The Sopranos

For some reason, I like watching this show. Man, I've been hangin' around my mom and stepdad way too long, they both watch this. They had this exact same picture down in their basement, but they stopped watching the show because they said they "outgrew" it, and now, it's hanging in my room, weird.

The Sopranos

-1999-2007
-American TV drama that premiered in 1999
-Revolves around the New Jersey-based fictional Italian American mobster Tony Soprano(James Gandolfini) and the problems he faces as he tries to balance the life of the Mafia and homelife.
-The show also features his Mafia associates in roles and storylines, most noted his wife Carmela(Edie Falco), cousin and protege Christopher Moltisanti(Michael Imperioli). Tony talks about these problems to a shrink named Dr. Jennifer Melfi(Lorraine Bracco)
-Premiered on Jan. 10, 1999

-This show is considered a staple of 2000s American pop culture, and has spawned a video game, been the topic of parodies, controversy and merchandise.

-Many of the actors on the show were virtual unknowns but have gone on to successful careers because of this show, such as Michael Imperioli, who has appeared on Law and Order as Det. Nick Falco and most recently, as Det. Len Fenerman in The Lovely Bones.
-This show is partly inspired by the DeCavalcante Family, who rose to prominence in the New Jersey area where Chase grew up. Apparenty Chase was inspired by gangster flicks like The Untouchables, and was inspired by the Mafia and organized crime from a very early age.

Casting
-Many of the actors on the show are Italian American just like their characters. Many of them had appeared together in films and TV before joining the cast. The show shares a total of 27 actors with the 1990 Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas, including main cast Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico. 8 of the Sopranos actors have also appeared in the 1999 comedy Mickey Blue Eyes.

-Michael Imperioli, according to TV producer David Chase, who is also Italian American because his family name is DeCesare, said that Imperioli beat out other actors who auditioned. James Gandolfini auditioned after someone seen the performance he gave in True Romance. Lorraine Bracco was asked to play Carmela Soprano after being seen playing Karen Hill in Goodfellas. So she got the role of highly educated psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi, she said it would be a challenge for her. Tony Sirico, who does actually have a criminal background, signed on to play Paulie Walnuts, as long as his character was not a "rat". Springsteen guitarist "Little Steven" Van Zandt(known as part of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) got to audition for the role of mob consigliere Silvio Dante. He was asked to audition after being seen performing at the 1997 Rocka and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Van Zandt had never acted before, and his real life spouse Maureen was cast as Silvio's wife, Gabriella.

-Several well known actors also appeared in a few episodes, like Charles S. Dutton, Ken Leung, Lauren Bacall, Tim Kang, Burt Young, Annette Bening.

Music
-The show is known for it's use of previously recorded songs. Steven Van Zandt also helped out with music too, considering he's a musician.
-The show's opening theme, "Woke Up This Morning" was written by, remixed and performed by British band Alabama 3. And throughout episodes, songs may be played multiple times, such as "Living on a Thin Line" by The Kinks, is season 3, episode "University", "Glad Tidings" by Van Morrison in season 5 finale "All Due Respect".

Sets, Locations
-The majority of the filming takes place in New Jersey. The other places, like the Soprano residence, alot of interior shots, the back room of the strip club The Bada Bing! and Dr. Melfi's office- are all filmed at Silvercup Studios in New York City
-The Italian deli, a frequent hangout of the mobsters, was in the pilot, known as Centanni's Meat Market, was an actual butcher shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The studio leased a building with a store front in Kearny, New Jersey and this served as the deli store, Satriale's. The building was demolished after the series ended.
-The Bada Bing!, a fictional strip club owned and operated by Silvo Dante, is an actual strip club on Route 17, in Lodi, New Jersey. Exteriors and interiors, except for the back room, were shot on location. The club is really called Satin Dolls. The owner of the real club, Mark Kamine, said that they could film on location as long as shooting did not "conflict with his business time."
-The Italian restaurant Vesuvio's, was filmed at a restaurant called Manolo's in Elizabeth.
-In the title sequence, Tony Soprano is seen leaving the Lincoln Tunnel and entering the New Jersey Turnpike. The show features numerous New Jersey landmarks

Characters
James Gandolfini- Tony Soprano

Lorraine Bracco- Carmela Soprano

Michael Imperioli- Christopher Moltisanti

[Insert little hearts, lmao]

Dominic Chianese- Corrado Soprano Jr. aka Uncle Junior

Vincent Pastore- Sal "Big Pusy" Bonpensiero

Steven Van Zant- Silvio Dante

Tony Sirico- Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri

Robert Iler- Anthony Soprano Jr.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler- Meadow Soprano

Drea de Matteo- Adriana La Cerva

Aida Turturro- Janice Soprano

Steven R. Schirripa- Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri
Nancy Marchand- Livia Soprano
Federico Castelluccio- Furio Giunta

HOTTIE! HOTTIE! HOTTIE!! What a hot hunk of Italian man!!!

