Thaindian News

By Ranjan Bhaduri
Jan 21, (THAINDIAN NEWS) James Gandolfini the star of a very successfully scripted drama in the history of television “The Sopranos” actually watches reality shows but he is very selective about what he watches, as he revealed in a recent interview. He is still refereed as Tony Soprano by many. He said that in the early days reality shows were interesting and likable but of late their quality has deteriorated. The three time Emmy award winner said that “I have watched ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’. That was extraordinary “. However he vehemently criticized another popular reality show ‘Jersey Shore’.

Interestingly enough, James Gandolfini has essayed the role of Craig Gilbert reality TV pioneer in a HBO original movie named Cinema Verite. It was the series An American Family that is credited as the true origin of reality shows. ‘The Sopranos’ star also admitted that his general disgust for present generation reality shows attracted him to this project. Diane Lane who is his co star thinks that reality shows can be described as Oxymorons. Nevertheless she admits that the HBO movie is being shown at a time when the viewers are being bombarded with an overdose of reality shows on a number of major networks.

Tim Robbins another co star says that the HBO film tries to draw attention why the genre is so popular today. It in a way points out the human tendency to watch the weakness and vulnerabilities of others. This explains why the reality shows with divorce or family tiffs draw maximum TRP. The HBO movie is going to be shown in April as it has been reported.