'Sopranos' creator returns to HBO

David Chase

Credit: Kathy Willens/AP

David Chase is coming back to HBO for a new miniseries about the development of the movie industry in Hollywood.

HBO announced on Monday (March 16) that the "Sopranos" creator will write and executive produce "A Ribbon of Dreams," which focuses on the partnership between a college-educated mechanical engineer and a former cowboy who become cinematic pioneers. In addition, Chase is expected to direct initial installments of the miniseries.

The two main characters will begin as employees of D.W. Griffth and will encounter many of the pivotal figures of Hollywood, as movies went from early silent Westerns, through the development of talkies, through the studio system, through the inception of television, through the auteur years of the late '60s and '70s to today. The main characters' careers cross paths with folks like John Ford, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Bill Wilder and others.

Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Gray, an executive producer on "The Sopranos," will executive produce the HBO/Paramount/Chase Films production.

In HBO's release, Chase says, "It gives me pleasure to think of working, together with Brad, with HBO, again. These are all people who, obviously, occupy a special place in my heart."

Richard Plepler, HBO's co-president, adds, "For seven years, David Chase dazzled and entertained the world with 'The Sopranos.' He’s a remarkable talent and we’re very excited to be working with both David and Brad again."

HBO didn't announce a formal timetable for the development and production of "A Ribbon of Dreams," which takes its title from Orson Welles' famous description of film.

"David is a master storyteller who has once again chosen a fascinating subject," Gray says in the HBO statement. "I am excited for this project as an executive producer, a friend and a huge fan of David's, and am grateful to HBO's incredibly talented leadership of Richard and Michael [Lombardo] for partnering with us."

Back in May of 2008, Paramount announced that Chase would write, direct and produce an original motion picture drama for the studio, a project reuniting him with Gray. The project is briefly mentioned in the HBO release, but no additional details are provided.

Before creating and executive producing the Emmy-laden "Sopranos," Chase's TV credits included "I'll Fly Away" and "North Exposure."

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