1. The classic gangster novel by Mario Puzo was bought by Paramount Pictures for a mere 80,000 US dollars in 1967. Apparently Puzo was discouraged by his agent from selling the movie rights at such a piddly price. The agent, a wise man indeed, advised Puzo to wait until the novel was completed. Puzo didn’t listen. That sound which came from his bathroom every morning was Puzo beating his head against the mirror for having shortchanged himself.
2. Sergio Leone, and not Francis Ford Coppola was the original choice to direct The Godfather. Being an Italian-American the production heads thought Leone was the best person to direct the epic saga of an Italian immigrant’s rise to godfatherhood in America. But Leone got busy with his own gangster epic Once Upon A Time In America. Coppola apparently said no, then said yes.
3. Marlon Brando’s performance in the title role is considered among the 5 most accomplished screen performances from anywhere in the world. Hard as it may be to believe, Brando was not the first choice to play Don Vito Corleone. The British legend Sir Laurence Olivier was the first actor to be offered the role. Sir Laurence pleaded date issues. Unconfirmed sources claim friends never stopped ragging him about his poor judgement .The producers then apparently went to Ernest Borgnine(best remembered for his Oscar winning performance in 1955’s Marty) before opting for Brando.
4. The hardest to cast was Michael Corleone. The role was offered to nearly every major 20-something actor of the 1970s: Jack Nicholson,Robert de Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Martin Sheen, Ryan O-Neal, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford . Even James Caan who eventually played the hotheaded Sunny Corleone was auditioned for Michael’s role. Finally Al Pacino got the role on Coppola’s insistence.No one at Paramount wanted Pacino except Coppola.
5. Coppola cast many of his relatives in bit parts. His sister Talia Shire played Marlon Brando’s daughter. Coppola’s daughter Sofia appeared in all three parts of The Godfather. Apparently Coppola’s father , wife and son also appeared as junior artistes in The Godfather, though this imputed act of nepotism could just be mythology.
6. John Cazale who played Don Corleone’s middle son Fedo was the love of Meryl Streep’s life. He died of cancer soon after doing The Godfather.
7. When at the Oscars Roger Moore announced Marlon Brando’s name for best actor, Brando didn’t walk up to the stage. He did not even attend the Oscars ceremony. Instead he sent an Apache woman named Sacheen Littlefeather to read out a protest letter about the rights of American Indians on stage.
