With TV shows more often finding their way into the lineups of various film festivals, it’s only fitting that the medium should have its own major event. The Series Mania festival in Paris aims to do just that, hoping to do for television, what the Cannes Film Festival does for movies. And in their seventh year, they landed some big gets, including the world premiere of AMC‘s upcoming "Feed The Beast," a work-in-progress screening of Netflix‘s "Marseilles," and much more. Organizers also landed "The Sopranos" creator David Chase to sit on the jury, and he also participated in a career spanning talk.
READ MORE: ‘The Sopranos’ Creator David Chase Talks The Changing Creative Culture At HBO
And for fans, it’s a treat, as Chase discusses his life making television and movies, and is quite candid about his experiences. He shares that HBO initially wanted him to make a TV series based on Mario Puzo‘s "The Godfather," something that had already been done in the ’70s by re-editing the "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II." Instead, he pitched "The Sopranos," which he designed as “a middle finger at the TV establishment” — HBO said yes.
Naturally, he was also asked about the enigmatic final episode of "The Sopranos," and once again, Chase declined to give any definitive answers, but shared the theme he wanted to underscore. “I wanted to get across the idea that Tony Soprano created his own life,” he said. “In other words, in a way he made the film of his own life, or wrote the book about it. But we all do. We put ourselves in these situations – we don’t just wind up there.”
There’s lots to dig into, so sit back and check out the conversation. [quotes via Variety]
