The Visionary And the Frog Prince

Summary

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: Episode Summary – "The Visionary and the Frog Prince"

Introduction and Episode Overview

In the episode titled "The Visionary and the Frog Prince," hosted by Mark Seal and Nathan King, listeners are taken deep into the tumultuous and fascinating journey behind the creation of Francis Ford Coppola's iconic film, The Godfather. Drawing from Mark Seal’s comprehensive 2021 book of the same name, the episode delves into the myriad challenges, creative processes, and pivotal relationships that shaped the making of this cinematic masterpiece.

Francis Ford Coppola’s Early Life and Career

The episode begins by setting the stage in 1969, highlighting a critical juncture in Coppola's life. At 29 years old, Coppola was grappling with severe financial difficulties while striving to establish his production company, American Zoetrope, in San Francisco. Mark Seal narrates, “He was deeply in debt. He was living in San Francisco, trying to get his production company, American Zoetrope, off the ground. But it wasn't working out very well” ([06:16]).

Coppola's artistic roots trace back to his early years in Queens, Michigan-born, and influenced by his father, a flautist and composer. A pivotal moment occurred in 1949 when Coppola contracted polio, leading to nine months of bedrest that ignited his passion for filmmaking. His sister, Talia Shire, played a crucial role in supporting his nascent career, believing in his potential from a young age ([07:06]).

Collaboration with Roger Corman

Roger Corman, often regarded as the “godfather of the new Hollywood,” became a significant figure in Coppola's early career. Seal recounts their collaboration, stating, “Corman hired Coppola’s assistant. And what sort of work did he do for Corman other than editing Russian sci-fi films?... Coppola jumped at the chance and assembled a ragtag group... the movie was called Dementia 13” ([15:33]-[16:49]). This collaboration not only honed Coppola's technical skills but also introduced him to the rigors of independent filmmaking.

Accepting the Godfather Project

By the time Peter Bart approached Coppola with the offer to direct The Godfather, American Zoetrope was on the brink of collapse, burdened with $600,000 in debt to Warner Brothers and facing imminent closure due to unpaid taxes. Despite his initial reluctance—owing to the perception of the book as mere "Carpet Braggers"—Coppola was compelled by necessity. Nathan King probes, “What convinced him to do it in the end?” to which Mark Seal responds, “I think it was really debt. American Zoetrope was struggling...” ([22:00]).

A turning point occurred during a conversation with his friend George Lucas at Lucas’s house in Mill Valley, where Coppola was faced with the stark reality of having to accept the project to save his production company. As Seal notes, “We are broke, Francis. We’re out of business... You have to accept this job” ([22:00]).

Partnership with Mario Puzo

The collaboration between Coppola and Mario Puzo was both creative and symbiotic. Mark Seal explains, “Puzo and Coppola became fast friends and had great respect for one another... They were together. And I think that was the cincher for Francis that he was so loved Mario, and their collaboration was very creative and exciting” ([32:03]-[32:42]). While Puzo initially preferred traditional scriptwriting methods, Coppola maintained creative control, asserting, “Coppola looked him straight in the eye and said no” when Puzo sought to rewrite the script side by side ([32:03]).

Creative Process and Script Development

Coppola's meticulous approach to scriptwriting is highlighted through his creation of a “prompt book,” a detailed analysis of Puzo's novel. He methodically broke down each chapter, identifying key elements to translate into film. In a 2001 interview, Coppola describes, “Whenever I felt there was a really important part of the book that was going to be in the movie, I would sit there with my ruler and really underline” ([34:43]-[35:14]).

The dynamic between Coppola and Puzo was further enriched by their collaborative sessions at casinos, where Coppola emphasized the benefits of a 24-hour creative environment. Seal recounts, “We were up all night writing the script, and then when we got tired, we would go downstairs and Mario would gamble” ([37:06]).

Conflict with Paramount and Casting Challenges

Despite Coppola's acceptance of the project, securing Paramount's support was another hurdle. Mark Seal narrates, “Even though he's accepted the job himself, he has to convince Paramount” ([24:24]). Coppola’s impassioned pitch to Paramount executives, where he passionately articulated the artistic vision for The Godfather, was a defining moment. According to producer Al Ruddy, “Coppola gives the performance of a lifetime… They loved him” ([25:14]-[25:56]).

