America. Sixties. In those days, the term “mafia” sounded intimidating, symbolizing one of the most dangerous branches in global organized crime. Those at the helm of the organization preferred to remain silent and delete all spoken words from history. And most often together with the author.
It all started in the spring of 1968, when writer Mario Puzo walked into the office of one of the bosses of Paramount, Robert Evans. Evans barely agreed to this meeting with the stranger, and then only as a friendly favor. In his hands, Puzo held a crumpled envelope with a stack of typewritten sheets, for which, judging by his look, he had far-reaching plans.
"Problems?" asked Evans.
Yes, and some others. Puzo was a gambler who owed bookmakers ten thousand. His only hope was that same envelope with a preliminary version of the script for a film about organized crime. The heading on the stack of sheets contained the same word, not very popular among knowledgeable people, – mafia. Despite the fact that this concept in its current meaning has been used in Italy since the 19th century, before Puzo no one had dared to put this term on the cover of a book or poster.
"I’ll give you ten. If the book turns out good, you’ll get another seventy-five thousand.”. Evans himself later recalled that there was more sympathy in his words than joy. "Puzo looked at me and asked: how about fifteen? I answered that it was twelve and a half and deal with it.”.
Without even reading the manuscript, Evans handed the envelope to one of the Paramount departments along with a check for payment. Time passed, and a few months later Puzo called and asked, “Would it be a breach of contract if I changed the title of the book?”?" – Evans couldn’t help but laugh. “I had already forgotten that he wrote anything at all.”. Puzo continued: “I want to call it The Godfather.”.
Mario Puzo’s novel unexpectedly became a best-seller among bestsellers, only to later turn into a famous Hollywood film. The film, in turn, practically revolutionized the film industry, saved the Paramount Pictures studio from bankruptcy, paved the way for a new generation of stars, made the authors rich and famous, and also became the reason for the war between Hollywood businessmen and mafia bosses.
“When a fairy tale Prime-Casino.uk becomes reality, it’s time to immortalize it in granite,” said a reporter in one of John Ford’s westerns. So what if Mario Puzo later claimed that the meeting with Evans took place under different circumstances?? Or that Variety editor Peter Barth, who was Evans’ creative deputy at the time, insisted that the manuscript landed on his desk first? Be that as it may, this project has always been accompanied by fierce controversy, in which not only movie cameras, but also weapons took part.
“Come on, let’s sit down,” Evans invited the journalist to go into the bedroom, which, after a fire in 2003 that destroyed the screening room, began to fulfill its role. While the guest was settling down on the sofa, the room was already filled with the enchanting sounds of Nino Rota’s composition, and the face of Don Corleone appeared on the screen, celebrating his daughter’s wedding day. “This is the best film I’ve ever seen,” Evans said of the film, which, in his own words, was “magical” and during filming almost turned out to be his last film work.
Published in 1969, The Godfather spent 67 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was translated into so many languages that Puzo lost count. Paramount studios got the novel on the cheap, but the company’s owners were in no hurry to start filming. In their opinion, gangster films do not justify themselves (meaning the failure at the box office of “Brotherhood” with Kirk Douglas). Evans and Bart knew the reason for the failure – until now, films about gangsters had been made by the hands and heads of “Hollywood Italians”. In order for The Godfather to reach the very top, it was necessary to use real Italian-American actors, director and producers. And only then, according to Evans, would the film turn out in such a way that the viewer would literally begin to smell the spaghetti in the theater.
No sooner said than done. Albert Ruddy, who was not even close to Italian, was appointed producer of the project. Ruddy became famous at that time only for the fact that he managed to smuggle an obviously crazy idea of a film about a Nazi prisoner of war camp onto television, eventually creating the popular television series “Hogan’s Heroes.”. Whatever his creative talents, Ruddy was best known for making movies quickly and cheaply.
“I got a call on Sunday,” recalls Ruddy. “Do you want to start filming The Godfather??"At first I thought they were making fun of me. “Yes, of course, an excellent book, I’ve heard a lot”. Of course, I didn’t even hold the novel in my hands. I was asked if I could fly to New York because Charlie Bloodhorn, head of Gulf & Western, decided to personally meet the producer and director of the film. I agreed and immediately rushed to the nearest store to buy a book.
