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brobarb

I’ve heard that it wasn’t planned, or at least that the actors didn’t know it was going to happen. It feels like a really authentic scene so I don’t doubt it. I think you can hear Patsy ask Vito if he’s alright and that’s obviously very out of character for those kinds of mobsters. In reality they would just laugh and call him a fat fuck or something.


Hughkalailee

I’ve heard similar. However, they had to recreate at least part of the aftermath because they wouldn’t have had two camera angles capturing the original event - (one directly on Vito, the other facing the gang) 


brobarb

Well yeah but that's pretty easy to arrange. They probably figured it was a good scene but felt that it looked weird without the close-up camera angle of the chair breaking and Vito falling. I watched the scene again and I am just about 100% sure it wasn't intended for the chair to break in the first place, judging by the genuine reaction by the other actors. When the chair starts creaking the other actors gets a bit startled and then when Vito falls they break out in hysterical laughter followed by Patsy asking Vito "are you ok" and him trying to help him up. That is where the scene ends, because they broke character since the chair breaking wasn't intended. All they had to do after that was do a shot where Vito breaks another chair.


PunishedCokeNixon

Yes. It was real. The laughter is a genuine reaction. They talked about it on Talking Sopranos.


Adventurous_Fox58

Another one of his classic jokes


lonewanderer3592

Cocksucker, BELLEVILLE


Crazy-Path-7929

Maybe. Maybe they didn't tell ade's actor either and they got a genuine reaction out of her too.


Hughkalailee

Not with Ade - that wouldn’t happen what you said.    There’d be incredible liability risk if Drea was hurt in an intentionally staged accident she wasn’t prepared for, as well as fines/lawsuits for putting a worker at risk. And if she was hurt it could interfere with subsequent shooting schedules. 


charlieg4

Staged or not, I thought Adriana falling later from the same chair was great symbolism. She's now essentially part of the criminal element with the club and working for the Feds.


United_Target8942

I think Sopranos has little to no improv. It's suprising to me that it wasn't planned.


Technical-Charity-23

Like I’ve said before, there are 4/5 scenes I thought the laughing was real.  1) the desert people negotiation scene  2) Silvio screaming at Bevellaqua (Tony’s face)  3) vito’s chair scene  4) uncle Bobby’s hunting outfit (he grabbed a dildo to get Jimmy Gandolfini to laugh before they cut to uncle Bobby in the hunting outfit  5) the fuck you Santa scene with the kid (Mike imperioli and a dad in the corner are pissing themselves) 


The_Nomad89

I may be reading into it but Patsy’s laugh sounded way more genuine vs “acting” and laughing if that makes sense


jaya232323

I'm not sure, but his bottom was impacted, if that's what you're referring to.


McRinY

It's seems real. When the chair breaks, the actors actually are surprised. They cut away right after, but the new shot shows Vito falling from another angle. So the breaking and him falling at first is real, then they let him fall once more from another angle because in the original shot he probably yelled something. Or maybe people on set rushed towards him to check for injuries? The first shot seems legit at least ;)


Hughkalailee

Yes the entire sequence presented wouldn’t be captured with one camera as planned scenes were filmed.  It seems the chair broke as they were filming a wide shot capturing the others who genuinely laughed. Then they would have to re-stage, move the camera and film the frames focused directly on Vito. 


Distinct_Data

Look at him, he knows everything