"Sopranos" Find A Home In West Hudson
Artlice from "Coming Up" by Beth Kissinger
This is one swim meet everyone wants to see. Anthony Soprano JR. is n the high school swim team, his mother, Carmela, has come to cheer - but they obviously need a swimming pool. "The Sopranos" wanted a small urban high school and found it in Harrison. So, on a late fall day, classes calmly continue at Harrison High School as everyone awaits the cast and crew. Excitement builds among the extras - 30 members of the school's swim team, plus some coaches, who will play swimmers or fans at the meet. They happiily wait several hours before the crew arrives. "I'm excited, who wouldn't be?" 14-year-old Javier Lopez says. "It's a big thing for me. Everyone watches that show." Some students moan about not getting chosen as extras. Even the Harrison cop watching over a blocked-off Fifth Street wanted in on the action. "I'd like to be in it," he says with a laugh.
By now, the filming of "The Sopranos" has become almost routine in West Hudson. Storefronts, houses, a diner and parks in Kearny and Harrison pop up in scenes in this very "Jersey" series about an angst-ridden mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his family. The show films all over North Jersey: Jersey City, Newark, Lodi, the Caldwells, Paterson, Cedar Grove, Clifton, with the home used for exterior of Tony Soprano's home being in Norht Caldwell, says David Schoner, production coordinator with the New Jersey Film Commission in Newark.The excitement is still there among many West Hudson residents and will probably only build on Jan. 16, when the highly praised HBO series - part black comedy, part serious drama - starts its second season at 9 p.m. A few burning questions could finally get answered. Will indicted Uncle Junior rat on Tony? Will Tony and his mother, Livia, try to whack each other - again? Will Tony's children learn the full truth about the family business?
Cast and crew have been under strict orders to reveal nothing. Indeed, a script for the episode featuring Harrison High School - which will air in March or April - was marked: "Confidential: Do Not Copy Or Share With Others." A premiere parth in New York City Jan. 5 screened two new episodes and introduced two new characters: Tony's scheming sister Janice (Aida Turturro) and recently paroled toughie Richie Aprile (David Proval). There will be some surprise guest stars and a trip to Naples for a few "business opportunities." And some pieces of unfinished buisness from last season get settled - permanently. Around West Hudson, there will be another burning question: Which scene shot in your neighborhood will make it to the scene? Creator David Chase, who grew up in North Caldwell and Clifton, chose to film in West Hudson because he knows the area, according to location manager Mark Kamine, himself a Jersey City native. Plus, places like Kearny and Harrison simply suit the characters, Kamine said.
"They're kind of small, urban areas," Kamine said. "They would be places these guys grew up in." And they're "nice towns," Kamine says. "They have a small-town feel to them. West Hudson's proximity to roads and transportation and plentiful parking also make it a good place to film, HBO publicist Tobe Becker says. People from all over West Hudson - from residents to cops to public officials - have been helpful and friendly during the months of shooting, Kamine says. Police from both towns give the same praise to producers, as complaints about lack of parking and traffic have been relatively few, they say. The show has captured many places on film, perhaps the best known being the former West Hudson Auto Parts shop on Kearny Avenue in Kearny, near Dukes Street. It has become the fictional Satriale's Italian Butcher Shop - a place where the Sopranos discuss "business" and a permanent set for the TV show. Other Kearny shots have been: 801 Kearny Ave., a one-time shoot at a fictional tanning salon; Riverbank Park on Passaic Avenue; the Skyway Diner in Souh Kearny; several South Kearny trucking terminals, even some residents' homes for exterior and interior shots, says Kearny Police Officer Robert McDonnell.
In Harrison, it's been the high school, the industrial Cape May Road (for truck hijackings and warehouse scenes) and houses along Passaic and Cleveland Avenues, says Harrison Police Lt. Dan Nankivell. The crew hs expressed interest in shooting future scenes at the high school, according to Athletic Director Jack Rodgers, who played a swim coach in the recent high school scene.
Roll 'em
On the set at Harrison High, it was certainly hurry-up-and-wait. Extras hung out, then wandered to the auditorium for a rundown of the basic rules: Try not to look into the cameras, don't talk but pantomine (with sound added later). Filming was to begin at 1:30 pm. but things didn't really start happening until 2:45 p.m. - and then happened fast. Cameras rolled in, and the sound guys started setting up mikes. A dolly track was set up around the pool so the camera could move along to shoot. Lights were set up; people talked into their cell phones and walkie-talkies. In a large and comfortable camping trailer acroos the street, actress Edie Falco became Carmela Soprano, Tony's long-suffering wife. Haire in curlers, gold chains in place, breathtakingly long nailsand make up drying, she is down-to-earth and friendly. Her real-life lab/sheep dog Marley is not far from her side. Finally, the crew filmed a short scene at the pool.
Anthony Soprano Jr. (Robert Iler) swam less than a lap, and the Harrison swim team members swam or cheered. Rodgers got to fire a pistol to start the meet. Later, the crew converted the Board of Education office into a police precinct. The people at Harrison High play a party to watch their episode. Seeing their hometown on the small screen gives people a lift and makes them feel proud, says Peter Higgins, Harrison's school business administrator. The school gets a $2,000 donation for it. Many folks around West Hudson will be watching, even at the police precincts where "The Sopranos" is a higt. Kearny Police Officer McDonnell says he'd like the show no matter where it was filmed. "I think it's hilarious at times, serious at other times. I still would be interested in the series, especially in my profession," he says with a laugh.
Email: carmsoprano@aol.com