David Chase Testifies In N.J. Court In `The Sopranos’ Pilot Dispute
Posted December 18, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
David Chase offered his version in federal court Tuesday of dealings 12 years ago with a former New Jersey municipal court judge who claims he supplied ideas for “The Sopranos” and never got credit.
At issue is whether the services Robert Baer provided during Chase’s development of “The Sopranos” pilot should be compensated and, if so, their value.
Chase testified he had been interested in the mob since watching “The Untouchables” television series as a child.
Baer, also an aspiring screenwriter and former prosecutor, arranged meetings with experts during a three-day tour of New Jersey mob sites in 1995.
Baer testified that he declined Chase’s offer of payment several times but said Chase agreed to “take care of him” if the show became a hit.
In court documents, Chase has called Baer “self-delusional.”
Chase said he was “keenly aware of a `mob presence’ in New Jersey” because he grew up in the Garden State.
Baer’s attorney finished presenting his case Monday.
Also expected to testify are an expert witness, Jake Jacobson, and Dan Castleman. Castleman is the Manhattan district attorney who provided consulting services to Chase after Fox Broadcasting declined to pick up “The Sopranos” and Chase needed a “true Mafia expert” to help him as he rewrote the script. HBO later picked it up.
