- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
David Chase had three songs in mind that he wanted to use in the final moments of The Sopranos — and he went with the one the crew hated.
While a guest on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast on Monday, the writer-director talked about his career, which obviously included his legendary HBO series. Having no interest in rehashing what the ending means, Chase did say he had multiple songs in mind for the iconic moment. He would ultimately choose “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
“I didn’t know Journey was the answer,” Chase told Maron of the process. “In preproduction [for the final season], there was going to be a song at the end [Tony] was going to play in the jukebox. I was in the scout van with the department heads … and I had never done this before. I said, ‘Listen, I’m going to talk about three songs that I am thinking about for ending the show.'”
One of the three Chase could not remember, but Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” was in the running, along with “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Chase explained.
And they went, ‘Oh, Jesus Christ, no. Don’t do that! Ugh. Fuck.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s it. That’s the one,'” Chase said of his reaction to the vitriol directed at Journey. “I wasn’t saying that just to throw it in their face. That was kind of my favorite, and it got a reaction of some kind. So I can make this song loveable, which it had been.”
While talking about the series ending, Chase mentioned that different endings had been shot in order to discourage any leaks, but he did not go into detail about the faux curtain drops.
The Many Saints of Newark, which Chase developed and co-wrote, is due in theaters and on HBO Max on Oct. 1.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day