Splicetoday

Pop Culture
Feb 11, 2014, 10:14AM

We Didn't Always Agree

A 2013 The Guardian interview with Sopranos creator David Chase vs. a 2011 Bitter Lawyer interview with New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz.

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Will Shortz: Near the end of my third year at law school, the head of the placement office noticed I had never had a single interview.

David Chase: We were talking and laughing and we'd both had a lot to drink.

Shortz: That seemed like good advice, so I stayed. Fill in what you know for sure, and then use those letters to get the crossing words.

Chase: But what do I know? We didn't always agree.

Shortz: The answer is the five vowels.

*

Chase: We were soulmates. But it was a huge undertaking.

Shortz: It ended up being a lot bigger than I anticipated. You could use all of the books in the bookstore to help you.

Chase: Oh, but it wasn't all easy in the least. What I remember most is the beer bottle, rolling across the concrete.

*

Shortz: It teaches you to take a complex issue, analyze its parts, and deal with each one individually.

Chase: No. There weren't many other candidates.

Shortz: So the competition is fierce.

*

Chase: Sometimes it was about a crisis, sometimes it was acrimonious. I don't know which came first. It's hard.

Shortz: It's a pure logic challenge.

Chase: We were working in New York, in Queens and New Jersey.

Shortz: I'm literally there everyday. Are you ready?

Chase: (long pause) What's the matter with you?

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