Joseph R. Gannascoli- Vito Spatafore

Episodes

Controversy
-The show has been attacked numerous times for showing negative stereotypes about Italian Americans being associated with the Mafia

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Tango & Cash

Tango & Cash

-Made in 1989 by Andrei Konchalovsky
-Stars Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell as 2 rival LAPD Narcotics detectives who are framed for murder and have to work together to clear their names

Did You Know?
-When Tango and Cash escape the prison, Cash turns to Tango and asks him if "stopped for coffee and a danish". Tango says "I hate Danish" as a sort of in-joke referring to the recent divorce from Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen
-When Brion James was cast in the role, it was only meant to be a small role with a few lines. But it was Jame's idea to give the character Requin a Cockney(accent used in and around London, England) accent to make him stand out more.
-The glasses Stallone wears in the movie are not fakes but really his own glasses. If you look closely, the glasses indicate he's near sighted in one eye.

Plot
-The film starts out as Det. Ray Tango(Sylvester Stallone) is driving a late model Cadillac convertible in pursuit of a tanker truck transporting cocaine. He cleverly stops in front of the truck and when L.A County authorities find only gas in the tank, Tango shoots it and cocaine comes pouring out. Elsewhere, Gabriel Cash(Kurt Russell) arrives at his apartment driving an old Corvette. His style, compared to Tango's 3 piece suits and neatly combed hair is considered casual. Cash wears a t-shirt, his hair is long and shaggy, and a waist length jacket. When he enters his apartment, he finds an intruder and is shot, but a bulletproof vest is protecting him. At the police station, Cash forces the shooter to tell him about a deal scheduled to take place later that night.

-However, the "deal" is really a set up by Yves Perret(Jack Palance) to frame Tango and Cash for murder. The 2 cops go to an empty building, preceded by a man named Requin(Brion James), Perret's henchman. After being startled by each other's presence, they find a dead man with audio equipment hidden in his clothes, and suddenly a team of FBI agents swarm in. Agent Wyler finds Cash's pistol on the floor and arrests both of the detectives

-At their trial, the detectives are incriminated by an audio tape, secretly given to Wyler by Requin and verified in court by an audio expert, which appears to reveal them shooting the FBI agent after talking a drug buy. They plead no contest and are sent to a minimum security prison but instead are taken to a maximum security prison to be housed with many of the people they put away.

-Once in prison, Tango and Cash are roused from their bunks and tortured by electrocution by a gang of prisoners until Matt Sokowski, the assistant warden and Cash's former C.O rescues them. Sokowski suggests they escape and provides them with a plan, but Tango refuses to go along with it. When Cash tries to escape, he finds Sokowski murdered and gets attacked by prisoners. Tango rescues him and the 2 of them escape. Once outside the walls of the prison, Tango tells Cash that if he needs to get in touch with him, to go to a dance club called Cleopatra's and asked for a woman named Katherine. Then they split up.

-The detectives then visit witnesses who framed them in court. Wyler admits to Tango that Requin was in charge of the set up, and Cash finds Katherine at the Cleopatra club. She helps Cash escape the club by dressing him up as a woman. Later that night, Cash learns that Katherine is Tango's sister. As he arrives home, he finds them in a compromising position, she was giving Cash a massage (but from Tango's point of view and hearing, it sounded and looked like the 2 were having sex.) They met at Katherine's house, and they are met by Tango's commanding officer Schroeder, who gives them Requin's address and tells them that they have 24 hours to find out who Requin works for. Tango and Cash apprehend Requin and trick him into telling them Perret's name. Armed with a high tech vehicle, loaned to them by Cash's weapons expert friend Owen, they drive to Perret's HQ, crashing through the fence, destroying a fleet of armed trucks and they break into the building, killing several guards

