Time heals all wounds, right? Well, time also has a funny way of making people forget any sort of drama and behind-the-scenes issues of a film set, as well. So, as a film fan, you look at a movie like “The Godfather,” and your mind races through the memorable scenes, the iconic lines, and the legendary status of all involved. It never crosses your mind that, at one point, “The Godfather” film that you know and love might not have ever happened. At least not with Francis Ford Coppola at the helm.
In a new interview with Deadline, the legendary director explains how he was almost fired from “The Godfather,” and was ultimately saved by “Patton.”
“I didn’t get along with [producer] Bob Evans during ‘The Godfather,’ at all,” revealed Coppola, “He was so tough on me. I was seriously on the verge of getting fired maybe on three or four occasions. Had I not won the Oscar for ‘Patton,’ I would absolutely have been fired from ‘The Godfather.’”
The filmmaker was asked why he wasn’t at the Oscars the night he won for the aforementioned “Patton.” He replied, “Because I was in New York, about to get fired from ‘The Godfather.’ In fact, the night of the Oscars, I watched the show with Marty Scorsese and he said to me, ‘How are they going to fire you now?’ Because he knew I was in deep, deep trouble.”
So, what was so bad about Coppola’s take on “The Godfather?” And why would Paramount be so down on an acclaimed director taking on the project? Apparently, everything was wrong in the eyes of the studio.
“They hated my casting ideas,” explained Coppola. “They hated the Al Pacino idea. They hated the [Marlon] Brando idea. They hated the fact that I decided to set it in New York and they fought it. Of course, their reasoning was logical.”
READ MORE: Francis Ford Coppola Admits To Making ‘The Godfather: Part III’ For The Money
He continued, “There was a movie made in New York called ‘Mister Buddwing’ and what followed was a big to-do about how inhospitable New York was to movies, how expensive they were. So there was a sort of boycott on New York and when I suggested it to Paramount for this little $2.5m version of this book they bought, ‘The Godfather,’ they wanted to make it in St. Louis. And set it in the ’70s…A period picture adds a big cost.”
Of course, we know what happened next, with “The Godfather” taking off and becoming such a massive film for Paramount and, of course, Coppola. But when it came to coming back for the sequel, the experience of the director on the first film made him apprehensive. So, Coppola agreed to come up with a script and produce, but he didn’t want to direct. Instead, he offered Paramount an idea of who should take over. A young director that wasn’t really a big name.
“When the time came, I went to them and I said, “We have a script and I’ll tell you the director who should do it,’” revealed the filmmaker. “‘This young director, I think is a fabulous talent…’ They said, ‘Fine, who is he?’ I said, ‘Martin Scorsese.’ They said, ‘Absolutely not. That’s outrageous.’ So I told them to forget it. Goodbye. Then the whole deal was off.”
Now, ultimately, Coppola would board the film as the writer and director, asking for what he assumed would be an absurd amount to do it ($1 million), which Paramount agreed to. And the rest, as they say, is history.