‘Sopranos' finale leaves viewers guessing

Tony Soprano carries on. The much-awaited conclusion of HBO's “The Sopranos” arrived Sunday night in a frenzy of audience speculation.

Would New Jersey mob boss Soprano live or be killed? Would his family die before his eyes? Would he go to jail? Be forced to enter witness protection? Would Brooklyn boss Phil Leotardo, who had ordered a hit on Tony, prevail?

In the end, the only ending that mattered was the one masterminded by “Sopranos” creator David Chase. And playing against viewer expectations, as always, Chase refused to stage a mass extermination, put the characters through any changes, or provide his viewers with comfortable closure. Or catharsis. After all, he declined to pass moral judgment on Tony -- he reminded viewers all season what a thug Tony is, then gave him a pass.

But Chase was true to himself, and that's what made “The Sopranos” brilliant on Sunday night, and the 85 episodes that went before. The product of an artist with a bleak but illuminating vision, “The Sopranos” has always existed on its own terms. And it was seldom tidy.

The only neat development in the finale was that Leotardo was crushed. Otherwise it was perversely non-earthshaking - just one last visit with the characters we have followed so devoutly since 1999.

Here was the funeral for Bobby Bacala, Tony's soldier and brother-in-law, who was shot dead on Leotardo's orders last week.

Here was Tony (series star James Gandolfini) paying a hospital visit to his gravely injured consigliere, Silvio Dante, also targeted by Leotardo.

Hilton's new contrition may be cynical ploy

One day Paris Hilton is screaming for her mommy as she is cuffed and taken to the pokey in a reckless driving case. The next, she's the model of magnanimity, saying she wouldn't appeal her 45-day sentence and that she is “learning and growing” from her time behind bars.

An insincere buffing of an image scuffed like a pair of last season's Jimmy Choos? Maybe. Effective? Probably, say veteran Hollywood image-makers.

“Based on the way the story has been playing out, this is a good move for her,” said Michael Levine, who has served as publicist for dozens of celebrities. “Experience has taught me that celebrities respect wisdom but obey pain. What I mean by that is that when they feel the heat they see the light.”

If Levine were working with the celebutante, he would recommend she show she has learned from the experience by fading from the party scene for awhile and getting behind sympathetic causes like Angelina Jolie. “When you're in a hole, it's generally a good idea to stop digging ... from doing the same idiotic stuff that got you in trouble in the first place,” Levine said.

- From wire reports

Hilton's publicist, Elliott Mintz, did not immediately return e-mail or phone messages.

Snipes says race played a role in federal tax charges

Actor Wesley Snipes is a victim of “unscrupulous tax advice” and is being selectively targeted for prosecution on federal tax evasion charges because he is black, his attorneys argue in a motion to dismiss the indictment.

That's what Snipes has said all along about the charges.

In a June 4 motion to dismiss the indictment, Snipes' attorneys argue that prosecutors filed additional tax evasion charges against him and not against two co-defendants because they are “Caucasian, while Mr. Snipes is African-American.”

A federal judge is still considering the motion.

- From wire reports