TINDERBOX BOOK SERIES
TINDERBOX BOOK TV

This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. Your papa never told you.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'WOKE UP THIS MORNING (THE CHOSEN ONE)')ĪLABAMA 3: (Singing) You woke up this morning, and all that love had gone.

TINDERBOX BOOK TV

MILLER: And I think that the next two to three years of HBO's existence is going to determine the next decade of HBO's existence.ĭEGGANS: 'Tinderbox' details how HBO's victories helped define quality TV in one era, even as it seeks success in another one. But now, Miller says, it faces competition with streaming platforms breaking the rules in their own ways.

And so HBO was just ill-equipped to compete with Netflix at that point.ĭEGGANS: For decades, HBO has found success as a premium cable channel, revolutionizing TV by airing programs other outlets would never touch.

You know, that's one of the first big examples of like, wait a second, Toto. Netflix bankrolled two seasons of episodes up front. I felt that after all those years, that that was not really the ending I was hoping for for Tony and Melfi.ĭEGGANS: 'Tinderbox' also explore some of HBO's missteps, including passing on the chance to make 'Mad Men,' 'Breaking Bad' and 'The Crown' while letting Netflix outbid them for what became the streamer's flagship original series, 'House of Cards.' Miller, the author, says HBO offered to make a pilot of the show. GANDOLFINI: (As Tony Soprano) Well, if the show fits.īRACCO: I was hurt. JAMES GANDOLFINI: (As Tony Soprano) What are you talking about? I've only missed three appointments since we had that heart-to-heart.īRACCO: (As Dr. Jennifer Melfi) I don't think I can help you. Melfi give up on Tony Soprano.īRACCO: (As Dr. In her final scene, Chase basically had Dr. Your papa never told you about right and wrong.ĭEGGANS: Bracco reveals she loved working with HBO but hated how her character left The Sopranos. And few programs symbolize the success HBO reached in challenging the rules of TV - with no commercials, explicit content and a wide latitude given the talent - like The Sopranos.ĪLABAMA 3: (Singing) All that love had gone. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'WOKE UP THIS MORNING (CHOSEN ONE)')ĪLABAMA 3: (Singing) Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun.ĭEGGANS: Miller spoke to 757 people for 'Tinderbox,' tracing its story and quotes from performers, producers, executives and more. And of all of us, I believe he was the least aware. So I don't think Jimmy was ready for that. Bracco, already famous for playing Karen Hill in the film 'Goodfellas,' tried to warn him.īRACCO: As we all know, success is a really weird thing, and fame is even weirder. LORRAINE BRACCO: One of the big things you have to remember about Jimmy is that this took him by surprise, this success.ĭEGGANS: 'In Tinderbox,' Miller writes Gandolfini, who left that intervention after about 10 seconds, struggled with the dark feelings Tony Soprano awakened in him. Jennifer Melfi alongside Gandolfini's mobster, Tony Soprano, says she remembers how much her co-star struggled with the role and the fame it brought him. Lorraine Bracco, who played therapist Dr.

TINDERBOX BOOK SERIES

David Chase, creator of HBO's hit series 'The Sopranos,' joined friends and family of star James Gandolfini at the Manhattan apartment of then-CEO Chris Albrecht. It's called 'Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit Of New Frontiers.' NPR TV critic Eric Deggans spoke with author James Andrew Miller and Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco last week on a Twitter Spaces conversation hosted by NPR.ĮRIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: 'Tinderbox' opens with a powerful moment from 2003. HBO would go on to air groundbreaking hits like 'Game Of Thrones' and 'The Sopranos.' And a new oral history book details the company's rise. In 1972, a channel named Home Box Office debuted, reaching fewer than 400 homes in Pennsylvania.

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