The casting process became a frenzy as executives sought to balance Coppola’s artistic vision with star power. Ruddy’s declaration, “The book is the star, not the actors,” underscored the desire for authenticity, leading to intense competition among actors eager to land roles in the film ([41:50]-[42:21]). This casting chaos is emblematic of the broader tensions between creative integrity and commercial expectations.

Coppola and Puzo’s Relationship and Final Preparations

The deep bond between Coppola and Puzo was pivotal in navigating the film's production challenges. Despite Puzo's penchant for gambling and a somewhat flamboyant lifestyle, his dedication to the script remained unwavering. Seal highlights, “Coppola really respected his notes” and illustrates their collaborative spirit with humorous anecdotes about their time spent in casinos working on the screenplay ([37:41]-[38:44]).

Conclusion and Legacy

"The Visionary and the Frog Prince" episode intricately maps out the intricate dance between artistic passion and industry pressures that defined the making of The Godfather. Through detailed storytelling and firsthand accounts, Mark Seal and Nathan King illuminate how Coppola’s steadfast vision, combined with Mario Puzo’s storytelling prowess, overcame numerous obstacles to create a film that not only became a Hollywood benchmark but also redefined American cinema.

Notable Quotes

• Mark Seal ([14:52]): "Especially Francis Ford Coppola, who even featured Roger in Godfather 2. He was one of the senators in the hearings."

• Mario Puzo ([37:38]): "Gangsters don't brown. They fry."

• Don Vito Corleone ([39:14]): “I believe in America.”

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a rich, engaging exploration of one of Hollywood's most legendary productions. By stripping back layers of movie history and presenting both new and archival insights, Seal and King offer listeners a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and triumphs that brought The Godfather to life.

Transcript

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[Mark Seal]

VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply. The day started like any other It's a Sunday in 1969, and Francis Ford Coppola is sitting in his home in San Francisco. Three things happen all at once. First, he sees an ad in the Sunday New York Times for a new novel entitled the Godfather. Coppola thinks to himself that the author's name, Mario Puzzo, sounds like an Italian writer of classic liter. Second, a knock at the door. Two producers from Paramount, Al Ruddy and Gray Fredrickson they're in town to film Little Faust and Big Halsey and want to meet the up and coming director who fled Los Angeles for the artistic freedom of San Francisco. Third, a phone call from Marlon Brando. It comes in before the Paramount producers are even gone. He's calling to turn down Coppola's offer to star in his passion project, the Conversation. Coppola would later remember all of these things as a celestial alignment of forces, the first ripple of foreshadowing of the project that would come to define his career. Marc? I'm Mark Seale.

[Nathan King]

And I'm Nathan King.

[Mark Seal]

And this is Leave the Gun, Take the cannoli.

[Nathan King]

Today's episode puts Francis Ford Coppola, the Godfather's enigmatic and intellectual director, front and center.

[Mark Seal]

We'll investigate Coppola's creative process, explore his relationship with Mario Puzo, and maybe even get to the bottom of the Coppola Coppola debate.

[Nathan King]

Okay, before we start, we have to address this discrepancy. I say Coppola, you say Coppola. Who's right?

[Mark Seal]

I don't know. I've heard it both ways.

[Nathan King]

I've only ever heard it pronounced Coppola, but I think there's a, like, a nice southern charm to your pronunciation.

[Mark Seal]

I don't know. It just rolls out of my mouth. Coppola. I could be wrong. I stand corrected.

[Nathan King]

That's all right. I think you should keep saying Coppola. I'll say Coppola. We're not going to go back and rerecord the podcast. Let's get into it. Mark, over the course of reporting the Vanity Fair story and writing your book, you were able to put together quite the portrait of Coppola. What was your process like for getting to know him?

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, well, I did what I always do. I talked to as many people as I could find. I read every article I could find about him, every interview. He had done so many interviews over the years about the making of the Godfather that he had at times said he was tired of speaking about it. But he was kind enough to send me a lot of answers. I think answers to 40 questions or so via email. And I spoke to, of course, his sister Talia Shire, his assistant back then, Mona Skager, and all of the executives at Paramount at the time, of course, had a lot to say about him. And we even have some new audio that he was kind enough to send us especially for this podcast.

[Nathan King]

Did you feel intimidated researching him and finding out that he had talked about the Godfather so much, and did you worry at all, that maybe it was a fool's errand to try and dig up any new information?

