‘Talking Sopranos’ Podcast With Ricky Gervais Reveals James Gandolfini’s $3M Payoff Not To Do ‘The Office’

Valentine’s Day, avoid the expensive themed restaurant offerings and cook something special at home for your loved one. I’m not suggesting you go to a local farm and pick out a duck, but taking the time to work on a romantic menu says more than any novelty gift, or certainly flowers from the petrol station.Eating together is intimate and the dishes I’ve chosen here are designed for sharing.

Tom Brady recently announced his retirement from the NFL making last year's Super Bowl win his last.The star won his seventh Super Bowl on in 2021 and a look back shows how his former partner Bridget Moynahan made sure to mark the incredible moment on her Instagram.MORE: Tom Brady makes nine-year-old fan who beat cancer cry with incredible gestureThe actress, known for her role in the police drama Blue Bloods, shared a picture of Tom after the win and revealed she "could not be more proud" of him."Could not be more proud @tombrady said he would do it and he did. Congratulations @buccaneers," she wrote, alongside two pictures of the star, one following the end of the game, and another showing him reaching out to their son Jack, who headed to Florida to support his dad from the stands.WATCH: Tom Brady's kids cheer him on following winThe congratulatory messages didn't stop there, however, as Bridget later shared another picture of Tom, and wrote: "I am pretty sure I am not the only one from #patriotsnation celebrating @buccaneers #superbowl #greatgame #strong #soproud #55."Fans of the 50-year-old loved her supportive messages, and many praised her parenting approach.MORE: Gisele leaves fans seeing double as she poses poolside with sisters in matching bikinisRELATED: Gisele Bündchen shares loved-up beach photo with Tom Brady"You are the gold standard of managing your beautiful son and parenting in such a healthy way.

Ted Nugent has weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding Spotify and Neil Young‘s decision to pull his music from the platform.Young last month demanded that his music be removed from Spotify, asserting in a since-deleted open letter to his management that content like the Joe Rogan Experience podcast “spread[s] false information about vaccines”.The streaming platform obliged, later confirming that Young’s content would indeed be removed from the platform.The saga drew mixed reactions from the wider music industry, while many seemed to side with Young, including Joni Mitchell who also announced she would be pulling her discography from Spotify over its conduct surrounding vaccine misinformation, as did Young’s former bandmates Crosby, Stills & Nash, comedian Stewart Lee, Crazy Horse and E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, and cult alternative rockers Failure, among others.Now, controversial right-wing rocker Ted Nugent has spoken out about Young’s decision, calling the ‘Harvest Moon’ singer-songwriter “a complete punk”.Speaking on his ‘Friday Free For All’ edition of The Nightly Nuge on Friday (February 11), he said: “Well, Neil Young, God bless him. I’m sure that there’s many people that appreciate Neil Young’s creativity and his talents and his creation of wonderful music for those people who love that kind of music.

Kanye West has shared another message directed at Kid Cudi over the rapper’s friendship with Kim Kardashian’s new boyfriend Pete Davidson.Over the weekend, West, who is now legally known as Ye, posted a since-deleted letter saying that Cudi will not appear on new album ‘DONDA 2’ over his friendship with the SNL comedian.In the handwritten note shared to Instagram yesterday (February 12), he told fans: “Just so everyone knows Cudi will not be on Donda because he’s friends with you know who.” “You know who” appears to refer to Davidson, who is in a relationship with West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.In a further Instagram post, West has re-shared a photo of himself, Cudi, Davidson and actor Timothée Chalamet at a 2019 dinner party, but Davidson’s face is crossed out.In the caption, he wrote: “I JUST WANTED MY FRIEND TO HAVE MY BACK THE KNIFE JUST GOES IN DEEPER.”See the post below:A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)Overnight, West has shared a number of other posts on Instagram, including a mock movie poster for Marvel Civil War, with the characters changed to include himself, Davidson, ex-wife Kardashian, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Drake and more.A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)In another post, West shared a photo of Cudi and Davidson next to one of himself, Drake and Rap-A-Lot Records founder J Prince who organised Kanye and Drake’s famous ‘Free Larry Hoover’ benefit concert which ended their beef. The caption of the Instagram post asked: ‘Who will win?’.”A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)Cudi responded to West’s original message on Twitter, saying the pair had “talked weeks ago about this”.

