I believe this is an update... to the post above...
Reuters News
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"Sopranos" gets four more to sign on for final episodes
Thursday June 29 1:18 AM ET
Four more key cast members of HBO's "The Sopranos" -- Lorraine Bracco, Aida Turturro, Robert Iler and Jamie-Lynn Sigler -- have deals in place or are close to deals to appear in the mob drama's final eight episodes.
Still holding out are Tony Sirico, Steven Van Zandt and Steven Schirripa, with Schirripa looking likely to have a new deal before the show's first table read, now scheduled for July 6.
Bracco, Turturro, Iler and Sigler all are said to have received substantial salary bumps.
Bracco, who plays Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) psychiatrist, Jennifer Melfi, is looking at $220,000-$230,000 per episode for the last batch of episodes, and Turturro, who plays Soprano's sister Janice, is getting $130,000-$140,000 per episode, sources said.
The new salary range for Iler and Sigler, who play Soprano's children, AJ and Meadow, is understood to be $110,000-$120,000 per episode.
While stars Gandolfini and Edie Falco inked new deals this year, it has been down-to-the-wire renegotiations for all "Sopranos" supporting actors, with all of them -- including Michael Imperioli, Vincent Curatola and John Ventimiglia -- reaching agreements to continue on the show within the past month.
The cast renegotiations stem from HBO's decision last summer to extend the sixth season of the Emmy-winning series from 13 to 20 episodes -- 12 to air this year and eight in 2007.
Sirico and Van Zandt, who have been mainstays of the show since its launch in 1999, took a firm stance early in the renegotiations process, sticking together and asking for $200,000 an episode, more than double their most recent fee.
With the two on the verge of leaving the show, "Sopranos" star Gandolfini got on the phone with them during the weekend.
After another round of back-and-forth between HBO and the actors' reps in the past few days, the two sides are closer on the money but still far from a deal, sources said.
A departure of Van Zandt and especially Sirico would have a serious effect on the creative direction of the show in its final stretch, in light of major revelations about Sirico's character, Paulie Walnuts, in recent episodes: His aunt is actually his mother, his father is unknown, and he has prostate cancer.
Reps for Bracco, Turturro, Iler and Sigler declined or couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Bob McGowan of McGowan Management, who manages Sirico and Van Zandt, declined comment.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