[Mark Seal]

Well, no, not really, because, you know, all of the answers that he had given in the past just added to the texture of what I was trying to do. You know, it was a blessing that he had given so many interviews. He gave an exhaustive long interview to Cigar aficionado that he pointed out to me when I was writing the book. He said, take a look at that, and it answers a lot of questions. And then I plunged forward and I sent him a list of, I think, 40 questions. And he said in the email that he would answer the ones that interested him. And I think he answered every one.

[Nathan King]

So when Coppola got the offer to direct the Godfather, he was in pretty dire straits, right?

[Mark Seal]

Yes, Indeed. He was 29 years old. He was deeply in debt. He was living in San Francisco, trying to get his production company, American Zoetrope, off the ground. But it wasn't working out very well.

[Nathan King]

You wrote in your book that it seemed like Coppola was heading toward the Godfather his entire life. Can you tell us a little bit about his upbringing and his background? Because he was Italian, but he wasn't Italian in a Godfather way, necessarily.

[Mark Seal]

No. Well, he was an Italian American. He grew up in Queens, but he was born in Detroit, and the family moved around a lot, but obviously they were pretty far from Italy.

[Nathan King]

And it was a pretty creative family.

[Mark Seal]

Exactly. His father was a flautist, a composer, a teacher, and most of all, a long suffering artist who felt he was always looking for his big break. And. And Francis and his siblings got moved around a lot as his father moved between jobs and orchestras.

[Nathan King]

And then in 1949, he was nine years old, and something really dramatic happened and his life changed drastically.

[Mark Seal]

Exactly. The family was living in Queens, and suddenly Francis was stricken with polio. He was bedridden for nine months. And these nine months were really the birth of Francis Coppola, the artist. While the other kids played outside, he became a director of sorts. He would stage puppet shows. He would devour comic books. And his mom said that every time she came into his room, he would hold out his little hands like he was lining up a shot.

[Nathan King]

It's really interesting that so many creative people were afflicted with sicknesses that left them bedridden as children.

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, I think it's the isolation of being alone. It's not easy to be alone, but when you're forced to be alone, a lot of things go come from that. And I think those nine Months were instrumental for him because he was forced to play with his own imagination.

[Nathan King]

Is that when he knew he would be a filmmaker?

[Mark Seal]

I think so. He was really young, but as soon as he was healthy again, he started making movies. I was able to speak with his sister Talia, who told me a wonderful story about raising money for his first film. She went around the neighborhood and says, my brother's gonna be a director, you know, and everybody. Oh, yeah, right. But she really believed in him and saw something. She just said he was an artist from the word go. And she just felt like he could do anything. And so she went around trying to help him raise money for an early film.

[Nathan King]

How old was he at this point?

[Mark Seal]

I think he was still in his teenage years, and she was obviously younger, so I think she really could see the future and that he was going to be a great director one day.

[Nathan King]

So it was already clear that he had a sort of idealistic streak running through him.

[Mark Seal]

Yes, idealistic and talented. And even in his bedroom when he was all alone, he would do these very creative, like, little films and impressions and all of that. So it became clear early on that he was going to be an artist of some sort.

[Nathan King]

So Talia was really. She was right by his side from the beginning.

[Mark Seal]

Oh, yeah. They always supported each other. And, of course, she goes on to play Connie Corleone in the Godfather.

[Nathan King]

So what's next for Frances?

[Mark Seal]

Well, in 1955, he enrolled in the theater arts department at Hofstra University. And then he went to UCLA graduate film school, where he rose through the ranks and became a top screenwriter in his class.

[Nathan King]

And that's when Peter Bart discovered him, right?

[Mark Seal]

That's right. Peter Bart was a New York Times reporter based in Los Angeles. And here he is. Young wannabe filmmakers at UCLA and USC were finding unique ways of staying alive and feeding themselves while they were making student films. Going to film school and trying to get some film to show, you know, studios to get a job. And that one of the ways that Francis had pursued was to make films that were called Nudies N U D I E S N, which were, by today's standards, totally asexual, but had sort of sex scenes, but, you know, fully closed sex scenes. And he directed or edited a couple of those.

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[Nathan King]

When did Roger Corman come into the mix? And for people who don't know, the late great Roger Corman was sort of a godfather in his own right, but the godfather of the new Hollywood. And he was a great director of b movies and pop cinema, but also handled distribution on a lot of foreign films by incredible directors like Kurosawa and Fellini. And of course, he fostered a lot of young talents and was a mentor to people like Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda and Peter Bogdanovich.

