When The Sopranos Met Springburn
‘Diamonds into Dust’
I am feeling a strange bit of synchronicity and serendipity as I write this. Last month I finished binge- watching The Sopranos from start to finish. I had watched it before of course in the old fashioned way. Remember when you used to watch an episode once a week and if you missed it then you fucked it and would just need to catch the next one and hope you didn’t miss too many crucial plot twists? In effect, I grew up with The Sopranos . From watching Season 1 at school to watching the final season as a failing adult. We saw the characters age and grow in real time. It was one of the only shows that could keep my attention and interest throughout the years and ever since it`s been DVD binges and now streaming services.
I never normally watch a show or a film again. I barely have time to watch anything and with my low concentration span it feels like I am wasting valuable seconds on this earth watching something I have already seen. But after ‘asking facebook’ for suggestions I realised I was also wasting time trying to get into something that was , by all accounts, pure shite. So in my week off I picked a classic show to revisit and I wasn’t disappointed. It exceeded my expectations and confirmed for me that The Sopranos is the greatest bit of television ever created. Up there with Breaking Bad, The Wire and Boardwalk Empire but I think what gives The Sopranos the edge is the characters are so engrained into my psyche and there is much more genuine comedy than so called comedy shows. So much perfect dialogue and overlapping storylines plus intense depth and meaning behind everything , twisting the definitions of what is good and what is evil.
What is truth? that’s why a decade on people are still angrily debate the details, the messages and of course the controversial ending that caught me off guard but now find it as a perfect farewell to a show I have always loved . As a more , ahem, mature viewer I also related to many more of the situations and look forward to the prequel movie ‘The Mainy Saints of Newark’ which is slated for an autumn 2021 release..
Why Am I Telling You This?
Then last week , I interviewed Alabama 3 legend Nick Reynolds on You Call That Radio TV who made the ‘Woke Up this Morning (Got Myself A Gun) ‘ anthem that began each episode that had been looping around my head for the last month. It was great to discuss the effects that the TV show had on one of my favourite all time bands and hear what it was like meeting the cast at the Bada Bing! nightclub during a recent convention (when I say recent I mean post-covid as the last year doesn’t count in my book)
Then yesterday, I was sent an advanced copy of a video that truly stopped me in my tracks. Springburn director James Price had somehow made a music video for Zopa which is the band of none other than Sopranos star and one of my favourite actors Michael Imperioli who played the role of Christopher Moltisanti .
Source: wikipedia
As well as The Sopranos (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2004. He gained recognition in the early part of his career for his role as Spider in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas. Imperioli's other television work includes roles as Nick Falco in the drama series Law & Order, Ray Carling in the U.S. version of Life on Mars, and Louis Fitch in the ABC police drama Detroit 1-8-7. He has also had supporting roles in films such as Shark Tale (2004) and The Lovely Bones (2009).
Imperioli wrote and directed his first feature film, The Hungry Ghosts, in 2008. In 2015, he starred in Mad Dogs, a dark-comic thriller television series released on Amazon's Prime Video streaming platform.
As for James Price, we had him as a guest on You Call That Radio last year (The first 60- 90 mins is the interview with some short films then the beer kicked in and I just started sharing music videos for a couple of hours) . He is without doubt one of Scotland’s leading screen-writers and film-makers creating epic short films such as ‘Boys Night’ , ‘Dropping Off Michael ’ and ‘Spiral’ to name a few . It’s rare to see working class Glasgow being framed in such an authentic but unique and interesting way and has even inspired me personally to do more with my scripts and ideas going forward.
How did this collab between a Sopranos star and ‘The Springburn Scorsese’ occur?
Sheer gallusness and a wee bit of luck. James hit up Hollywood star Michael after listening to his recent Talking Sopranos podcast and just asked the question ‘Can I make a music video for one of your songs? ‘
after he had enjoyed Zolpa’s music on Bandcamp . Michael was a wee bit hesitant at first after getting an unsolicited message from a random guy from across the pond but after watching some of his ground-breaking films he gave him the green light and the ‘Diamonds into Dust ‘ short film/ music video was born. James then roped in the likes of Amy Manson , Rian Gordon, Brian McCardie and others and even gave himself his first on - screen part as a bare- chested , hoosecoat- wearing, chib- wielding coke dealer.
The film itself is a frantic , fast paced tale of crime, romance and vengeance with Zolpo’s heartfelt soundtrack adding the perfect bed for all the chaos to reign . Sometimes contrasting with the on-screen action and sometimes encapsulating the mood and catapulting the viewer through a white knuckle ride of mixed emotions . It`s weirdly sweet, often violent and very Glasgow. A large bit of praise has also to be singled out to Tim Currie who did a fantastic job on the editing keeping each scene moving at the right pace at the right time.
How can you watch it?
UPDATE ! you can register for the world premiere tonight at 7pm over here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JFiFE03wS8-YTWrlHw1vlA
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