James Gandolfini said 'fuck all of you' when he walked into an intervention HBO staged for his alcohol use, book says

• James Gandolfini quickly shut down an intervention that HBO arranged in 2003, a new book says.
• HBO held two days of "rehearsals" before the intervention for Gandolfini with his friends and family.

HBO executives held two days of "rehearsals" before an intervention for James Gandolfini that he quickly shut down, a new book says.

An excerpt published by Vulture this week from James Andrew Miller's upcoming book "Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers" details the 2003 encounter in the Manhattan apartment of Chris Albrecht (then the CEO of HBO) as concerns about Gandolfini's alcohol use grew.

The book says that when Gandolfini entered the apartment to find friends and family waiting, he realized what was happening and told them, "Oh, fuck this. Fuck all of you." The actor stormed out of the building - but not before daring Albrecht to fire him from "The Sopranos."

Close friends, members of Gandolfini's family, and other key business associates - including the "Sopranos" creator David Chase - had gathered to confront Gandolfini about his drinking and had gone through "rehearsals" to prepare, Miller recounts in "Tinderbox."

A private jet was even on standby to take Gandolfini to rehab, but the intervention was unsuccessful, the book says.

Elsewhere in the new tell-all, Miller says Gandolfini once threw a "tantrum" over a masturbation scene in "The Sopranos." The actor begrudgingly filmed the scene, but it was cut during editing, the book says.

Gandolfini starred on "The Sopranos," which ran from 1999 to 2007. For his role as Tony Soprano on the critically acclaimed HBO drama, Gandolfini was nominated for and won numerous awards, including three Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe.