Woke Up This Morning: The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 
"I will be reading and rereading Woke Up This Morning....These rollicking gabfests... bring together nearly everyone, on screen and off, who made the series a creative and cultural landmark. The freely offered admiration expressed by so many for their missing comrade and unofficial cast captain, Gandolfini, makes these stories about playing tough guys all the more tender." —New York Times 
"Essential for fans, with a revelation on every page." —Kirkus Reviews 
"A spectacular tell-all...the ultimate book on The Sopranos, made by the people who lived it." —Publishers Weekly 
Expanding on their hit Talking Sopranos podcast with exclusive interviews for the book with the cast, crew, producers, writers, directors and creators, stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa deliver the definitive oral history of the landmark television series and streaming hit The Sopranos. Packed with untold stories from behind the scenes and on the set, they’re spilling all the secrets. 
Who made the phone call that got HBO to launch The Sopranos? What’s the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, and the entire cast and crew of The Sopranos have all the answers—and they’re revealing where all the bodies are buried. 
Inspired by the incredibly successful Talking Sopranos podcast, The Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) finally reveal all the Soprano family secrets in a surprising, funny, and honest new book. Woke Up This Morning is the definitive behind-the-scenes history of the groundbreaking HBO series that became a worldwide cultural phenomenon, ushered in a new Golden Age of Television, and to this day continues to be one of the most binged shows of all time. 
Michael and Steve tell all the incredible stories that The Sopranos fans have been waiting to hear for over twenty years. The book covers the entire history of The Sopranos series from the original concept pitch and casting to the infamous cut to black—and answer many of the thousands of fan questions sent to the podcast, as well as dispel some widely propagated myths and reveal things no one outside the show would even know to ask.

Arts & Photography

Imperioli, Michael

Schirripa, Steve

History & Criticism

William Morrow Paperbacks

Product Description 
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 
"I will be reading and rereading Woke Up This Morning....These rollicking gabfests... bring together nearly everyone, on screen and off, who made the series a creative and cultural landmark. The freely offered admiration expressed by so many for their missing comrade and unofficial cast captain, Gandolfini, makes these stories about playing tough guys all the more tender." —New York Times 
"Essential for fans, with a revelation on every page." —Kirkus Reviews 
"A spectacular tell-all...the ultimate book on The Sopranos, made by the people who lived it." —Publishers Weekly 
Expanding on their hit Talking Sopranos podcast with exclusive interviews for the book with the cast, crew, producers, writers, directors and creators, stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa deliver the definitive oral history of the landmark television series and streaming hit The Sopranos. Packed with untold stories from behind the scenes and on the set, they’re spilling all the secrets. 
Who made the phone call that got HBO to launch The Sopranos? What’s the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, and the entire cast and crew of The Sopranos have all the answers—and they’re revealing where all the bodies are buried. 
Inspired by the incredibly successful Talking Sopranos podcast, The Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) finally reveal all the Soprano family secrets in a surprising, funny, and honest new book. Woke Up This Morning is the definitive behind-the-scenes history of the groundbreaking HBO series that became a worldwide cultural phenomenon, ushered in a new Golden Age of Television, and to this day continues to be one of the most binged shows of all time. 
Michael and Steve tell all the incredible stories that The Sopranos fans have been waiting to hear for over twenty years. The book covers the entire history of The Sopranos series from the original concept pitch and casting to the infamous cut to black—and answer many of the thousands of fan questions sent to the podcast, as well as dispel some widely propagated myths and reveal things no one outside the show would even know to ask. 
 Review 
"Essential for fans, with a revelation on every page....Devotees will revel in the stroll into series minutiae" -- 
Kirkus Reviews\n“A spectacular tell-all about the making of the Emmy-winning hit television series….What makes this sing is the passion and energy brought by Imperioli and Schirripa and its indelible tribute to the late James Gandolfini. As Aida Turturro (Janice Soprano) recalls, 'He was there for you no matter what.' This is the ultimate book on 
The Sopranos, made by the people who lived it. “ -- 
Publishers Weekly 
 About the Author 
Michael Imperioli is best known for his starring role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, which earned him an Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy Award. He also wrote five episodes of the show and was co-screenwriter of the film Summer of Sam, directed by Spike Lee. He has appeared in six of Lee’s films and has also acted in films by Martin Scorsese, Abel Ferrara, Walter Hill, Peter Jackson, and the Hughes Brothers. Most recently he starred in Regina King’s feature One Night in Miami. Imperioli is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Perfume Burned His Eyes, and the short story “YASIRI” in the anthology The Nicotine Chronicles, edited by Lee Child.\nSteve Schirripa is well known for playing fan-favorite character Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos, and currently as Anthony Abetemarco on the long-running hit CBS series Blue Bloods. Steve’s impressive film and TV credits include Jersey Boys and Hereafter, both directed by Clint Eastwood, and the award-winning The Secret Life of the American Teenager, in which he was a series regular. Schirripa has also starred in a number of indepen

