The author of the book, Mario Puzo, coined the concept of “godfather”.
Before the book came out, there was no such thing as the “godfather of the mob”. The term was coined by Puzo to emphasize the status of the protagonist, whose role went to Marlon Brando.
Also, Puzo accidentally introduced the wrong use of the word “don” into the conversation. The author, despite being of Italian origin, did not speak the language and misinterpreted the usage principle by adding a word before his surname, because “don” is close to “uncle” in Italian. “. And the correct name for Vito Corleone is Don Vito.
Francis Ford Coppola miraculously (and subtly) got a project that almost got him fired
At the time of the launch of the film adaptation of the book, the novel itself had yet to become a high-profile bestseller, but Coppola had already tapped into the great potential of the story. The director presented the studio with his vision for the film adaptation, but the producers long doubted the director’s candidacy and conducted parallel interviews.
Then Coppola went bankrupt and went to Puzo, who also held the decisive vote in the selection of directors. The author liked Coppola’s proposed concept and defended the director’s candidacy in front of film bosses. At the same time, the then filmmaker was still under constant threat of dismissal. The reason for this was the long shooting schedule and the increased budget. Realizing that his position was dangerous, Coppola quickly completed the shooting process, defending the final editing right of the tape.
Producers go against Marlon Brando, Al Pacino steals role from colleague
At the time of filming, Marlon Brando was considered a real star – a star with a terrible reputation. The actor refused to learn the scripts, often arguing with film studios and directors, violated the shooting schedule and behaved like an overgrown, capricious child. It’s not surprising that the filmmakers responded to it. Brando gained a reputation as an artist with whom it was impossible to work with such antics for several years – therefore, when Coppola personally spoke about his candidacy for the role of Vito Corleone, movie bosses protested. But the director offered a compromise: Brando would be free of charge (previously he had charged a separate fee for each step), to have his make-up removed for a test shoot, and only then would his participation or participation be decided. not participating in the project.
The producers were impressed and impressed by the cast of Brando, who came up with a “bulldog chin” that perfectly embodied the image of the godfather for his character on the screen.
Al Pacino in The Godfather (1972)
Paramount Pictures
Al Pacino, then a little-known aspiring artist, also went through a grueling approval process for the role. The filmmakers spent $40,000 (which was fabulous money at the time) auditioning the actor to realize he was the ideal candidate for the role of Michael Corleone. Although James Caan was initially approved for the role, he later played Santino “Sonny” Corleone, another son of Don. Meanwhile, Robert de Niro also auditioned for Sonny, who will play the role of a young don in the second part of the trilogy.
Brando didn’t learn his text and used the hints
The network has enough of the footage from the movie, in which Brando’s partners in a scene are hung from large cradles with explanations from Vito Corleone. The eccentric actor believed that the dry memorization of the text, which had to be constantly checked during filming, deprived the acting game of spontaneity. This position of the artist infuriated Coppola, who, out of desperation, found a trick: the props, parts of the scene, and even the costumes of Brando’s props were supplemented by cards with explanations by Don Corleone, which served as Brando’s clues.
Headache Coppole Brando was added during the filming of the second episode of the franchise. There is a flashback scene with Don’s sons in the movie. The action took place in the house of the godfather, where a large family was going to celebrate his birthday. Brando was only supposed to be in the frame for a few minutes but asked the studio for $1 million for a short cameo Coppola managed to negotiate with the producers with great difficulty, but Brando never showed up on shooting day. The director got out of the situation, thinking that Don Corleone was not visible, but heard in the frame: supposedly, their son heard their father’s voice in another room and went to him. The voice of the mob was imitated by Coppola himself.
Brando’s protest scandal at the Oscars
Brando, who received his second Oscar in 1973 for his role in The Godfather, turned down the award in a very original way at the time. After the winner’s name was announced, it was actress and Native American rights activist Sachin Littlefeather, not the actor himself (who completely ignored the ceremony), who stepped onto the stage.
Sachin read from the stage Brando’s statement denouncing the film industry’s discrimination against Indians.
The cat in Brando’s arms wasn’t scripted
According to one version, Brando noticed the cat walking in Paramount Pictures’ studio pavilion, but The Godfather Coppola’s director claims that he was the one who noticed the homeless animal and came up with the idea to put it in Vito Corleone. weapon. In this way, the director decided that his godfather would be like Ernst Blofeld, the famous nemesis of James Bond, who petted the cat, who revealed his insidious plans.
Paramount Pictures
The animal was so happy to be in Brando’s arms that it purred loudly during the first take, choking the actors’ lines and causing the scene to be reshot several times.
The supporting actor got more actors of the main roles on the set of the movie
Richard Castellano, who played for Don Corleone the role of Peter Klimentz, a gangster who ruled the Bronx territories, received the highest fee of all the artists of the tape for his work on the project. A year before the shooting of The Godfather, a picture with the participation of Castellano, Love and Other Strangers was released on the screens, which was very successful with viewers and critics, and therefore the actor himself was more “guessed” than Brando himself. .
The exact amount of the fee has not been disclosed, but Coppola has confirmed that Castellano has earned the most on set. Later, the appetite of the artist played a trick on him: he demanded a significant increase in his salary for the shooting of the second part of the trilogy and personal control over the creation of the sequel. The actor’s wishes were not met, and the producers fired him from the project.
By the way, one of the most famous quotes from the first movie, “Download the gun, get the cannoli” (a traditional Sicilian dessert), was born during Castellano’s improvisation. Initially, the protagonist had to say only the first part of the phrase, but his wife suggested speaking the words sweetness. This was a reference to an earlier scene in the movie where the protagonist took a long time to choose a dessert.
Before the death of the heroes, oranges always appeared in the frame.
Who doesn’t remember the iconic movie scene where Vito Corleone’s enemies shoot him in front of his car after buying an orange on the street? Or the final scene where the gangster dies in a small orange orchard?
Oranges turned out to be a symbol of death in the Godfather universe in general. The artist of the painting, Dean Tavoularis, later admitted that the idea was born out of a desire to bring brighter colors into the frame to contrast with the more somber background.
Real horse head used in horse scene
The producers urged Coppola to use a convincing mock-up for the scene in which Hollywood studio boss Jack Woltz finds a bloody horse’s head in his bed as a symbol of the mob threat. However, Coppola was not happy with the appearance of the models and insisted that the props find a real horse to slaughter for him.
Paramount Pictures
John Marley, who plays Woltz, was unaware of the director’s change of plan until the very last moment and was confident in using the editing. The fact that a real horse’s head was found on her bed shocked the actress because her heartbreaking cry in this scene is real.
The words “Mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” were cut from the film under pressure.
In 1970, when the first reports of The Godfather adaptation surfaced, the Italian-American Civil Liberties Union held a rally in which they called on the tape’s writers to stop using the words “mafia” and “Cosa Nostra.” film. Activists feared that they would only reinforce “harmful” stereotypes about Italians in public.
Filmmaker Albert Ruddy personally attended a meeting with league members, which was attended by New York mob boss Joseph Colombo Sr. Ruddy made a deal with the league and gangsters to remove the words “mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” from the movie.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.