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Christopher's Screenwriting Journey In The Sopranos
The Sopranos is a rightfully revered show about the modern mob, family, and how New Jersey continues to be the most beautiful place on Earth. However, it is not a show about the trials and tribulations of trying to make it as a screenwriter. But the show insisted on doing just that in a recurring arc that should have been tossed over the side of the boat faster than Big Pussy Bonpensiero.
It begins in Season 1 with "The Legend Of Tennessee Moltisanti." Christopher Moltisanti, fresh off his first kill and needing a healthy distraction, decides to take up screenwriting. That's not the most outlandish decision, as lots of people write to deal with difficult things in their lives. And Tony Soprano's reaction to Christopher working on a screenplay about the mafia is spot on: "Are you insane? We don't draw attention to ourselves." And that's where it should have ended, but thankfully for this article's premise, it did not.
Christopher begins attending an acting class, and he's amazing at it. He does a tender scene onstage, but then quits after delivering a beating to his acting partner over crying in front of him. By Season 2, though, Chris has rekindled his interest in the business, and through a series of machinations he winds up on the set of a movie directed by Jon Favreau, played by the real Jon Favreau! The show some critics call the greatest in history stoops to a cheap "appearing as himself" stunt that accomplishes nothing except giving the audience an opportunity to say "Wow, there's Jon Favreau on The Sopranos." And not to diss the guy who would end up directing Iron Man and playing Happy Hogan, but this was 2000 Jon Favreau, who was mostly famous for being the slightly less awful dude in Swingers.