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, you know, especially Francis Ford Coppola, who even featured Roger in Godfather 2. He was one of the senators in the hearings. But they met when Coppola was finishing up at UCLA in the 60s and Corman was looking for an editor to cut the anti American propaganda out of a Russian sci fi film. And here's Roger Corman. So I called UCLA and I said, who is your best graduating senior in editing? So they sent over several people, and I felt Francis was the brightest and most creative.

[Nathan King]

Corman hired Kopoles assistant. And what sort of work did he do for Corman other than editing Russian sci fi films?

[Mark Seal]

Well, pretty much everything. Positioning the camera, holding the boom mics, grip revisions. He even brought Francis to Europe as part of a film crew, where he decided to give him even more responsibility. And so I then got the idea that I had this little crew. I had everything in the microbus. We paid for everybody to come to Europe and we could make another picture and amortize the cost of taking everybody to Europe. I'll write it off over the first picture and make a second picture for almost nothing. So I offered the chance to Francis. I said, I've got $30,000 in cash. I can give you the $30,000 if you can write a little horror script and shoot it in Ireland with a skeleton crew. Coppola jumped at the chance and assembled A ragtag group of fellow UCLA grads and Irish locals to work around the clock on the top floor of an old house outside of Dublin. And the movie was called Demetrius dementia 13.

[Nathan King]

What came of that movie?

[Mark Seal]

Well, probably the most significant thing for Francis was his wife and firstborn child.

[Nathan King]

That's right. They met on set.

[Mark Seal]

Right, exactly. Eleanor Jesse Neal. She was a fellow UCLA grad recruited by Corman, and the two started a relationship in Ireland, and soon she became pregnant.

[Nathan King]

How did Coppola take that?

[Mark Seal]

Really great. He told Eleanor that he always wanted a family, and the two got married in Las Vegas and moved to LA to start their lives as filmmakers.

[Nathan King]

Tell me about Coppola's early career. Did he see a lot of success?

[Mark Seal]

Well, pretty much. Like Mario Puzo, Coppola struggled early on. Early films that weren't exactly a list movies. A bad investment and real feelings of despair about his prospects as an artist. But things turned around when 20th Century Fox hired him to co write the screenplay for Patton, which won him an Academy Award.

[Nathan King]

Mark, let's talk about Patton for a second. Patton comes out in 1970, and it's about one of the most famous generals in American history, if not all of history. To what extent do you think that prepared Coppola for not only writing a blockbuster, but writing a movie that's about a strong figurehead or a charismatic leader?

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, I think Patton prepared him for a lot because Patton was about, you know, a general that was a strong, charismatic leader, much like Don Corleone, but in a very different way. They were in a very different war. Patton was World War II and the Godfather was a war between the two rival families going to the mattresses, where Clemenza says, you know, we have to do this every few years to weed out the bad blood. But I think that Francis learned a lot by co writing the script for Patton, for which he won an Academy Award, as did George C. Scott for Best Actor that year. And I think that prepared him for the war of the Godfather, which was soon to come.

[Nathan King]

And that was also the first time that Coppola had gone from making a indie film to making an epic.

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, and this is a mainstream Hollywood film for which he won an Oscar as a co writer of the script. So it was a pretty big step.

[Nathan King]

And then he wrote a movie for Charlie Bludorn, right?

[Mark Seal]

Famously, yes. It was one of Charlie's early flops. Is Paris Burning. Gian Coppola knew it was a bomb, so while he was working on it, he wrote an adaptation of the novel. You're A Big Boy now, which he then directed and screened at Cannes. That's what really put him on the map.

[Nathan King]

I want to just read a few of the headlines from that time. From the LA Times we have Coppola breaks the age barrier, which marveled at his success as a 26 year old. From the New York Times offering the moon to a guy in jeans by film critic Rex Reed, who called him Orson Welles of the handheld camera. That's some pretty staggering praise.

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, I was amazed when I saw all those clippings with all of those amazing reviews of his work and who he was. And it wasn't long after that when he signs a deal with Warner Bros. To direct Finion's Rainbow, starring no less than Fred Astaire.

[Nathan King]

But with all his success, he's growing pretty disillusioned, right?

