David Chase of 'The Sopranos' on effects of film, TV violence

By Greg Braxton

Dec. 18, 2012 12 AM PT

David Chase, creator of the acclaimed drama “The Sopranos”, is back on the publicity trail to promote his first post-”Sopranos” project “Not Fade Away,” a film about an aspiring rock band in the 1960s.

But the discussion of the film on “CBS This Morning” was momentarily sidetracked when anchor Charlie Rose asked Chase about the role of violence in popular culture, and its influence on audiences.

“People always ask, well, do these depictions of violence -- do these movies and TV shows make the world a worse place somehow,” replied Chase. “The other day I thought to myself, well, does Mary Poppins make the world a better place? Where’s the data on that? And if you show me the data on that, then we could talk about the other.”

He added, “You expect that the majority of human beings can tell the difference between reality and -- and wherever they are. And I think we have to make things for the majority, not run away from it because of some deranged individuals.”

ALSO:

NBC News’ Richard Engle free

‘The Voice’ recap: The final three

Spies and tangled lives in ‘Homeland’