This period of self-isolation has really seen a James Gandolfini renaissance. I don’t know why but all my online depressed friends have found some kind of creature comfort in paparazzi photos of the late actor just being a fucking don.
The Sopranos actors Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli recently appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to promote their Talking Sopranos podcast series. During the appearance, the duo delved into a particularly succulent story that involves James Gandolfini and rapist Harvey Weinstein.
Gandolfini and Weinstein were working together during the press cycle for Andrew Dominik’s 2012 neo-noir thriller Killing Them Softly. The film saw Gandolfini star opposite Brad Putt, Richard Jenkins, and Ray Liotta.
Over the course of his career, our humble king Gandolfini was averse to doing press interview as he deemed himself not “interesting enough.” This kind of humility did obviously not register with the egomaniac sycophant Weinstein, resulting in the two butting heads after Weinstein pressured the actor to promote the film on The Late Show with David Letterman.
“[Gandolfini] said, ‘Harvey Weinstein keeps calling, he wants me to do Letterman and I said no,’” Schirripa recalls. “And [Weinstein] got fucking nasty with Jim.
“And Jim said, ‘I will beat the fuck out of Harvey Weinstein! He fucking calls me again, I will beat the fuck out of him! For the money he paid me, I’m not fucking doing it!’ Swear to God. And this is before all the Harvey Weinstein shit when he was still king shit.”
Gandolfini isn’t the only Killing Them Softly star that’s felt inclined to punch on with the toad man film producer. In May 2018, Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on The Howard Stern Show, where she recalled an incident that took place at the 1995 Broadway opening of Hamlet, that saw then-partner Brad Pitt confront Weinstein.
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Paltrow was invited to Weinstein’s hotel room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel after being cast as the lead in his Jane Austen adaptation of Emma. Paltrow alleges that during the encounter, Weinstein placed his hands on her and suggested they head to the bedroom for a massage.
The actress told Brad Pitt about the encounter, which led to Pitt threaten Weinstein at the Hamlet premiere, telling the producer “If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I’ll kill you.”
Check on Steve Schirripa on The Sopranos, Acting & James Gandolfini on the Joe Rogan Experience:
