James Gandolfini

Morning Memo: Christie Brinkley Runs Into Two Exes; Danity Kane Ladies Miffed at Diddy; James Gandolfini Weds Model

Christie Brinkley and Alexa Ray Joel <br>in Sag Harbor Saturday night.
Getty Images.
Christie Brinkley and Alexa Ray Joel
in Sag Harbor Saturday night.

Olatz Schnabel is upset over reports that her husband, director Julian Schnabel, has been seen out with "Miral" author Rula Jebreal. [P6]

Exes Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley attended a performance by daughter Alexa Ray Joel in Sag Harbor. Brinkley's latest ex, Peter Cook--Alexa once him described as an "evil stepfather who once forced her head into a bucket"--was also there, for some reason. [NYDN]

The girls of Danity Kane are reportedly so upset over creator P. Diddy's favoritism towards member Dawn Richard that none of them showed up to her birthday party. [NYDN]  read more »

Tony Soprano is Having a Garage Sale

Eww, not that one please.
Eww, not that one please.

James Gandolfini is auctioning off 24 outfits that he wore on the Sopranos through Christie's on June 25th.

That's right! Now you can be the one to wear the button-down silky casino shirts worn by Tony Soprano and that oh so flattering cotton bathrobe that he wore over his boxer shorts while cautiously walking down the driveway to fetch the morning paper.  read more »

Sopranos, 30 Rock Top Emmys

Sopranos, 30 Rock Top Emmys
Getty Images

Two locally filmed shows took top series honors at last night's Emmy Awards.

'The Sopranos' took home the Best Drama award, and creator David Chase and director Alan Taylor won for writing and directing.

But in a big upset, favorite James Gandolfini lost to James Spader of 'Boston Legal.'

'30 Rock' took home its single primetime award--but it was a big one: Best Comedy. During their acceptance speech Tina Fey thanked the show's 'dozens' of viewers and thanked NBC's Zucker for sticking with the show.

Altogether the program was its usual mix of bathos and strained humor. But in case you still feel like you missed, something, after the jump is the exhaustive, chronological account put out by the show's organizers. It has a similarly strange, incantatory charm to the show itself.  read more »

Gallopin’ Gandolfini! As Sopranos Star Storms Past Press, Colleagues Praise His Performance in Coens’ New Comedy

Turturro, Sarandon, Gandolfini.
Getty Images
Turturro, Sarandon, Gandolfini.

The New York premiere of John Turturro’s Romance & Cigarettes at the Clearview Chelsea West Cinema on Thursday, August 30, looked some-thing like a Sopranos reunion.  read more »

Tony’s Blackout

Tony and the Boss: <i>Sopranos</i> auteur David Chase’s subversive finale made panicked millions shriek, lunge for remote control.
Philip Burke
Tony and the Boss: Sopranos auteur David Chase’s subversive finale made panicked millions shriek, lunge for remote control.

Sopranos Auteur David Chase Left a Majestic Wrap-Up, But His Onion-Ring Existentialism Causes a Panic—Where’s Dr. Melfi? It’s a Media Anxiety Attack!  read more »

A.J. Soprano's Improbable Second Coming

"What's wrong with you!"
Courtesy of HBO
"What's wrong with you!"

Of all the characters--and of all the actors--still around for this last season of The Sopranos, David Chase has not only chosen, but has actually succeeded in doing something with A.J. (Robert Iler).

Long the afterthought of the ensemble, A.J.’s only memorable contribution to the series was when he got his eyebrows shaved off at some party in the city, while Iler’s only memorable contribution was when he pleaded guilty to mugging two fellow teenagers and marijuana possession..

Anyway, it is really surprising that A.J. has not only become the focal point to the second half of this season, but also appears to be the key to wrapping up the entire show in a nice big bow.

A.J., as the episode title tells us, is "the second coming." He’s Tony Soprano alright, but without any of Tony’s personality, menace or charisma. If there is a twist to these last episodes of The Sopranos, I’d say that is it.

And like the much-maligned Dominic Monaghan on Lost, Iler has actually shown himself to be quite an actor when given his chance in the spotlight. In a season filled with great performances—mostly from the usual suspects: Gandolfini, Falco, and Imperioli—Iler can stand proudly along side his cast mates.  read more »

The Afternoon Wrap: Friday

The Afternoon Wrap: Friday

  • Forrest "Frosty" Myers' iconic Soho sculpture "The Wall" is returning to its rightful home at 599 Broadway, after a lengthy argument with the building's landlord. We mirrored the picture because it looks totally cool. [Villager]
  • Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden won't stop Bruce Ratner from starting his Atlantic Yards demolitions.
     read more »
  • How Much For the De Kooning (Apartment)?

    dekooning.jpg
    Lisa de Kooning's old U.E.S. apartment.
    Lisa de Kooning, daughter of Abstract Expressionist painter Willem de Kooning, has just sold her Upper East Side condo for $1.45 million, according to deed transfer records.

    Back in November, Ms. de Kooning dropped close to $3 million on a Jane Street condo, nearby the old AbEx stomping grounds, as reported in The Observer.

    Also, Sopranos star James Gandolfini once lived in the Greenwich Village building; that is, before he got divorced and sold the multi-unit pad to his ex-wife.

    Certainly the de Kooning estate is doing alright these days, with sales of the master's works thriving. Last night, Christie's postwar and contemporary sale brought in over $143 million--with several de Kooning works in the mix. An untitled painting (1961) sold for $10 million, and Two Women (Study for Clamdigger) fetched $5.7 million.  read more »

    - Michael Calderone

    Nadine Johnson's $3.2 M. Deal

    Life in the fishbowl isn’t the thing for Nadine Johnson, the Belgian-born über-publicist and form  read more »

    Falco Flies Coop

    On May 14, Sopranos matriarch Edie Falco listed her neo-Greek townhouse at 97 Barrow Street for $3.7  read more »

    Il Divorzio

    In December 2002, James Gandolfini, who plays brooding Tony Soprano on the HBO mob drama The Soprano  read more »

    The New York World Plant Review of Books

    The McSweeney's tribe thinks that the book-reviewing trade has become a little too toxic.  read more »

    Sopranos Suburb?

    "The difference between you and me," shouts Carmela Soprano at her husband, Tony, on the HBO series,  read more »