-At this point, Perret, who kidnapped Katherine, starts a timer that will trigger the building's automatic self destruct. After killing Perret's core security, Tango and Cash are confronted by Requin, who is holding Katherine at knife point, but throws her aside to fight the 2 detectives hand-to-hand. They both defeat him and when Perret appears holding a gun to Katherine's head, they kill him and leave the building with Katherine just before the building detonates. Afterward, Cash jokes about his desire to date Katherine. The film ends with a newspaper headline celebrating their clearance

Cast

• Sylvester Stallone as Lt. Ray Tango
• Kurt Russell as Lt. Gabriel Cash
• Teri Hatcher as Katherine "Kiki" Tango
• Jack Palance as Yves Perret
• Brion James as Requin
• Geoffrey Lewis as Captain Schroeder
• Eddie Bunker as Captain Holmes
• James Hong as Quan
• Marc Alaimo as Lopez
• Michael J. Pollard as Owen
• Robert Z'Dar as "The Jaw"
• Lewis Arquette as Federal Agent Wyler
• Roy Brocksmith as Federal Agent Davis
• Richard Fancy as Nolan (Tango & Cash's Lawyer)
• Michael Jeter as Skinner (the audio expert)
• Clint Howard as "Slinky" (Tango's cellmate)
• Benny Urquidez as Thug (uncredited)

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Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger

-Made in 1993 by Renny Harlin
-Stars Sylvester Stallone as Gabe Walker, a mountain climber forced into a game of cat and mouse with a forger in the Rocky Mountains.

Did You Know?
-The parachute the base jumper deploys on his escape from the villains depicts the Finnish flag
-The teddy bear that falls off the cliff in the opening scene added at the last minute to give everyone an idea of how truly deep the chasm was.
-Stallone, who is a golf player, said that rock climbing roughed up his hands
-During filming, an electrical storm struck, hitting 5 crew members
-Was set in Colorado, but filmed in the Dolomites of Italy

Plot
-In the opening scene, mountain climber and rescue ranger Gabe Walker(Sylvester Stallone) and his friend, fellow ranger Jessie Deighan(Janine Turner) are dispatched to pick up their friend Hal Tucker(Michael Rooker) and his girlfriend Sarah(Michelle Joyner) on a narrow peak in the Rocky Mountains called "The Tower". While moving from one mountaintop to the helicopter via steel cable, Hal's girlfriend Sarah's harness breaks and she is left dangling over a deep chasm. While the others try to come up with a way to save her, Gabe straps on to the cable to go and save her. It's unsuccessful; her gloved hand slips through his and she falls 4,000 feet to her death in the chasm

-8 months later, Gabe returns to town for the first time since Sarah's funeral and he is overcome with guilt, thinking he could have done more. He has returned only to pack up his remaining stuff and leave permanently and also convince Jessie to come with him. A radio distress call comes to the local rescue center where Hal and Jessie work. Hal heads off to find the climbers. Battling personal problems, Gabe works with Hal on the mountain, where Hal, still angry, almost throws Gabe off a ledge.

-The rescue turns out to be a false report; the 2 climbers are taken prisoner by a gang of theives led by Eric Qualen(John Lithgow), who wants to recover 3 suitcases filled with $100 million in uncirculated $1,000 bills belonging to the United States Department of the Treasury. With the help of a turncoat Treasury agent named Richard Travers(Rex Linn), Qualen and his mercenaries attempt to steal the suitcases via an air-to-air transfer, but the cable breaks and the suitcases are lost. The thieves' plane, due to loss of power, crashes and now the suitcases holding the money have beacon locators in them, enabling them to track them, and due to the treacherous mountain terrain, they summon Gabe and Hal to help them find them

-The group comes to the first of 3 suitcases, Gabe is tethered to a rope and ordered to climb a steep wall to get it. Gabe frees himself from the rope and begins scrambling up the mountain, causing an avalanche which takes out Heldon(Denis Forest) down, one of Qualen's guys. Seeing the money fly by, Qualen presumes Gabe is dead and orders the group to proceed

