Fans of The Sopranos are used to spotting references to The Godfather and Goodfellas, but one of David Chase’s key inspirations wasn’t a mafia classic at all — it was the intimate 1996 drama Trees Lounge, written, directed by, and starring Steve Buscemi. Yes, the same Buscemi who would later become a crucial part of the iconic series with James Gandolfini. But it all started with an ice cream truck and a charming college girl.
In this little-known film, Buscemi plays Tommy Basilio — an unemployed drunk who drowns his sorrow in a bar, tries to start a new life behind the wheel of an ice cream truck… and spirals all over again. Until a sweet 17-year-old helper enters his life.
Buscemi’s character isn’t a gangster or a charismatic criminal, but he gave Chase the most important thing: the tone. Gritty, painfully awkward, with humour buried inside the hurt. Just like Tony Soprano — magnetic yet destructive, and mostly to himself.
Chase was inspired not only by the mood, but also by the methods. The casting for Trees Lounge was done by Georgianne Walken and Sheila Jaffe — the same duo he later brought on for The Sopranos. They didn’t look for glossy faces, but for real ones — and later, they searched for the same in Jersey. That’s how Michael Imperioli, John Ventimiglia, and Buscemi himself made their way into the show.
As we remember, Buscemi would go on to be not only an actor in The Sopranos, but a director too — helming, among others, the legendary 'Pine Barrens' episode. Possibly the most absurd and most beloved entry by fans. And in Season 5, he’d portray Tony Blundetto — yet another man trying to make things right, but slipping back down again. Remind you of Basilio?