[Mark Seal]

Yeah. He's fighting to make the kind of movies he wants to make from inside the Hollywood machine. He makes the Rain people without Warner Brothers full sign off on certain aspects of the film which end up costing him. In the end, he's just sick and.

[Nathan King]

Tired of Hollywood and he decides to head north.

[Mark Seal]

Yeah. He packs up his family into a VW bus in a very 60s scene and leaves LA for the greener pastures of San Francisco. He's trailed in a caravan by his assistant Mona Skager, and his sister Talia, and of course his collaborator, a young George Lucas.

[Nathan King]

So they get to San Francisco, what then?

[Mark Seal]

Well, they set up shop for a new kind of production company, American Zoetrope, which was modeled in a way, after studios that Coppola had seen and experienced in Europe. Mona Skager told me it was in the wine country, because it was. The neighborhood was filled with winos.

[Nathan King]

It's interesting what you say about the foreign production companies. In what way was it modeled on them?

[Mark Seal]

Well, they were more independent. They were more artistically driven rather than commercially driven. I think it's best summed up in an interview he gave to the San Francisco Chronicle when he gave a tour of their new offices. And he said the difference is that in LA you talk about deals and here you talk about film.

[Nathan King]

Sounds like a dream for a director.

[Mark Seal]

Yes, but the dream didn't last. By the time Peter Bark approached him about the Godfather, American Zoetrope was in a dire position. The sheriff was literally at the door about to shut down the company for unpaid taxes. And they were 600,000 in hock to Warner Brothers for overhead and development cost.

[Nathan King]

It seems like a no brainer that he'd accept the job.

[Mark Seal]

You would think, but he really didn't want to make the movie. He thought the book, upon first hearing about it, sounded like the Carpet Braggers. But Peter Bart was persistent. He mailed him a copy of the book, and apparently Coppola only got 60 pages into it. You know, I did bully him. He didn't want to do the picture, and I would call him and remind.

[Nathan King]

Him how much money he owed. One time I called him, I found out what the tuition of his, the.

[Mark Seal]

Private school tuition was broke. I'd like to remind you, but I was rather unpleasant about pushing him in there because he didn't want to do Godfather.

[Nathan King]

What convinced him to do it in the end?

[Mark Seal]

Well, I think it was really debt. American Zoetrope was struggling, and Coppola was at his friend George Lucas house one night in Mill Valley. And somehow Peter Bart got the. The phone number and called him there. And Lucas apparently told him what would soon become a famous quote. We are broke, Francis. We're out of business. We're closed. You have to accept this job. We have no money, and the sheriff is coming to chain up the front door.

[Nathan King]

And legend has it that Coppola quit trying to read the book and headed to the Mill Valley Public Library and read books on the mob instead. What did he find in those books?

[Mark Seal]

Well, he found a lot. Beneath all the blood and gore, he found stories of families and American entrepreneurs all in the mob. His interest was revived, and he went back to the book with an open mind. He realized that there was a profound story to tell in Mario Puzo's novel. He said it was the classic story of succession, about a great king with three sons, each of whom had a single element of what made the king great. Like a scene out of the movie, he calls Peter Bart and says, I'll make the picture under one condition. And here's how Robert Evans later described it in his memoir, Peter Comes Into My Office. Coppola will make the picture on one condition. That it's not a film about organized gangsters. It's not about organized gangsters. It ain't a musical, Peter. He wants to make it as a family chronicle, a metaphor for capitalism in America. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

[Nathan King]

So now Coppola is convinced and he wants to do the film. But perversely, it seems like he needs to turn around and convince Paramount that he's the man for the job.

[Mark Seal]

Yes, even though he's accepted the job himself, he has to convince Paramount. He flies to la. Al Ruddy picks him up at the airport and immediately starts Giving him advice on how to land the gig. I said, but remember one thing, Francis. There's a lot low budget movie. So when you meet the guys, start figuring out, you downgrade what you plan it. He takes him to the Paramount Studios, and according to Ruddy, Coppola gives the performance of a lifetime. Oh, God. He ranted on, but philosophically, the value of film and the beauty of film and the messages of this book. He's throwing up so many diamonds in the song. Someone's flashing their face, they don't know what he's talking about. They loved him. So now Francis is on. They loved him. Yeah. Oh, they loved him.

[Nathan King]

For a guy who doesn't want the job, he's really selling himself.