-Gabe suvives the avalanche and makes his way to an abandoned cabin where he finds Jessie, who got airlifted into the area earlier. He is half frozen from climbing the mountain wearing only a thin sleeveless muscle shirt and Jessie finds him clothes to wear. Together, they reach the 2nd case before Qualen does. They find the case empty except for a $1,000 bill with "Want to Trade?" written on it. They split up to find Gabe, while Qualen's mercenaries Ryan(Gregory Scott Cummins) chases after Gabe and Jessie. They both slide down a hill, fighting and the thug is killed when he flies down into an abyss as Gabe is hanging onto the edge for dear life. 2 of Hal's friends, casually hanging on the mountain, run into Hal and the theives. Hal tells them to run and as they do, one is shot dead by Qualen's mercenary Kynette(Leon Robinson). The other parachutes off the cliff, where he gets caught in a tree, leaving him dangling. When Gabe makes an attempt to climb out of a crevice, he is seen by Kynette. A fight occurs between the 2, resulting in Kynette being impaed on a stalactite. Gabe tries to pick up the theif's radio to call the rescue chopper, but Hal alerts him that Qualen is planting explosives directly above him and plans to kill him, with Gabe and Jessie barely escaping

-The thieves, with Hal as their guide, make their way to the cabin for the night. Elsewhere, Gabe and Jessie hole up in a cave and stay warm by burning the money. The chopper pilot, Frank(Ralph Waite), not knowing of any response from Jessie, Gabe or Hal, flies over the mountain, where he finds Hal's friend stuck in a tree, frees him and transports him to safety, alerting the police

-The next morning, Gabe and Jessie try to beat the theives to the last case. Kristel(Caroline Goodall) flags down the chopped. Against orders from Qualen, Delmar(Craig Fairbass) shoots Frank. Hal crawls over to Frank and he gives Hal a knife. Hal sticks it in his boot and the thieves walk over to the chopper. Travers points a gun at Qualen, telling everyone that he is now in charge. Qualen informs them that without someone to pilot the chopper, they are stranded and shoots Kristel dead

-Again, with leverage over Travers, Qualen tells Travers, Hal and Delmar to track the case. Once close to the case, Travers tells Delmar to kill Hal, only to find Gabe has beaten them to the punch. Delmar nearly beats Hal and kicks him off a cliff, but Hal stabs him in the leg and shoots the thug with his own shotgun. Elsewhere, Jessie, who signaled the rescue chopper, thinking it's Frank, is taken hostage by Qualen. Travers finds that Gabe has found the last case before him and chases him, causing Gabe to fall into the frozen river. Under the ice, Gabe outsmarts Travers and shoots the Treasury agent with his bolt gun 3 times. His body is now being carried away by the river.

-Communicating by radio, Qualen and Gabe make a deal to exchange the money for Jessie. Qualen releases Jessie, but Gabe tricks him by throwing the money into the rotating blades of the chopper. In the confusion, Qualen's chopper falls, getting stuck on a steel ladder down the side of the mountain. Gabe and Qualen fight atop the wreck. Gabe manages to jump off as the chopper falls several thousand feet and explodes. Later, Tucker quotes "If you're looking for Qualen, try about 4,000 feet south of here. He'll be the one wearing a helicopter." The 3 are then found by federal agents and rescued.

Cast

• Sylvester Stallone as Gabe Walker, a former mountain climber and rescue ranger haunted by his failure to Sarah, the girlfriend of his best friend, Hal Tucker
• John Lithgow as Eric Qualen, a sadistic former military intelligence officer now serves as a leader of the gang of thieves trying to rob $100 million dollars from the U.S. Treasury
• Michael Rooker as Hal Tucker, Gabe's best friend and a mountain ranger who blames Gabe for his failure to save Sarah
• Janine Turner as Jessie Deighan, Gabe's girlfriend who works in the same mountain search-and-rescue group whom Gabe has become distant from since his failure to save Sarah
• Rex Linn as Richard Travers, an U.S. Treasury agent who is a double agent working with Qualen
• Caroline Goodall as Kristel, Qualen's pilot and seemingly companion
• Leon Robinson as Kynette, Qualen's brutal main henchman
• Craig Fairbrass as Delmar, Qualen's sadistic ex-soccer player-turned-henchman. Fairbrass' cunning performance as Delmar led him to be cast in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogy (voicing heroic characters Gaz, Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley and Sgt. Wallcroft, whom each shared a combative trait with the film's character Delmar).
• Gregory Scott Cummins as Ryan, Qualen's henchman
• Denis Forest as Heldon, Qualen's henchman
• Michelle Joyner as Sarah, Hal's ill-fated girlfriend who dies falling 4,000 feet after Gabe failed to save her
• Max Perlich as Evan, a thrill-seeking young man who is friends with Gabe and Hal
• Paul Winfield as Walter Wright, A treasury agent who discovered Qualen's plot to rob the money from the U.S. Treasury
• Ralph Waite as Frank, a search-and-rescue pilot working for Gabe, Jessie and Hal
• Trey Brownell as Brett, Evan's friend who is also a thrill-seeker
• Vyto Ruginis as Mathesen
• John Finn as Agent Michaels
• Jeff McCarthy as Pilot

Production
-The mountain scenes were filmed in the Cortina d'Ampezzo area of the Dolomites, Italy.

