"Fontane is based on Frank Sinatra, and Moe Greene on Bugsy Siegel. In addition, the character of Vito Corleone was a composite of real-life organized crime bosses Frank Costello and Carlo Gambino. The Godfather (novel) The Godfather is a crime novel written by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family based in New York City (and Long Beach, New York), headed by Vito Corleone. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood"
"Michael Cimino and starring Christopher Lambert as Salvatore Guiliano, however, owing to copyright issues, the characters of Michael Corleone and Clemenza were not included in this movie adaptation. The Sicilian The Sicilian is a novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group (), it is based on Puzo's most famous work, ""The Godfather"". It is regarded as ""The Godfather""'s literary sequel. In this novel, the spelling of Salvatore Giuliano's name was intentionally changed by Puzo to ""Guiliano"". This novel, though a work of fiction, is based on the real life exploits of Giuliano. The"
"Salvatore Tessio Salvatore ""Sal"" Tessio is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ""The Godfather"", as well as two of the films based on it: ""The Godfather"" and ""The Godfather Part II"" (1974). His given name was created for the films; in the novel he is referred to only as ""Tessio"". In the film ""The Godfather"", Tessio was portrayed by Abe Vigoda. In ""The Godfather Part II"", John Aprea portrayed the younger Tessio, while Vigoda reprised the role in a flashback, set in late 1941, at the end of the film. Tessio has also appeared in the 2004 novel"
"voiceovers and their likenesses, but Pacino did not. Francis Ford Coppola openly voiced his disapproval of the game. The Godfather The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Albert S. Ruddy, based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel of the same name. It stars Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as the leaders of a fictional New York crime family. The story, spanning 1945 to 1955, chronicles the family under the patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando), focusing on the transformation of Michael Corleone (Pacino) from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss. Paramount Pictures obtained"
"""The Godfather"", by a relatively unknown author, Mario Puzo. Puzo and his book went on to worldwide renown, and while ""Mile High"" was received reasonably well, it did little to enhance Condon's reputation. This would have to wait a further two decades for his quartet of novels about the ""Prizzi"" family and its Hollywood adaptation, ""Prizzi's Honor"". In ""Mile High"", the basic theme of all 26 of Condon's books is summed up in a single angry ""cri de coeur"": ""Prohibition fused the amateurism and catch-as-catch-can national tendencies of the early days of the republic with a more modern, highly organized"
"role of a ""soldier"" in the family. Prior to his death, Marlon Brando provided some voice work for Vito, which was eventually deemed unusable and was dubbed over by a Brando impersonator. Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed of Paramount's decision to allow the game to be made and he did not approve of it. Al Pacino also did not participate, and his likeness was replaced with a different depiction of Michael Corleone. In 1984, Puzo's literary sequel to ""The Godfather"" was published. Titled ""The Sicilian"", it chronicles the life of ""Guiliano"" (Salvatore Guiliano)"
"more important in the next work to support his five children on a government clerk's salary. He was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses. He found his audience with the novel, which became the top bestseller for months on the ""New York Times"" Best Seller List. The book was later developed into the film ""The Godfather"", directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film received three awards of the eleven Oscar category nominations, including Puzo's Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola and Puzo then collaborated on sequels to the original film, ""The Godfather Part II"" and ""The"
"his character as a serious, Zapata-like figure. As a result, tension grew between Steiger and Leone, including one incident that ended with Steiger walking off during the filming of the scene where Juan's stagecoach is destroyed. After the film's completion, Leone and Steiger were content with the final result, and Steiger praised Leone for his skills as a director. Steiger auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's ""The Godfather"" (1972), a film adaptation of Italian American author Mario Puzo's 1969 novel of the same name, but Puzo felt that Steiger was too old for the part"
"The Godfather Effect The Godfather Effect is a 2012 critically acclaimed study of the ""Godfather"" films - as well as Mario Puzo's novel - and their effect on American culture. Written by biographer Tom Santopietro, the book demonstrates how ""The Godfather"" was a turning point in American cultural consciousness. With its emphasis on proud ethnicity, ""The Godfather"" changed not just the way Italian-Americans saw themselves, but how Americans of all backgrounds viewed their individual and national self-identities, their possibilities, and attendant disappointments. The ""Godfather Effect"" had a broader philosophical dimension, as well. As noted by Santopietro, ""what Puzo delivered -"
"""The Godfather"" is seen by many as one of the greatest films of all time, while ""The Godfather Part II"" is viewed by many as the best sequel in cinematic history. The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 29 total Academy Award nominations. ""The Godfather"" was released on March 15, 1972. The feature-length film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based upon Mario Puzo's novel of the same name. The plot begins with Don Vito Corleone declining an offer to join in the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Virgil Sollozzo, which leads to an assassination attempt."