[Mark Seal]

According to Ruddy, yes. But I asked Coppola about that meeting 25 years later and had no recollection. He wrote to me in an email. I'm sorry, I have no idea of how Ruddy described what I may have said. Sorry, I cannot remember that that day at all.

[Nathan King]

It sounds like he might be repressing that memory a little bit.

[Mark Seal]

I'm not sure, because for Rudy, it was crystal clear. He says Francis jumps up on the table and starts giving the performance of a lifetime. He sounded like Al Ruddy, as Al Ruddy gave the performance of Hogan's Heroes. Remember that? So this is like Coppola giving his vision of the Godfather.

[Nathan King]

So he kills it in la, but then his agent, Freddie Fields says he needs to go to New York and convince Charlie Bludorn.

[Mark Seal]

Yes, Coppola's assistant, Mona Skager told me Francis took the Red Eye to New York and kept Charlie up until three in the morning, pitching him on his vision of the movie. How do you know he's kept him up till 3 in the morning? Francis told you. He told us he had a meeting with him and then pitched his idea on how he saw the Godfather. You know, because Francis is a child and he grew up in that whole environment. It's not a gangster story. It's a story about a family.

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Mark Seal]

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[Nathan King]

So he sold Hurricane Charlie on his vision.

[Mark Seal]

He sure did. And then he called his assistant Mona and tells her to tell his wife to pack up the kids and get on the red eye to New York. The family would be sailing on the SS Michelangelo for Italy the next day.

[Nathan King]

It's so funny that he and Puzo chose to do the same exact thing once their ship came in.

[Mark Seal]

Metaphorically speaking, These guys haven't even met yet, but they're already kindred spirits.

[Nathan King]

And he worked on the screenplay on the ship, right?

[Mark Seal]

Yes. Mona told me that he tore pages out of pocket and taped them to the windows of the ship and was just typing away like a mad dog.

[Nathan King]

Do you think that Coppola chose to go to Italy because he thought that it would inspire him in some way, or was this just a simple family trip?

[Mark Seal]

Well, I think he was going there because there was a film festival he wanted to attend in Italy. That's where he met, or that's where he met up with Martin Scorsese. And so there was a reason for him going there. It was about film, but at the same time, it was like Mario Puzo, you know, a getaway, a vacation, a celebration of sorts.

[Nathan King]

Okay, let's Fast forward to September 29th in 1970. There's an amazing photo which you have in the book of Puzo, Coppola, Evans and Ruddy at a press conference announcing Coppola as the director of the film.

[Mark Seal]

Yes, it was extraordinary because I was able to access Robert Evans date book because there was an auction of his possessions. And I was able to track down the man who purchased the date book at the auction. And he kindly sent me photographs from these pages. And on the one that marked September 29, 1970, you can see in Robert Evans's own green handwriting, 10:00am press conference, the Godfather. So in the famous picture that resulted from that press conference, you can see these four men, Puzo, Coppola, Evans and Ruddy, at this famous press conference. And they're all smiles, but they're about to engage in this epic battle to get this picture made.

[Nathan King]

Eerily, it doesn't betray any of the misery that's about to come.

[Mark Seal]

No, everybody's all smiles at this point, but those smiles would not last for long.

[Nathan King]

Well, let's start with a relationship that did have some smiles. Coppola and Puzo. We know Coppola extensively, rewrites Puzo's script. Did Puzo know this going in?

[Mark Seal]

Yeah, he knew. And honestly, he was very relieved. According to everyone I spoke with, Puzo and Coppola became fast friends and had great respect for One another. Here's what Talia Shire said about them. They loved each other. I mean, they were very, very good friends. And France has had tremendous respect for him as a writer.

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You know, he's an awfully good writer.

[Mark Seal]

And they were together. And I think that was the cincher for Francis that he was so loved Mario, and their collaboration was very creative and exciting. Mario really was in Francis corner, and Francis was seeing it.

[Nathan King]

And did they work on the screenplay together?

[Mark Seal]

Yes and no. Puzo really wanted to collaborate, sit side by side and rewrite the script in what he envisioned was a traditional way. But apparently when he asked, Coppola looked him straight in the eye and said no. And Puzo would later say he liked that. That's how he knew that Coppola was a real director.

[Nathan King]

I guess at this point, he's looking for someone to take over from him.

