'The Sopranos' actors, Trump, Harvey Weinstein appear in unearthed 2010 recruitment video to get LeBron James to play in NYC
A star-studded recruitment video meant to entice LeBron James to play for the New York Knicks was unearthed, which featured actor James Gandolfini reprising his role as Tony Soprano.
At the time, James had just finished his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was followed by a media circus as the NBA star pondered where to play next, ultimately landing in Miami. The celebrity video was made in hopes of luring the 6'9'' forward to New York.
The video, rediscovered by journalist Pablo Torre on his podcast "Pablo Torre Finds Out," featured appearances by not only the lead characters from "The Sopranos" but also Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein.
James Gandolfini and Edie Falco continued their roles as Tony and Carmela for the 2010 bit, which was produced less than three years after "The Sopranos" ended.
In the sketch, the couple is under police protection, alluding that Tony Soprano did not die in the finale of the television series but rather cooperated with law enforcement to stay out of prison.
"Tony, I'm so glad we moved to New York. Life is so much better now," Carmela tells Tony, while looking at a laptop.
"Yeah, life is good here now, even if we are in the witness protection program," Tony replies while reading a newspaper.
"Now, we just have to find a place for your friend LeBron to live. What’s he like?" Carmela asks.
"He's a modern guy, but he respects tradition," Tony states, before the two discuss the type of apartment James may like to live in.
"Here's a place, it says it gets really loud, though," Carmela notes as Tony comes to investigate. The camera then shows Carmela's laptop screen, which displays Madison Square Garden, where the New York Knicks play.
"That's it. That's gonna be perfect for him," Tony says before the two grin at the camera. The screen then cuts to text that says, "City of Winners," while the song "Public Service Announcement" by Jay-Z plays.
The segment was reportedly filmed in Gandolfini's apartment, with the actor allegedly coming up with the idea himself.
The podcast played a clip of Falco confirming how enthusiastic her costar was about the recruitment video.
"Jim Gandolfini would rarely do these kinds of things, and, if he did, he would do them very begrudgingly," she explained. "Jim was into this, he was dressed as Tony, and he was like, 'Well, what if I came over this way and did ...' I was like, 'Are you kidding me? Really, this?' So, I guess he must have been a bigger basketball fan than I realized," she continued.
"Then he had some idea for the way it ended or something, and I remember thinking, 'Geez Louise, whoever would have thought he'd be all in for this little, you know, weird thing that we're doing that no one's ever going to see.'"
Trump's portion follows the fictional characters, in which the business mogul champions New York City as the place for "winners."
"Real winners of the world want to be here. They come here, they want to come to New York. Whether it's Wall Street, or whether it's fashion, or no matter what it is, this is the place the real winners want to be."
In another shocking appearance, infamous producer Weinstein remarks on how he had read James' book and that James' friends sounded "amazing, loyal, smart" and "bright."
The enticing language from Weinstein continues, promising that New York City could provide connections with "the guys who run the multi-billion dollar companies" that could get behind James and help fund his charitable initiatives.
Other appearances in the video are made by New York Yankees legend Reggie Jackson, former New York Rangers hockey player Mark Messier, actor Robert DeNiro, and comedian Chris Rock.
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