No 'Rub-Out' For Sopranos

Tony Soprano could soon have a bigger piece of the action.

Various media report that actor James Gandolfini and Home Box Office are close to reaching an agreement to pay him more than the $11 million the network offered but less than the $16 million he wanted.

The star had been making $400,000 per episode, and HBO offered to double that, to $800,000 — but Gandolfini had held out for $1 million per episode.

The network said it was being generous, inasmuch as Gandolfini was still under contract for as many as six seasons, and it did not need to offer any raise at all.

Variety newspaper estimates that, with salary and advances against syndication that will be retroactive to the first season, he will make about $13 million for the fifth season. Other reports said the package will also include a portion of DVD sales.

Production on the fifth season of "The Sopranos" was whacked last week due to the impasse. If the reports are correct, production could resume only one week later than originally scheduled.

Gandolfini had sued HBO to get out of his contract; the entertainment company countersued for $100 million. Sources say the two-time Emmy-winning actor has dropped his suit, and HBO will do the same.

Despite the rancor involving Gandolfini, sources told Hollywood Reporter newspaper it was looking increasingly likely that "Sopranos" creator David Chase would agree to a sixth season of the show about the mafia don and his extended family. In January, HBO chief Chris Albrecht said that he expected the upcoming fifth season would be the show's swan song.

Sources credit Brad Grey, one of the show's executive producers, with making peace between Gandolfini and HBO, with at least two long meetings at his home in Los Angeles.

The deal reached reportedly allows both Gandolfini and Albrecht to claim something of a victory.