[Mark Seal]

Exactly. So the two agree that they'll collaborate long distance, with Coppola in San Francisco and Puzo in LA or New York, back home. And Coppola seems sets to work in a cafe in San Francisco where he arrived each morning with the novel in a satchel. And his first step is to create what he calls a prompt book, which is a tradition from the theater. And here's an interview from 2001 where he describes creating this tome of a book.

[F]

When I realized that I was actually going to make a movie out of the novel the Godfather, I sat down and began to read the book very, very carefully. And I think it's important to put your impressions down on the first reading, because those are the initial instincts about what you thought was good or what you didn't understand or what you thought was bad. And having gotten through the book, I pulled my book apart that I had made those comments on. And I myself pasted every page of the novel onto sheets of paper like this. And I called it the Godfather Notebook and put a big warning, if found, return to this address for reward. Because I recognized that it would have every opinion that I had on the book. And interestingly, I decided to break down each section with these key criteria.

[Nathan King]

He's clearly such a craftsman, and you can start to see some of the moments that he pulls from the book as essential or pivotal.

[F]

On page 79 of the book, we have the actual shooting of the Don. Whenever I felt there was a really important part of the book that was going to be in the movie, I would sit there with my ruler and really underline. So this details the shooting. My margin notes are the shooting. Great detail. The Don is the main character of the movie. So as in Psycho, we are totally thrown when he is shot.

[Nathan King]

Okay, I'm afraid to ask. Coppola's hard at work on the script. What's Puzo doing with his newfound free time?

[Mark Seal]

Well, he's having the time of his life in Hollywood. He's living on Paramount's dime, but the pressure to write the script is off. So he gets to really enjoy being a successful author and screenwriter of a much anticipated Hollywood film. At this time, he has a new assistant, Lynetta Wahlgren. Lynetta calls him the Frog Prince because he dressed very poorly. His pants would drag on the ground. He had these shirts that were too tight, and of course, he had a prodigious belly. So one day, Lynetta takes him to the Gucci store in Beverly Hills. Well, of course, nobody knows who he is, so they pretty much ignored him. And soon Lynetta says, don't you know who this is? This is the writer, the author of the Godfather. And they went, oh, my God. And pretty much like in the movie Pretty Woman, they're all over him. And he buys all these new clothes, velour tracksuits, all in his favorite color, pink. And he's just transformed. The Frog Prince had turned into a real prince of Hollywood, and everyone wanted him at their parties and for dinner.

[Nathan King]

He must have fit right in at the Beverly Hills Hotel in his pink tracksuits.

[Mark Seal]

I think he stood out at the Beverly Hills Hotel in his pink tracksuit. But, you know, everybody loved Mario.

[Nathan King]

He's also a man of deeply entrenched habits. He's still gambling during this time, right?

[Mark Seal]

Of course he's gambling. Lynetta Walgren said she would pick him up for work every day. And some days he would just say, get on the freeway. Which meant they were going to the airport to fly to Las Vegas for the day.

[Nathan King]

Well, what about work? Isn't he helping Coppola with the script?

[Mark Seal]

Yes, but according to Coppola, Puzo had done his part by writing the book. And now it was Coppola's turn to do the heavy lifting on the script. He would send drafts for Puzo to comment on, and Coppola really respected his notes. There's a great line in the scene where Clemenza is teaching Michael how to make spaghetti sauce. And Coppola had written, first you brown some garlic, and then you throw in the tomatoes. And Puzo scribbled a note. Gangsters don't brown. They fry.

[Nathan King]

And this is also when they're working out at casinos, right?

[Mark Seal]

Yes. Francis told me that a casino is the absolute best place for writers to collaborate. One thing about Mario is he loved to gamble. So I got the idea that we could both go to a gambling casino in nearby Reno, Nevada. The reason why it's good to work in a gambling casino is because they're up for 24 hours service that people are gambling all through the night. So that at any time, if you order breakfast or you order some refreshments or whatever you want, basically there it's available. And we were up all night writing the script, and then when we got tired, we would go downstairs and Mario would gamble. And of course, he was a terrible gambler, and he would just lose all this money on the roulette wheel. And. And once someone said, oh, Mr. Puzo, you're losing so much money, he says, yeah, well, we're losing thousands here on the roulette table, but we'll go upstairs and work on the script, and we'll make millions.