Reception
-Most people enjoyed Lithgow's acting, only he was criticised for his inauthentic sounding British accent, especially when 2 of his costars were British actors, Craig Fairbass and Caroline Goodall.

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Hot Man Friday- Raoul Bova

God this man is sexy!

Raoul Bova

Name: Raoul Bova
DOB: August 14, 1971
Where: Rome, Italy
Occupation: Actor

-Italian actor born in Rome to Calabrian parents.
-At age 16, he became local swimming champ because he could do the 100 meter backstroke.
-At age 21, joined up with the Italian Army and performed his military calling with the Bersaglieri(sharpshooters) corps.
-In March 2000, married a woman named Chiara Giordano, who is a veterinarian. They have 3 kids: Alessandro Leon, Francesco and Sophia

IMDb
-Height: 5'11''

Trivia
-Appeared with Madonna in a 1999 Max Factor commercial

If this is him younger, omg! What a hot hunk of sexy Italian man!

-Studied at the Italian Institute of Physical Education

-His mother was a housewife while his father was an employee of Alitalia Airlines

-Got his name Raoul from his great grandfather
-From the region of Calabria, Bova is a common surname
-Has 2 dogs named Jackie and Ophelia
-Loves to cook
-Is the face for Giorgio Armani and Gap

-Nearly drowned in the ocean a a kid. To get over this fear, took swimming lessons and became a champ at 16

-His mother in law is one of the most famous divorce lawyers in Italy

-The first movie he ever saw was "Some Like It Hot"

-Loves to collect bonsai trees

-Shows an interest for Buddhism and Judaism

-In 2000, made an all nude artistic calendar for the Italian magazine Max

-Sometimes plays soccer with the Nazionale Italiana attori team in charity matches.

Filmography

• Treasure Guards (2011, TV movie)
• Nessuno mi può giudicare (2011)
• Come un delfino (2011), miniseries
• Immaturi (2011)
• The Tourist (2010)
• Scusa ma ti Voglio Sposare (2010)
• La nostra vita (2010)
• Ti presento un amico (2010)
• Baaria - La porta del vento (2009)
• Bolt (2008)
• Scusa ma ti chiamo amore (2008)
• Milano-Palermo: il ritorno (2007)
• Io, l'altro (2007)
• What About Brian (2006, TV Series)
• Attacco allo stato (2005, TV)
• Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (2005, TV)
• La Fiamma sul ghiaccio (2005)
• Alien vs. Predator (2004)
• Ultimo (2004, TV)
• Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
• Facing Windows (La finestra di fronte, 2003)
• Francesco (2002, TV)
• Avenging Angelo (2002)
• Madame de... (2001, TV)
• Francesca and Nunziata (Francesca e Nunziata, 2001, TV)
• The Knights Who Made the Enterprise (I cavalieri che fecero l'impresa]], 2001)
• Il Testimone (2001, TV)
• Distretto di polizia (2000, TV Series)
• Terra bruciata (1999)
• Ultimo 2 - La sfida (1999, TV)
• Hercules (1999 Italian voice)
• Rewind (1998)
• Coppia omicida (1998)
• La Piovra 9 - Il patto (1998, TV)
• Ultimo (1998) (TV)
• The Fourth King (Il Quarto re, 1997, TV)
• La Piovra 8 - Lo scandalo (1997, TV)
• La Lupa (1996)
• La Frontiera (1996)
• The Nymph (Ninfa plebea, 1996)
• The Mayor (Il sindaco, 1996)
• Palermo-Milan One Way (Palermo Milano solo andata, 1995)
• La Piovra 7 (1994, TV miniseries)
• It All Started by Chance (Cominciò tutto per caso, 1993)
• Pretty Princess (Piccolo grande amore, 1993)
• Crazy Underwear (Mutande pazze, 1992)
• When We Were Repressed (Quando eravamo repressi, 1992; uncredited)
• Una Storia italiana (1992) (TV)

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