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 The director and cast of "The Godfather" reminisced on
Saturday in a 45th anniversary reunion in New York about the
trials, perseverance and inspiration that resulted in the
Oscar-winning Mafia movies.
Coppola, Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, James Caan, Talia
Shire and Robert Duvall watched back-to-back screenings of "The
Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather: Part II" (1974) along with
an audience of 6,000 on the closing night of the Tribeca film
festival.
"I haven't seen these movies for years," Coppola said. "I found
(watching) a very emotional experience. I forgot a lot about the
making of it and thought about the story, and the story used a
lot of family and my personal stuff."
The two films won nine Oscars and their tale of how an orphan
from Sicily emigrated to the United States at the turn of the
20th century and formed the Corleone crime family became movie
classics.
But the film had a less than auspicious start. Coppola recalled
that Hollywood studio Paramount wanted to set the movie in the
1970s and make something "cheap and quick."
Coppola was almost fired several times and met stiff resistance
to the casting of both Pacino as Michael Corleone and Brando as
the titular Godfather.
Brando, who died in 2004, had made several box-office flops
after a stellar career in the 1950s and had a reputation for
being difficult.
"I was told (by studio executives ) that having Brando in the
film would make it less commercial than having a total unknown,"
Coppola said.
The studio later agreed "if Marlon will do a screen test and do
it for nothing and put up a million dollar bond that he wouldn't
cause trouble during the production."
Brando created the rasping voice, jowly cheeks and oiled hair
for Corleone in the screen test. Yet three weeks into shooting,
there was more trouble.
"They (the studio) hated Brando. They thought he mumbled and
they hated the film...It was very dark," said Coppola. Brando
went on to win an Oscar for his performance.
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Newcomer Pacino had to screen test "countless times" for the role of
Michael, the college-educated son who takes charge of the Corleone
business of casinos, gambling and racketeering. Studio bosses though
he was too short and wanted to cast Robert Redford or Ryan O'Neal.
Yet Coppola persevered because "every time I read the script, I
always saw his (Pacino's) face, especially in the scenes in Sicily."
Pacino said he originally wanted the part of the hot-headed son,
Sonny, and thought Coppola "was really nuts" about wanting him to
play Michael.
"I thought this is either a dream or a joke...and then started the
whole trial of them not wanting me and Francis wanting me," Pacino
recalled. The film launched his career as one of the most honored
actors of his generation.
Luck played a part in the creation of some of the most memorable
scenes in the two films. The revelation by Corleone's wife Kay (Keaton)
that she had aborted their baby because of horror over her husband's
criminal activities was suggested by Talia Shire (Connie).
And the cat Brando cradles in the opening scene of "The Godfather,"
making for a stark contrast with his intimidating presence, was a
last-minute addition.
"I put that cat in his hands. It was the studio cat. It was one
take," said Coppola.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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