As of now, with the exception of James Gandolfini, David Chase's '60s rock-n-roll drama, which may or may not be titled Twylight Zones, largely consists of unknown actors, including John Magaro, who will be playing the lead, Jack Huston, Will Brill and Bella Heathcote. But when you're the creator of The Sopranos, it's not hard to attract top-line talent, and apparently Chase has been on a spree.
Paramount has sent out a press release announcing that Christopher McDonald, Molly Price and Lisa Lampanelli have joined the cast of Chase's feature debut. In the film, Price will play Gandolfini's wife and Magaro's mother; Lampanelli will be playing Magaro's aunt; and McDonald will play the father of Heathcote's character, who serves as the principle love interest. In a surprising twist, Brad Garrett, who is best known for his role on Everybody Loves Raymond, will serve as the film's composer and music producer. This likely means that he'll be doing a lot of work with Steve Van Zandt, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, who, as previously announced, will be playing the role of music supervisor.
While I can't say that I'm a fan of Lampanelli's (don't really get the whole "I sleep with a lot of black men" shtick), this is rounding out to be a pretty damn good cast. With eight years of The Sopranos under his belt, Chase has proven that he knows story and drama. The only question is whether he can make it transfer to two hours.
