James Gandolfini and John Magaro in the new, black-and-white version of “Not Fade Away.”
“Everything looks worse in black and white,” Paul Simon sang in “Kodachrome.”
David Chase begs to differ.
And so, 13 years after “Not Fade Away” debuted, he is bringing back his look at ’60s suburbia, New Jersey adolescence and garage-band dreams — in a starker, simpler, monochromatic print.
Its East Coast premiere, April 10 at Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, is already sold out — unsurprisingly, as it includes a discussion with Chase, music supervisor Steven Van Zandt, and co-stars John Magaro and Will Brill. (The museum, which regularly programs special screenings like this, says some tickets may be available at the door.)
But the hopes are that this new b/w version will be streaming soon, and perhaps out on BluRay as well. In the meantime, you can read the North Caldwell director’s thoughts on the film, his career and the current state of Hollywood here:
Q: How did the idea for this version come about?
A: I got my publicists to ask American Cinematheque (in Los Angeles) if they were interested in screening it, and they said yes. But then, frankly, as time went on, I thought, “Why am I even doing this?” And I finally asked Steve, “Why am I screening this old movie?” And he said, “Why not do it in black and white?” So I talked to Paramount and they paid for the whole thing. And when I saw it, I thought, “You know, it’s gotten better in black and white.”
JOHN CAVANAUGH
David Chase and Steven Van Zandt in 2023.
Q: Had you originally thought of making it that way? Was that even an option?
A: No. Although Steve tells me, back then he had asked, “Why don’t you do this in black and white?” and I said they’d never approve it. Which was true. No one would have. But I like the look of it. Steve says, “You know, it looks very French New Wave now.” I wish that were so.
Q: A movie about ’60s garage bands — that was a big leap from “The Sopranos.”
A: When “The Sopranos” ended, I knew after that success I would finally get to make a feature film, which I had always wanted to do. So I thought, “OK, let me do the most difficult one, the project that otherwise everyone would be the least interested in.” And Brad Grey, my friend and colleague, was head of Paramount, and he said, “OK, let’s do it.” He was happy to do it.
Q: And the inspiration for the story?
A: Well, it’s semi-autobiographical. In a way, it’s about me and my friends, and being 19 or 20, and all these crazy things that were happening, and all these silly and pretentious and thoughtless ways we behaved. And it’s about the music then.
I think Steve and I still both believe that was the best era for rock ‘n’ roll — and obviously, he’s been involved with some pretty high-end rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe it’s just aesthetic nostalgia, but for me it was such a great time. There were the innovations, like the 12-string Rickenbacker. The influence of black music, like the Delta blues, the Chicago blues. I mean, Dylan’s talked about that, about why he got into rock. These weren’t songs about “I love you, you love me.” They were about sadness, death, adventure, betrayal — all these adult things.
BARRY WETCHER/PARAMOUNT PICTURES
From left, Will Brill, Brahm Vaccarella and John Magaro in the original, color version of “Not Fade Away.”
Q: What’s also interesting is what a big part suburbia played in all this. The cities gave us doo-wop, and rap. But rock … you needed a place to rehearse. You needed someone with a car to get your equipment to the next gig.
A: Absolutely. You’d work, and save your money to get some instruments, and then instead of just getting drunk on Saturday night, you’d go to somebody’s garage and jam. And you felt like you were part of something.
I was in a band and I can still remember what it felt like. I can remember playing together, and you’d all get in a groove and there was nothing like it, aurally or mentally or emotionally.
Q: There’s a beautiful scene in this when James Gandolfini, playing the main character’s father, is sitting on the couch, watching “South Pacific.” And it’s absolutely wordless, but you watch this Dad, who’s put his own dreams on hold so his family could prosper. And you think maybe he’s having second thoughts about that.
A: I don’t know, I think maybe he’s just regretting that he had been so conventional, so — what is the word? — dutiful. So risk-averse. I think he’s sad that life had passed him by, but you know, five minutes from then, I think he realizes, “You know what? I did do something, I provided for my family and my kid.” So I don’t think he regrets that. But it’s a very powerful scene, and that’s all Jim.
Q: I asked him about it when the movie came out. “Where did you get that look?” I said. “Where did that come from?” And he said, “Exhaustion.”
A: When we were shooting the pilot for “The Sopranos,” my wife Denise asked him, “How do you do this? Where does this come from?” And he’d say, “I’m just copying David” (laughs). He could get very frustrated and impatient at times; you’d be trying to get a speech or a scene, and it just wasn’t working, and he’d finally say, “Just do it for me.” And I’d do it in my own stupid, lame way and he’d watch and then we’d go on and try the scene again, and it would work. He wasn’t copying me; my performance was crap. But he’d found his way in.
Q: Another scene that is so striking is when Brad Garrett talks to the kids in the band, and lays out everything they have to do before he can get them into a recording studio. And they don’t want to hear it. They don’t want to practice their craft; they just want to be stars.
A: I remember freshman year in college, taking my first writing course, and the professor, a very elderly man, saying, “Everybody thinks they want to be writers, but what they really want is to have written.” What Brad is telling those guys in that scene is to do what Steven and Bruce (Springsteen) had the sense to do, which is work. They worked at it, playing three shows a day, seven days a week. It was their profession and they treated it seriously.
BARRY WETCHER/PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Q: You’ve talked about how you had never wanted to work in television; directing a feature film had been your dream from the beginning. Was it as great an experience as you had hoped?
A: It was one of the best experiences of my life. I think that was because of the cast, really. Working with Jim again was so great. John Magaro, Steven — all those guys. It was fun but it was more than that. It was just rich, somehow.
Q: And yet you haven’t had a directing credit since. Are you still interested in making features?
A: I write scripts all the time. I don’t know, they don’t get made. We did make “The Many Saints of Newark.” I did a script with (“Sopranos” writer) Terry Winter, a horror film. We have that project over at New Line. But it’s hard to get things going.
Q: A lot of filmmakers are going to read this and think, “David Chase can’t get a project greenlit? What chance do I have?” I mean, what’s going on in the industry now?
A: I don’t want to start cursing.
Q: But seriously, every so often, someone will run a list of the Top 10 box office hits from, say, 40 years ago. And you’ll see “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” all these great movies. And then you look at today’s Top 10 hits, and they’re all cartoons and superheroes.
A: A lot of people would agree with you. And a lot of people will say, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Those old movies weren’t that great. This stuff’s good!” I know there are some great movies still being made — I loved “Anora” — but for me, a lot of what’s being done … the humanity, the spirituality, the emotion has gone out of it. All that is gone. All that stuff that was in the blues music I was talking about — the suffering and joy and sex and death. And OK, I’m sorry, Superman is entertaining, but it’s not that.
The black-and-white version of “Not Fade Away” will screen at Museum of Moving Image in Queens, New York, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. A discussion moderated by Alessandro Nivola will follow. Visit movingimage.org.
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