The New Season: The post-Tony Gandolfini

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James Gandolfini faced a media mob for one of the first times since “The Sopranos” ended earlier this summer and nobody asked a single question about the landmark HBO show’s controversial black-out ending.

The sobering reason? Gandolfini took the stage at the annual summer gathering of television writers and critics in Beverly Hills to promote his upcoming HBO documentary about wounded Iraq War veterans called “Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq.” The ‘Sopranos’ star was joined on the panel by five veterans, who, as one of them noted, only had a dozen working limbs between them.

When asked how the experience of interviewing the wounded veterans changed him, a stern Gandolfini replied: “It’s not about me...I’m not trying to be antagonistic, it’s not about me. Let’s have a different question.”

The 55-minute documentary, which Gandolfini executive produces, premieres Sept. 9. ‘Alive Day’ is a soldier’s reference to the day he or she survived a near-fatal wound.

-- Martin Miller

(Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images)