Speaking at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, The Sopranos creator David Chase delivered a keynote in which he criticised the current state of the film and television industry, arguing that Hollywood is "going back to greed and fear". The seven-time Emmy winner tied his remarks to the broader political mood in the United States, noting that the country now has "a convicted felon as a president" in Donald Trump, though he rejected the suggestion that anti-hero dramas such as his own had helped normalise corruption among American voters.

Quoting screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, who left Hollywood, Chase agreed that the industry is driven solely by greed and fear, and questioned why anyone would remain in a business with roughly 6 per cent profit margins rather than "selling running shoes". He also recalled his early days in network television, likening it to "working for the politburo", and remembered pitching The Sopranos to CBS boss Leslie Moonves, who balked at Tony Soprano taking Prozac and seeing a therapist because it made the character "weak" and "complicated". Chase additionally discussed his new HBO limited series, Project: MKUltra, based on John Lisle's book about the CIA's LSD experiments, revealing his own interest stemmed partly from taking LSD around eight to ten times in his youth, an experience he called life-changing.