In New York, Ruddy met with tycoon Charles Bluhdorn, who bought the Paramount film studio in 1966. "He asked me, ‘How are you going to make this film??" says Ruddy.
Ruddy made careful notes in the margins of the book, but, knowing firsthand that Bladorn and his company had connections in the mafia, he decided to talk like a man. “Charlie, I want to make an exciting, scary movie about people you care about,” he replied. Bladorn grinned slyly, slammed his fist on the table and silently left the room. Ruddy got the go-ahead.
Initially, it was planned to shoot the film quickly, and place the entire plot action in 1970, without stretching the film over time, as in the book, because time is money, and the film’s budget was only 2.5 million. However, with the growing popularity of Puzo’s novel, both the budget and the ambitions of the creators began to increase. Bluhdorn and Paramount President Stanley Jaffe began looking for a director, but all prospective candidates refused on the pretext that romanticizing the mafia was immoral.
As a result, Peter Barth insisted on the candidacy of Francis Ford Coppola, a 31-year-old Italian-American director who had several films under his belt, but not a single hit. Bart believed Coppola could stay within budget. Francis himself admitted at the negotiations that he did not read the novel to the end, because the sex scenes irritated him. However, embarrassment was not Coppola’s main problem. His film company owes money to Warner Bros. 600 thousand dollars, so business partners, in particular George Lucas, pushed Coppola in every possible way to take on a new job. Coppola went to the city library, picked up books about the mafia and immersed himself in reading. He decided that he would make not just a film about the mafia, but a chronicle of an individual family, a kind of metaphor for American capitalism.
Evans’ reaction was expected. “Has he gone crazy??“However, Paramount could at any time sell the film rights to Burt Lancaster, who dreamed of playing the role of Don Corleone. Evans understood that delay would mean death, so he hastily arranged a meeting between Coppola and Bladorn. Fortunately, the director’s vision suited the latter. Coppola immediately began working on the script with Puzo, and the two truly became friends. "Puzo was a great guy," says Coppola. “Without going into details, I remember I made a note in the script about the sauce: first you need to brown the garlic.”. He crossed out a line and said: “The garlic must be fried. Gangsters don’t brown".
Coppola knew two things for sure: to be authentic, the film had to cover a certain period of time in the forties and take place in New York. Puzo was well versed in the intricacies of the criminal world, but only from afar. In his memoirs, he wrote: “I’m ashamed to admit, but I wrote The Godfather simply by asking people questions.”.
"I’ve never seen a real gangster," Puzo said. However, like Coppola. “Mario warned me that I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t even agree. They respect your choice and will not insist if they understand that you do not want to make contact.".
Finally, all matters were settled and filming came to an end. The premiere was scheduled for March 29, 1972. Already in the first six months of release, the film’s box office receipts surpassed that of Gone with the Wind in 30 years. The following year, the film became a triumphant Oscar winner, receiving the main prize as the best film of 1972. The Godfather ushered in the era of hundred-million-dollar blockbusters in Hollywood, and the last person to know about it was the director. “I was so sure that the film would be a failure—too dark, too long, too boring—that I had no hope of success,” says Francis Ford Coppola. — I learned about the great success of the film from my wife. I didn’t go to the premiere. A masterpiece, you say? I don’t know, I wasn’t even sure that it would recoup the costs.”.
In conclusion, it is worth adding that the film industry and the mafia have always gone hand in hand. One of the famous lines from the book was never included in the film: “A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a hundred people with guns.”. Before his death in 1999, Mario Puzo once said: “I think there is a lot more corruption in show business than in the Mafia or Las Vegas.”. When filming had just begun, you could meet both filmmakers and mafia members in the corridors of Gulf & Western. Charlie Bloodhorn himself secretly made a deal with Michele Sindona, a major figure in the Sicilian mafia, a money launderer who was an adviser to the Gambinos and other New York families, as well as the Vatican Bank (part of this legend Coppola later used in the third part of The Godfather). Already in 1980, Sindona was charged with 65 counts, including fraud and perjury. Four years later he was extradited to Italy, where he was found guilty of being the mastermind of several murders. Sindone’s story ended in a Milan prison cell, where he swallowed (or was helped to swallow) an ampoule of cyanide, which, according to the mafia code of honor, is the best means of silence.
Z.Y. Already in our time, Mario Puzo’s novel will receive its gaming embodiment, but that’s a completely different story.