Alex Gibney

And so he writes this script, and he decides to make the protagonist a mobster, Tony Soprano, who's got a problem with his mother. And in fact, his mother wants to kill him. And he writes the script, and it's really good. And everybody agrees it's really good. And he starts to take it around. But at the time, TV was dominated by the three, possibly four networks.

And so he writes this script, and he decides to make the protagonist a mobster, Tony Soprano, who's got a problem with his mother. And in fact, his mother wants to kill him. And he writes the script, and it's really good. And everybody agrees it's really good. And he starts to take it around. But at the time, TV was dominated by the three, possibly four networks.

And they were interested in kind of lowest common denominator programming and sort of routinized programming. So he would go from place to place and they all turned him down. And Les Moonves, who was at, you know, a famous executive at CBS said, you know, this mobster stuff is really good. But, you know, are you wedded to the therapy? Yeah.

And they were interested in kind of lowest common denominator programming and sort of routinized programming. So he would go from place to place and they all turned him down. And Les Moonves, who was at, you know, a famous executive at CBS said, you know, this mobster stuff is really good. But, you know, are you wedded to the therapy? Yeah.

And they were interested in kind of lowest common denominator programming and sort of routinized programming. So he would go from place to place and they all turned him down. And Les Moonves, who was at, you know, a famous executive at CBS said, you know, this mobster stuff is really good. But, you know, are you wedded to the therapy? Yeah.

And Dave was like, yeah, I'm wedded to the therapy, I guess you'd have to say, since it was the central engine of the entire show.

And Dave was like, yeah, I'm wedded to the therapy, I guess you'd have to say, since it was the central engine of the entire show.

And Dave was like, yeah, I'm wedded to the therapy, I guess you'd have to say, since it was the central engine of the entire show.

Right? So everybody wanted him to do something that was the cliché, and he wanted to do something that was completely different. And it wasn't until the script landed at HBO where they said, whoa, this is new and original and different. That was it. It was different. And HBO was looking to be different. It's not TV. It's HBO.

Right? So everybody wanted him to do something that was the cliché, and he wanted to do something that was completely different. And it wasn't until the script landed at HBO where they said, whoa, this is new and original and different. That was it. It was different. And HBO was looking to be different. It's not TV. It's HBO.

Right? So everybody wanted him to do something that was the cliché, and he wanted to do something that was completely different. And it wasn't until the script landed at HBO where they said, whoa, this is new and original and different. That was it. It was different. And HBO was looking to be different. It's not TV. It's HBO.

So with HBO, I mean, they were making money through subscriptions, and they were showing movies that they would license. They had dipped their toe into series, like with Larry Sanders and with Oz and others, and they were thinking, this is pretty good. Maybe we should try a bigger swing. And so they were looking for something.

So with HBO, I mean, they were making money through subscriptions, and they were showing movies that they would license. They had dipped their toe into series, like with Larry Sanders and with Oz and others, and they were thinking, this is pretty good. Maybe we should try a bigger swing. And so they were looking for something.

So with HBO, I mean, they were making money through subscriptions, and they were showing movies that they would license. They had dipped their toe into series, like with Larry Sanders and with Oz and others, and they were thinking, this is pretty good. Maybe we should try a bigger swing. And so they were looking for something.

So moment and different economic model because they don't need to have a big ratings winner. They just need some people who love a show. That's good for them. And then if you love different shows, that's okay because this group loves this show and they'll subscribe. And this other group loves this show and they'll subscribe. Good. Everybody doesn't have to love every show. So poise for that moment.

So moment and different economic model because they don't need to have a big ratings winner. They just need some people who love a show. That's good for them. And then if you love different shows, that's okay because this group loves this show and they'll subscribe. And this other group loves this show and they'll subscribe. Good. Everybody doesn't have to love every show. So poise for that moment.

So moment and different economic model because they don't need to have a big ratings winner. They just need some people who love a show. That's good for them. And then if you love different shows, that's okay because this group loves this show and they'll subscribe. And this other group loves this show and they'll subscribe. Good. Everybody doesn't have to love every show. So poise for that moment.

And then he walks into it with his script to HBO and they're asking the questions where everything's upside down instead of saying like, okay, so we'll shoot it in LA and we'll do second unit in Jersey, right? Because that'll save money. They were like, you're going to shoot everything in Jersey, right? That's what David said. He's like, whoa, I felt like I had landed in an alternate universe.

And then he walks into it with his script to HBO and they're asking the questions where everything's upside down instead of saying like, okay, so we'll shoot it in LA and we'll do second unit in Jersey, right? Because that'll save money. They were like, you're going to shoot everything in Jersey, right? That's what David said. He's like, whoa, I felt like I had landed in an alternate universe.

And then he walks into it with his script to HBO and they're asking the questions where everything's upside down instead of saying like, okay, so we'll shoot it in LA and we'll do second unit in Jersey, right? Because that'll save money. They were like, you're going to shoot everything in Jersey, right? That's what David said. He's like, whoa, I felt like I had landed in an alternate universe.