William Morrow

Another exciting adventure from the Island of Sodor. Percy is very excited when the funfair comes to town, but he feels like he's  missing all the fun!

The Perfume Burned His Eyes

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Highbridge Co

Sopranos

Chase, David

Sigler, Jamie-Lynn

Bracco, Lorraine

Chianese, Dominic

Van Zandt, Steve

LC Purchase Collection (Library of Congress)

Home Box Office (firm)

Gandolfini, James

Falco, Edie.

Sirico, Tony.

Iler, Robert

Turturro, Aida.

Chase Films

Brad Grey Television (firm)

Hbo Video (firm)

HBO Video

"There's something to martial arts and especially the way Grandmaster Kang teaches it that addresses not just the body and fitness, but addresses the mind and addresses your approach to life." —from the foreword by Michael Imperioli, award-winning actor In Black Belt Fitness for Life, Grandmaster Tae Sun Kang applies his four decades of experience to guide you through an innovative method of fitness using Taekwondo principles. Whether you're a beginner or veteran to stretching and exercise, you can easily follow Grandmaster Kang's 7-week routine based on the belt system of Taekwondo, an ancient Korean martial art. With each week of the regimen, you will learn new skills and techniques that culminate in the mastery of the techniques necessary to continue exercising and eating right for life. Through the use of Taekwondo stretches and movements, this black belt "Combined Dynamic Stretching" method will improve your flexibility, balance, stamina and strength, as well as your focus and mental health. You'll stretch multiple parts of your body at the same time, improving circulation and building mental strength while warming up to minimize injuries. As part of his holistic approach to health and fitness, Grandmaster Kang also outlines an eating plan designed to help you lose weight naturally. Unlike extreme diets and workouts that emphasize drastic results quickly, the Grandmaster's approach is a balanced, easy-to-follow, and—most importantly—realistic plan designed for your life. Friend and longtime student of Grandmaster Kang, actor Michael Imperioli wrote the foreword for the book and shares his experience in training under Grandmaster, as well as the benefits he has received in following Grandmaster's philosophy.

