'Sopranos' Kids Get a Raise

Zap2It.com | June 26, 2006

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Edie Falco, James Gandolfini and Robert Iler

Sigler, Iler booked for final episodes

The final episodes of "The Sopranos" are scheduled to begin production in the next couple of weeks, and it looks like they'll go forward with Meadow and A.J. involved in the story.

The fate of some of the show's other characters, though, remains up in the air thanks to salary haggling between HBO and several actors.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler, who play the daughter and son of mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) on the Emmy-winning series, are each close to signing deals that will give them a pay bump for the final eight episodes of "The Sopranos." They'll each earn about $100,000 per episode, the New York Post reports, a raise of $15,000 over their last salary.

Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli and Vincent Curatola also have deals in place, but several other "Sopranos" stars -- including Lorraine Bracco, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico and Steven Schirripa -- have yet to finish renegotiating their pay.

The sticking point has to do with the fact that HBO is calling the last batch of episodes a continuation of season six, which left off earlier this month after 12 episodes. When the network and creator David Chase announced their intent to add the last eight episodes, the cast started asking for raises for those final shows. Since the network is considering them a part of the current season, though, the raises aren't automatic.

Van Zandt, who plays Tony's right-hand man Silvio Dante, and Sirico, who plays the volatile Paulie Walnuts, are among the most hard-line holdouts. Gandolfini was scheduled to meet with the two over the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter, in an attempt to break the stalemate.