The Making of The Godfather
The Godfather Family Album. Excerpt from an essay by Mario Puzo
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I knew he was kidding but it really irritated me."Because they're actors, not gangsters," I said. The irritation was not casual. I'd felt that Coppola in his rewrite had softened the characters.
On screen Pacino still didn't strike anybody—excepting Coppola—as right for the part of Michael. Coppola kept arguing. Finally Evans said,"Francis, I must say you're alone in this."Which I thought was the nicest "no" I'd ever heard.We would have to keep hunting for a Michael.
More tests were made of other people. No Michael. There was even talk of postponing the picture. Coppola kept insisting Pacino was the right man for the part (he never gave me back my letter). But it seemed to be a dead issue. One morning at a meeting with Evans and Charles Bluhdorn I said I thought Jimmy Caan could do it. Bluhdorn, head of Gulf and Western, which owned Paramount Pictures, thought Charlie Bronson could do it. Nobody paid any attention to him. Stanley Jaffe got so pissed off watching the tests of unknowns in the screening room that when asked his opinion, he jumped up and said, "You guys really wanta know? I think you got the worst bunch of lampshades I've ever seen." For days he had been patiently and quietly viewing stuff he hated without saying a word. So everybody understood.
All this astounded me. Nothing I had ever read about Hollywood had prepared me for this. Jesus, talk about democracy. Nobody was cramming anybody down anybody's throat. I was beginning to feel it was my movie as much as anybody's.
I had to go away for a week.When I came back, Al Pacino had the part of Michael, Jimmy Caan had the part of Sonny. The guy who had the part of Sonny was out. John Ryan, who tested better than anybody for the important role of Carlo Rizzi, was out. Even though he supposedly had been told he had the role. Ryan was so stunning in his tests of the part that I did something I had never done: I sought him out to tell him how great he played the part. He was replaced by a guy named Russo who had some sort of radio showbiz background in Las Vegas. I never found out what happened. I would guess Coppola and the Paramount brass horse-traded. I never got in on the horse trading. For some reason I had never thought of that solution.
Essay reprinted by permission of Donadio & Olson, Inc. (c) 1972 Mario Puzo
Page [1] [2]
Page [1] [2]
I knew he was kidding but it really irritated me."Because they're actors, not gangsters," I said. The irritation was not casual. I'd felt that Coppola in his rewrite had softened the characters.
On screen Pacino still didn't strike anybody—excepting Coppola—as right for the part of Michael. Coppola kept arguing. Finally Evans said,"Francis, I must say you're alone in this."Which I thought was the nicest "no" I'd ever heard.We would have to keep hunting for a Michael.
More tests were made of other people. No Michael. There was even talk of postponing the picture. Coppola kept insisting Pacino was the right man for the part (he never gave me back my letter). But it seemed to be a dead issue. One morning at a meeting with Evans and Charles Bluhdorn I said I thought Jimmy Caan could do it. Bluhdorn, head of Gulf and Western, which owned Paramount Pictures, thought Charlie Bronson could do it. Nobody paid any attention to him. Stanley Jaffe got so pissed off watching the tests of unknowns in the screening room that when asked his opinion, he jumped up and said, "You guys really wanta know? I think you got the worst bunch of lampshades I've ever seen." For days he had been patiently and quietly viewing stuff he hated without saying a word. So everybody understood.
All this astounded me. Nothing I had ever read about Hollywood had prepared me for this. Jesus, talk about democracy. Nobody was cramming anybody down anybody's throat. I was beginning to feel it was my movie as much as anybody's.
I had to go away for a week.When I came back, Al Pacino had the part of Michael, Jimmy Caan had the part of Sonny. The guy who had the part of Sonny was out. John Ryan, who tested better than anybody for the important role of Carlo Rizzi, was out. Even though he supposedly had been told he had the role. Ryan was so stunning in his tests of the part that I did something I had never done: I sought him out to tell him how great he played the part. He was replaced by a guy named Russo who had some sort of radio showbiz background in Las Vegas. I never found out what happened. I would guess Coppola and the Paramount brass horse-traded. I never got in on the horse trading. For some reason I had never thought of that solution.
Essay reprinted by permission of Donadio & Olson, Inc. (c) 1972 Mario Puzo
Page [1] [2]
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The Godfather Family Album
Hardcover + Box, 29 x 44 cm (11.4 x 17.3 in.), 444 pages
$ 1800.00
$ 1800.00
Selections from Steve Schapiro's photographs provide an insider's view of the making of the legendary trilogy. This edition is limited to 1,000 copies, numbered and signed by Steve Schapiro.
The family wedding photo: Tom, his wife Theresa (Tere Livrano), Fredo, Carlo, Connie, Mama Corleone, Don Vito, Sonny, his wife Sandra (Julie Gregg), Michael, Kay, and, at far right, Sonny’s mistress, Lucy Mancini (Jeannie Linero)
Photograph courtesy Steve Schapiro, and copyright (c) 2008 Paramount Pictures Corporation. The Godfather is a registered trademark of the Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.