Even though it has been 45 years since the legendary Hollywood movie "The Godfather“ first came out, fans still can't get enough of it. This year, director and the entire cast gathered for the 16th Annual Tribeca Film Festival. Fans enjoyed the fact that everyone agreed to get together for the festival, watch the movies together and discuss some of the most important facts about their beginnings.
Coppola talked about the problems he had with the Paramount studio
At the final night of the Tribeca Film Festival, Coppola, Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, James Caan, Talia Shire and Robert Duvall watched the movies "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part II" (1974).
Director, Francis Ford Coppola, said that he didn’t watch these movies in years and that this has been a very emotional experience for him. It is interesting that due to his disagreements with the Paramount studio, Coppola was supposed to be replaced when they were about to start filming. But that wasn’t the only problem he had.
Two movies won nine Oscars, and the story of an orphan emigrating from Sicily to the USA in the beginning of the 20th century and forming his mobster family Corleone became a classic. However, the film had a very unfavorable beginning. Coppola recalled that Hollywood studio Paramount wanted to make something "quick and cheap".
He also said that they did not want Marlon Brando because they feared that he could disrupt shooting since he had a reputation of a difficult person.
Eventually, they decided to hire him under the condition that trial shootings were free and he promises not to make any trouble during the production. Coppola said that they hated him and his mumbling, and in the end, Brando ended up with an Oscar for the lead role.
Studio thought Al Pacino was too small for the role
Besides the Marlon Brando problems, Coppola remembered all the trouble he went through because of Al Pacino who played Corleone's son.
They made him go on trial shootings because they thought he was too small for the role. Paramount studio wanted to give the role to Robert Redford or Ryan O’Neal, but Coppola was persistent to give it to Pacino because whenever he looked at the script Pacino’s face was in front of his eyes.
Al Pacino, who became one of the most influential actors of his generation because of this role, remembers that he thought it was a dream or a joke. He also remembers all the discussions Coppola had with the studio because of him, and he is very grateful for the opportunity he got.
