- regrets, your hero has been beat…literally.

Vito Spatafore received a masterful pulverizing by Phil Leotardo's goombas while he admiringly gazed down upon his brother-in-law's demise. So we expected something more along the lines of a Spanish Inquisition-style ceremony from Tony's overly-sensitive soldiers, instead we now have the makings of a true bloodbath -- PLEASE!

TV Squad The Sopranos: Cold Stones: Excerpt:

If there was anything that this show brought even more to life, it was the "things that irk Tony." We open up to Carm giving AJ the business because he was apparently fired from his job at Blockbuster - three weeks ago - and has somehow been going on $1000 nights hanging out with Hernan and his pals. Outside of that, Vito tracks down Tony at the mall to ask if he can "buy back in" to the family. Tony does more or less what you'd expect, snubbing him and throwing out some insults in the process.

Swerbs Blurbs has an irreverent take on this episode: "Adios, Vito. Your waddling, confused ass (with or without imbedded cue stick) will not be missed."

Television without pity Racap

LaFleur de Paris: Starring... Paris! : Excerpt:

Badabing! Paris also welcomed the cast and crew of hit US series, The Sopranos, from February 27-March 3 of this year. Under the direction of Tim van Patten and the supervision of Executive Producer Ilene S. Landress, actresses Edie Falco, Shannon Angela and Drea de Matteo brought an international dimension to the famous mafia drama. Spoiler alert!: After Carmela and Tony have a marital dispute, the lovely ladies of Prime Time head to Paris for an overseas escape including the fancy Raphael Hotel on the Champs-Elysées, dinner at the Grand Véfour, lunch at the Brasserie Pereire at the Place du Maréchal Juin, prayers at the église Saint Eustache, a quick tour through the markets at the Rue Lévis in the 17th arrondissement and a promenade that takes them from the Palais Royal gardens to the Pont Alexandre III. Not to mention a visit to the Musée du Moyen Age and the Cluny thermal baths. The Sopranos cast and crew all stayed at the Grand Hôtel on the rue Scribe.

Idf-film (March 9, 2006) Filming in Paris:

Sopranos In Paris From February 27 to March 3, The Ile-de-France accomodated the team of the Sopranos in prestigious places of the Capital. Under Director Tim van Patten and Executive Producer Ilene S. Landress, Edie Falco (alias Carmela Soprano), Shannon Angela (Rosalie Aprile) and Drea de Matteo gave an international dimension to the famous saga which, from its beginnings, revolutionized the television series genre.

The Parisian invasion of the two characters is caused by an argument between Carmela and Tony, giving an ideal excuse to add a bit of the Parisian Capital's glamour to the series: the girls stay in a beautiful Parisian hotel (the Marriott on the Champs Elysées, the Raphaël), dine at the Grand Véfour, lunch at the Brasserie Pereire Place du Maréchal Juin, pray in the Church of St. Eustache, make a brief visit to the rue Lévi Market, and ending with a long walk from the Garden of the Palais Royal to the Pont (Bridge) Alexandre III.

The trip ended with a visit to the Museum of the Middle Ages- Thermes de Cluny [Roman Hot Baths Ruins] , where they were greeted with an exceptional welcome by the animation and conservation teams.

The Board of the Museum let the crew film an exterior shot of one of the Gallic-Roman courtyards and some interior shots in 3 rooms for 10 hours, letting them add a stained glass medieval window reproduction. La Commission du Film d’Ile-de-France and Film France lent their expertise and collaborated closely with the production team.

The American team, including screenwriters Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov, and the Director of Photography, Phil Abraham, appreciated the French professionalism. The entire team stayed at the Grand Hotel, rue Scribe. All promised to return, for business and pleasure.