While he was almost universally praised for The Sopranos, we haven’t seen an awful lot of James Gandolfini since the show ended. It’ll be great news for fans then that the actor is getting back together with Sopranos creator David Chase, this time on the big screen.
Gandolfini has been set to co-star in Chase’s Twylight Zones, which like The Sopranos, is set in New Jersey (and has nothing to do with vampires or the Rod Serling TV show). According to Deadline, the film is ‘described as a drama about a New Jersey Rock’n’Roll band and the musical renaissance of the 1960s. It centers on Douglas (John Magaro), a socially awkward teen who begins to shine as lead singer in his band, The Twylight Zones. Gandolfini will play his father, an Italian-American who’s totally disgusted by his son’s infatuation with rock music.’ Also joining the flick are Molly Price as Douglas’ mom and actor-comedian Brad Garrett.
However that’s not the only flick Gandolfini is thinking about, as he’s also circling Cogan’s Trade, which is set to star Brad Pitt and will be helmed by Assassination Of Jesse James director Andrew Dominik. The movie focusses Jackie Cogan (Pitt), the man behind the hit man – a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that takes place during a poker game under protection of the mob. Gandolfini will play a washed-up, alcoholic, hard-up for cash hit man who was brought on by Jackie to do the first job he’s done in a long time but proves to be more of a liability than being of any service.
Finally there’s also the possibility of Gandolfini appearing in Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, which has Tom Hanks and Sanda Bullock set for the roles of the parents of Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player and pacifist, who searches New York for the lock that matches a mysterious key left by his father when he was killed in the September 11 attacks, a quest that intertwines with the story of his grandparents, whose lives were blighted by the firebombing of Dresden. Gandolfini would play Bullock’s friend who she met a support group for people who have lost loved ones.