David Chasehas found his leading paisan forThe Many Saints of Newark, New Line Cinema’s feature-length prequel to the landmark TV seriesThe Sopranos.Varietyreports thatAlessandro Nivolais in negotiations to play Richard “Dickey” Moltisanti, big brother figure toJames Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano and father ofMichael Imperioli’s Christopher Moltisanti.
Nivola has been doing mostly one-off character performances since 1997 when he appeared as the younger brother ofNicolas Cage’s Castor Troy inFace/Off. Recently, the actor portrayed Bernie Madoff’s son Mark in HBO’s original filmThe Wizard of Lies, which starredRobert De Niroas the elder Madoff.
A Vietnam vet and footman in the DiMeo crime family, Dickey Moltisanti had already been killed by the time audiences met Tony Soprano and his family in the HBO series' initial run. According to theincrediblyunreliable Tony, Dickey Moltisanti was gunned down outside his home when his son was just an infant by New Jersey Detective Lt. Barry Haydu, who Christopher later murders in the season four premiere, “For All Debts Public and Private.”
Exact plot details are under wraps onThe Many Saints of Newarkoutside the fact the film takes place during the race riots that took place in Newark in the 1960’s. Chase wrote the script withLawrence Konnor(Boardwalk Empire) andAlan Taylor(Game of Thrones) is set to direct. According to the report, more familiar names casually mentioned duringThe Sopranos' six-season run are expected to be cast for the film.
So far, so exciting, but the question remains whether anything the film accomplishes can touch the highs ofThe Sopranositself, which set the bar for what could be achieved with small-screen storytelling. From what I’ve seen Nivola is a fine actor, but Gandolfini’s portrayal of Tony Soprano—which turned knuckle biting and heavy nose-breathing into an art form—is one of the finest acting jobs in any story, TV or film.