"but the Corleone family is featured heavily throughout, Michael Corleone in particular. Chronologically this story sits between Michael's exile to Sicily in 1950 and his return to the USA. For copyright reasons, the Corleone family involvement was cut from the Michael Cimino film adaptation, which is not considered part of the ""Godfather"" film series. In 2004, Random House published a sequel to Puzo's ""The Godfather"", ""The Godfather Returns"", by Mark Winegardner. A further sequel by Winegardner, ""The Godfather's Revenge"", was released in 2006. These novels continue the story from Puzo's novel. ""The Godfather Returns"" picks up the story immediately after"
"fourth film was in the works with García in the lead role. García has since claimed the film's script was nearly produced. After Puzo's death, Coppola decided to not continue the film series. Puzo's portion of the potential sequel, dealing with the Corleone family in the early 1930s, was eventually expanded into a novel by Ed Falco and released in 2012 as ""The Family Corleone"". The estate of Puzo had sought to keep Paramount Pictures from producing a feature film based on the novel. This has been resolved, with Paramount gaining the rights to make more ""Godfather"" films. The fourth"
"and part reflection on the meaning of ethnicity in American life, ""The Godfather Effect"" defines how the ""Godfather"" movies, along with the 1969 Mario Puzo novel from which they were adapted, reflected the madness, glory and failure of the American dream. By exploring that dream in distinctly Italian-American terms, the movies succeeded in delivering nothing less than the Italianization of American culture. In other words, they were so cool that everyone wanted to seem a little Italian."" ""Newsday"" appreciated the personal dimension in Santopietro's book, noting, ""In the end, it's the personal moments, such as Santopietro taking his aging dad"
"Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is the main protagonist of Mario Puzo's novel ""The Godfather"". In the three ""Godfather"" films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominated for Academy Awards. In June 2003, Michael Corleone was recognized as the 11th most iconic villain in film history by the American Film Institute, although some critics consider him to be a tragic hero. Born in 1920 to Mafia don Vito Corleone and his wife Carmela, Michael has two older brothers, Santino ""Sonny"" Corleone and Frederico ""Fredo"" Corleone, and a younger sister, Constanzia ""Connie"" Corleone."
"Mario Puzo's ""The Godfather,"" a more romanticized look at organized crime that later would be adapted into the popular 1972 film of the same name. Ashbel Green was the editor. Eddie Coyle is an aging, low-level gunrunner for a crime organization in Boston, Massachusetts. He is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of driving a hijacked truck in New Hampshire. Eddie had been driving the truck for Dillon, a convicted felon and career criminal who is well connected to the syndicate. Coyle has refused to give Dillon up to the authorities in exchange for leniency. Coyle's last chance to avoid a"
"used at all. Those two uses were removed and replaced with other terms, which Coppola felt did not change the story at all. The league eventually gave its support for the script. Puzo was first to show interest in having Marlon Brando portray Don Vito Corleone by sending a letter to Brando in which he stated Brando was the ""only actor who can play the Godfather."" Despite Puzo's wishes, the executives at Paramount were against having Brando, partly due to the poor performance of his recent films and also his short temper. Coppola favored Brando or Laurence Olivier for the"
"simply business. Tessio calmly asks Hagen to get him off the hook, but Hagen declines. Accepting his fate, Tessio goes quietly as he is taken away to be killed. Mario Puzo's original novel and the film imply Tessio's death, but Mark Winegardner's sequel novel ""The Godfather Returns"" explains that he is executed with a gunshot at point blank range by his enforcer Nick Geraci. In this novel, Geraci is chosen and intended to succeed him as ""capo"", but in the original novel, Al Neri takes over the old Tessio ""regime."" In the video game adaptation, Tessio is the main hit"
"deviation of the film from the novel was that the latter had a more upbeat ending than the film in which Kay Corleone accepts Michael's decision to take over his father's business. The film ends with Kay's realization of Michael's ruthlessness, a theme that would develop in the second and third films, which are largely not based on the original novel. Vito Corleone's backstory appeared in the second film, with his character performed by Robert De Niro. The video game company Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of ""The Godfather"" film on March 21, 2006. The player assumes the"