Black Belt Fitness for Life: A 7-Week Plan to Achieve Lifelong Wellness

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Kang, Grandmaster Tae Sun

Exercise & Fitness

Tuttle+publishing

"An edgy coming-of-age romp set in New York City." --Parade
"Screenwriter and Emmy-winning actor Imperioli's first novel is the atmospheric coming-of-age story of 17-year-old Matthew, whose mother moves them from Queens to a posh apartment in Manhattan in 1976...Matt is not an atypical teenager--think Holden Caulfield without the cynicism--but, often afraid and awkward, he is a reactor, not an actor, until the end of the novel, which, without foreshadowing, comes as a harrowing surprise...Imperioli can definitely write, and he gets high marks for the verisimilitude and empathy that he evokes in this fine crossover novel." --Booklist, Starred Review
"Imperioli's book follows a Queens teen named Matthew as his shattered family moves from Jackson Heights to Manhattan, where he finds an unlikely mentor in a drug-addled Lou Reed." --New York Post
"A coming-of-age tale dashed with relatable angst and humor." --EW.com
"A restless Queens teenager becomes the protégé of music legend Lou Reed in Imperioli's energetic debut novel...Matthew's first-person narrative is full of endearing vulnerability, immediacy, and authenticity. This is a sweet and nostalgic coming-of-age novel." --Publishers Weekly
"Imperioli's lived-in details about the city help make the world feel realistic...[The novel] is an immersive trip into its narrator's memories of a turbulent time. Some fictional trips into 1970s New York abound with nostalgia; this novel memorably opts for grit and heartbreak." --Kirkus Reviews
"Imperioli delivers a spot-on coming-of-age novel...A winner." --Library Journal
"Even though [Lou] Reed looms large throughout--the novel even takes its title from Reed's 'Romeo Had Juliette,' from his 1989 solo album New York--the book is much less about him and more about Matthew's own journey through adolescence in the seedier corners of 1970s New York." --Stereogum
"Compelling...Lou Reed appears as a major character; he's an unlikely father figure to the teenage protagonist, Matthew, who's trying to find himself in 1976 Manhattan. The iconoclastic--and at the time, troubled--rocker inspires Matthew artistically, even as he coaxes him to walk on the wild side." --Maclean's
"[Imperioli's] debut novel, The Perfume Burned His Eyes, not only deserves an award for best title, but has garnered praise from Joyce Carol Oates...This should come as no surprise...Bravo!" --Santa Barbara Magazine
Matthew is a sixteen-year-old living in Jackson Heights, Queens, in 1976. After he loses his two most important male role models, his father and grandfather, his mother uses her inheritance to uproot Matthew and herself to a posh apartment building in Manhattan. Although only three miles away from his boyhood home, "the city" is a completely new and strange world to Matthew.
Matthew soon befriends (and becomes a quasi-assistant to) Lou Reed, who lives with his transgender girlfriend Rachel in the same building. The drug-addled, artistic/shamanic musician eventually becomes an unorthodox father figure to Matthew, who finds himself head over heels for the mysterious Veronica, a wise-beyond-her-years girl he meets at his new school.
Written from the point of view of Matthew at age eighteen, two years after the story begins, the novel concludes with an epilogue in the year 2013, three days after Lou Reed's death, with Matthew in his fifties.

United States

Akashic Books Ltd

Emmy-winning actor Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos, The White Lotus, etc.) brilliantly evokes 1970s New York in this Holden Caulfield–esque debut 
"[T]he actor's first novel is a quintessential New York story: A teenager moves from Queens to Manhattan, discovering a world populated with drugs, sex, a witch, and Lou Reed. It's like a vivid walk through the city and adolescence, reveling in their grit and pathos." 
—New York Times\n"Imperioli's first novel is the atmospheric coming-of-age story of sixteen-year-old Matthew, whose mother moves them from Queens to a posh apartment in Manhattan in 1976 . . . Imperioli can definitely write, and he gets high marks for the verisimilitude and empathy that he evokes in this fine crossover novel." 
—Booklist, starred review 
Matthew is a sixteen-year-old boy living in Jackson Heights, Queens, in 1976. After he loses his two most important male role models, his father and grandfather, his mother uses her inheritance to uproot Matthew and herself to a posh apartment building in Manhattan. Although only three miles away from his boyhood home, "the city" is a completely new and strange world to Matthew. 
Matthew soon befriends (and becomes a factotum of sorts to) Lou Reed, who lives with his transgender girlfriend Rachel in the same building. The artistic-shamanic rocker eventually becomes an unorthodox father figure to Matthew, who finds himself head over heels for the mysterious Veronica, a wise-beyond-her-years girl he meets at his new school. 
The novel is written from the point of view of Matthew at age eighteen, two years after the story begins, and concludes with an epilogue in the year 2013, three days after Lou Reed's death, with Matthew in his fifties.

Literary

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