you re going into the boot camp program as an alternative to 20 years in prison. don t squander this opportunity. you re lucky because you ve got another shot. don t [ bleep ] this thing up. i mean that. the film premieres tomorrow night, and joining me now are the co-directors of the rock and a hard place, matthew o neil and john alpert. john, you and i go way back to my james brown being like a dad to me. way, way back. so, here you are with the rock, and the rock has the benefit of having had troubles in his youth. now he goes in and not only does this one-of-a-kind documentary, but really deals with some kids that are facing some are not kids that are facing being incarcerated. and he gives them boot camp and shows it to the world.
took care of them. if they were going to serve us, we need to serve them when they come back. we made two documentaries about that. he also cared about people with learning disabilities. he knew that people with learning disabilities if they got an opportunity, if they got a chance at a good education, then finally they could accomplish anything. this was the documentary we were making. would he found out that in prison 60% of the prison population in the united states have a learning disability. wow. maybe if we spent five cents when you re in the third grade you don t have to spend dollars and dollars down the road. that s what he wanted the country to understand. jon alpert, thank you for sharing your gandolfini. he s everyone. break throughs in immigration to tell you about. we ll go live to capitol hill next. next, a final toast to james gandolfini. i miss it sometimes, i ll be honest, the wine.
especially what he put into tony soprano to make tony soprano e iconic. what s interesting is, he was always so gracious when people came up to him. he couldn t go anywhere in new york city without anybody stopping, wanting to get their picture taken with him, talk to him. he had time for everybody. i never saw another man like that. i ve seen lots of actors and celebrities. at some point you have enough. jim was always willing to share and talk with anyone. john, this is ari in washington. i want to ask you, why do you think so many people felt like they knew him? they did. this helped when we were making the documentaries because even though the stories that jim was eliciting were of hurt, pain, very, very personal stories, they felt like they knew him. he was in your living room every single sunday. i didn t watch any tv shows. i shouldn t say this. i didn t watch any other tv
reporter: while in his personal life professing a code of honor. he was flawed and painfully human. be right down. reporter: in remembering gandolfini hbo said it was his humanness, only the good and humble side of it, that made him a beloved member of our family, a special man, a great talent who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. when it was learned he died suddenly on the way to a film festival in sicily, the reaction was one of shock and unbridled admiration from soprano s castmates, including frank vincent. very talented and friendly and just a guy you want to put your arm around and hug him like he s a big bear. reporter: from fans who haven t faded. i feel sad. like i grew up with him. like i knew him. he was amazing. amazing in everything he did. reporter: and from critics like alan who saw hbo s sopranos fueled by his title character who changed television. tony soprano redefined the way we thought about tv leadin
with me now, john alpert and matthew o neal, producers of redemption. it s received an oscar nod for documentary short. big congratulations to both of you. very, very exciting for all of you. this is very fascinating because we ve all seen this on the streets, particularly those of us who live in new york city. take us inside this world, john. it s a world we pass by but never talk to the people doing it. it s a growing army every sipping l day. as the jobs disappear from new york city, people have to survive. they re going through the garbage. it s 5 cents for each can and bottle. i know hbo documentary producer sheila evans was getting out for work and seeing these people and thinking, wow, what hard work they re doing. they re not homeless people, are they? these are people working hard and struggling to survive. president obama talking about the middle class. these are the working poor,