[Nathan King]

So Coppola's version of the script was vastly different than Puzo's.

[Mark Seal]

I think it was quite different. Peter Bart and Bob Evans were pretty happy with Puzo's script, mostly because it seemed like he did everything he was told to do. He changed the setting to modern day to cut cost, and was even opening with a love scene because our told him to.

[Nathan King]

But Coppola was up for a fight.

[Mark Seal]

Always up for a fight. He insisted on keeping the film set in the 40s, and he had his own thoughts on an opening scene.

[Nathan King]

I believe in America. America has made my fortune. Which is, of course, one of the greatest openings in movie history.

[Mark Seal]

Absolutely. Because that line, I believe in America appears about halfway into the first chapter of Puzo's book. It could have been easily overlooked, but Coppola realized what it represented. He said the real appeal of the Godfather is that you could go to someone if you weren't being treated fairly, and the Godfather would make it right.

[Nathan King]

You know, one of the things about the Godfather is that it's an immigration story. It's a story about a family that comes from this part of Italy that's very remote from America. So do you think that that sets it up as being a film about the American dream?

[Mark Seal]

Yes, of course. I. I mean, you see this face coming out of the darkness, and the first line he says is, I believe in America. I mean, you just think, wow. And then the way it pulls back from the darkness, you see the hand of Vito Corleone scratching his chin, and then you see the cat and then you see the family there gathered around the table on the day of his daughter's wedding. So it's telescopic in a way, because it starts with this amazing image of this emigrate coming to the Godfather for help. And then the story that he tells about his daughter. I mean, gosh, you can't get any more dramatic than that.

[Nathan King]

And Bonasera is pleading and desperate, and in contrast, Don Vito's incredibly composed and stoic.

[Mark Seal]

It's this opening scene, so dramatic. That was the scene that hooked me in from the get go. You know, you see the moon face of this undertaker rising up out of the darkness, and he says, I believe in America. And then it cuts to Don Corleone and you wonder what the hell's going on. And then Bonasera asks the Godfather to commit murder. He wants the young men who have harmed his daughter dead. He doesn't say it just like that because he whispers it in the Don's ear while Brando is petting that cat. And then Don Corleone says, you know, you come to my house on the day of my daughter's wedding and you ask me to commit murder. That's not a legitimate tit for tat or whatever, you know, because your daughter is still alive. You know, he said, you found success in America and never needed a friend like me. But now he needs him pretty badly because the system of America has denied him justice. That opening scene just grabs you by the throat, sets up everything to and really doesn't let you go into the final credits.

[Nathan King]

And Coppola's already thinking about casting.

[Mark Seal]

Yes, and unfortunately, so were the executives at Paramount. Ruddy was so besieged with actors seeking roles that he put out a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, and here's what it said. The book is the star, not the actors. I want the audience to see real people, almost as if they're looking through a window. I just don't feel I can achieve this if I hire well known actors. I mean, this is the producer, not the director saying this so you can see the pandemonium that has ensued.

[Nathan King]

Thus begins the casting frenzy of the Godfather.

[Mark Seal]

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is a production of Air Mail and iheartmedia.

[Nathan King]

The podcast is based on the book of the same name, written by our very own Mark Seal.

[Mark Seal]

Our producer is Tina Mullen.

[Nathan King]

Research assistance by Jack Sullivan.

[Mark Seal]

Jonathan Dressler was our development producer.

[Nathan King]

Our music supervisor is Randall Poster. Our executive producers are me, Nathan King, Mark Seal, Dylan Fagan, and Graydon Carter.

[Mark Seal]

Special thanks to Bridget Arceneaux. And everyone at CDM Studios.

[Nathan King]

A comprehensive list of sources and acknowledgments can be found in Mark Seale's book Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Mark Seal]

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[Mark Seal]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Painful it's tax season, and by now I know we're all a bit tired of numbers. But here's an important one you need to hear $16.5 billion. That's how much money in refunds the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud last year. Here's another 20%. That's the overall increase in identity theft related to tax fraud in 2024 alone. But it's not all grim news. Here's a good 100 million. That's how many data points Lifelock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, LifeLock's US based restoration specialists will fix it, backed by another good number, the million dollar protection plan. In fact, restoration is guaranteed or your money back. Don't face identity theft and financial losses alone. There's strength in numbers with Lifelock identity theft protection for tax season and beyond. Join now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.