Three people have been left in hospital following a 'serious' crash on a Scots road.

A Scots bank has been "ram-raided" by thieves in an early morning break-in as the doors have been spotted lying on the ground.

We’ve got three meetings to enjoy in our Sunday service with live action and Cheltenham Festival clues aplenty from Exeter and Punchestown plus able support from the all weather at Southwell.

A body has been found in the search for a missing Polish man who was last seen in Aberdeen earlier this week.

He's the man helping to build Ayr United's new look on the park.

Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, just a mere five days after she had competed in the Olympics.The sports star is one of the most successful female Olympians, gaining gold and silver at the London games.Victoria was partnered with Brendan Cole on the show and made it to week eight, being eliminated for her salsa.Speaking to Express.co.uk Victoria said: "I found it absolutely exhausting."I started training for Strictly I think five days after the Olympics had finished in 2012."I was emotionally, physically, mentally exhausted.

STARSTRUCK judge Jason Manford has defended his new ITV show after fans claimed it is a rip off of Stars In Your Eyes. The comic made light of the comparison, calling anyone who didn't spot the similarities "thick".

SHERIDAN Smith has been furiously defended by her Starstruck co-star after backlash from fans. Some viewers last night pointed out the actress, 40, has dominated television in recent weeks.

Ricky Gervais has spoken out about the potential sale of Channel 4.It comes after the government recently confirmed that it is considering selling off the channel, which is currently publicly owned but is funded by advertising.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) recently claimed the threat of the changing media landscape, including streaming, had led to the review.Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said it was the right time to “consider releasing Channel 4 from the constraints of public ownership”, according to a recent report by the BBC.He added: “The media world has changed immeasurably since Channel 4’s creation in the early 1980s, but whilst we have more choice today the need for a strong and successful Channel 4

The Office and After Life creator Ricky Gervais has spoken out against UK government proposals to sell broadcaster Channel 4.

OUTSPOKEN comic Ricky Gervais is inviting trouble in a new stand-up routine — by claiming he can’t name one funny woman. The Office creator, 60, pokes fun at sitcom star Miranda Hart during his Super Nature show and says the only “females” that make him laugh are Dame Edna Everage and Eddie Izzard.

If you’re a fan of “The Office,” you know that after Steve Carell left the series, the show found it difficult to replace him, often relying on guest stars to help carry the load. Well, eventually, the show landed on James Spader to guest star in a string of episodes, but before that, according to the hosts of the Talking Sopranos podcast, James Gandolfini was in line to appear.

James Gandolfini was so close to signing on to star in The Office, after Steve Carell left the show.

The final two seasons of “The Office” almost looked a little more like “The Sopranos”.

Talking Sopranos” — a podcast hosted by “The Sopranos” co-stars Michael Imperioli, 55, and Steve Schirripa, 63 — it was revealed that Gandolfini had been offered a role to replace the character Michael Scott as branch manager of Dunder Mifflin on “The Office,” following Steve Carell’s departure from the NBC show in 2011.

The Office.The late actor’s Sopranos co-stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa revealed the news during the latest episode of their podcast Talking Sopranos, while joined by Ricky Gervais.Gervais, who created the UK version of The Office on which the US version starring Carell is based, spoke about his admiration for Carell before Imperioli shared the trivia.“You know, they talked about having Gandolfini at one point replace him [Steve Carell], did you know that?” he said.Schirripa added: “I think before James Spader and after [Steve] Carell, they offered Jim, I want to say $4 million dollars to play him for the season and HBO paid him $3 million not to do it.”Gervais shared his approval with HBO’s call, saying: “Well that’s a good

Golden Globes five times over the past decade. Now, a new poll has suggested that he might have been the new master of the Emmy Awards, but the comedian himself had something to say about it.