"on the Pacino-Brando garden scene. Despite finishing the third draft, some scenes in the film were still not written yet and were written during production. The Italian-American Civil Rights League wanted all uses of the words ""mafia"" and ""Cosa Nostra"" to be removed from the script, in addition to feeling that the film emphasized stereotypes about Italian-Americans. The league also requested that all the money earned from the premiere be donated to the league's fund to build a new hospital. Coppola claimed that Puzo's screenplay only contained two instances of the word ""mafia"" being used, while ""Cosa Nostra"" was not"
"nomination, for ""Sayonara."" Brando's performance as Vito Corleone, the ""Don,"" in ""The Godfather"" (1972), Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 best-selling novel of the same name, was a career turning point, putting him back in the Top Ten and winning him his second Best Actor Oscar. Paramount production chief Robert Evans, who had given Puzo an advance to write ""The Godfather"" so that Paramount would own the film rights, hired Coppola after many major directors had turned the film down. Evans wanted an Italian-American director who could provide the film with cultural authenticity. Coppola also came cheap. Evans"
"Picture. Along with ""The Lord of the Rings"", ""The Godfather Trilogy"" shares the distinction that all of its installments were nominated for Best Picture. The video game based on the film was released in April 2009 by Electronic Arts. The Godfather Part II The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Partially based on Puzo's 1969 novel ""The Godfather"", the film is both sequel and prequel to ""The Godfather"", presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958"
"did not apologize after sufficient time given. Wenzel stated that his reputation was tarnished and he was vilified as a subject of political opportunism during Nenshi and his allied counselor's platform campaigning. Wenzel stated that his comments in the video were taken out of context and manipulated by Nenshi to promote an agenda. Wenzel also complained of Nenshi tentatively comparing him to 'Godfather', as a reference to the titular character of Mario Puzo's novel and screenplay ""The Godfather"". Nenshi in an interview with David Gray, host of CBC Radio's ""Calgary Eyeopener"", described the meeting as scene from the film ""The"
"Coppola's film ""The Godfather"". In the novel, Vito Andolini emigrates from the village of Corleone. In the cinematic release of ""The Godfather, Part II"", young Vito, shy and unable to speak English, cannot respond when asked for his proper name, and is given the last surname Corleone by an immigration official at Ellis Island. Throughout the film series, various members of the Corleone family visit the town. In the films, the towns of Savoca and Forza d'Agrò were used as locations for those scenes set in Corleone. Michael Corleone is played by Al Pacino, whose real-life maternal grandparents were Corleonese."
"able to sign on screenwriter Mario Puzo to pen the first draft during the summer of 1972. Puzo, fresh from the success of his novel and film, ""The Godfather"", delivered the draft script in August. Much like his ""The Godfather"" films, the characters and situations in his ""Earthquake"" script were intricate, and showed a similar attention to detail. However, Puzo's detailed script necessitated a much larger production budget (as the action and characters were spread over a vast geographical area in Los Angeles), and Universal was faced with either cutting the script down, or increasing the film's projected budget. Puzo's"
"who was heroically killed during the attack. Karen recognizes Prewitt's name, but says nothing. Hollywood legend has it that Frank Sinatra got the role in the film by means of his alleged Mafia connections, and it was the basis for a similar subplot in ""The Godfather"". However, that has been dismissed on several occasions by the cast and crew of the film. Director Fred Zinnemann commented that ""the legend about a horse's head having been cut off is pure invention, a poetic license on the part of Mario Puzo, who wrote ""The Godfather"""". One explanation of Sinatra's casting is that"
"the end of Puzo's ""The Godfather"". It covers the years 1955 to 1962, as well as providing significant backstory for Michael Corleone's character prior to the events of the first novel. The events of the film ""The Godfather Part II"" all take place within the time frame of this novel, but are only mentioned in the background. The novel contains an appendix that attempts to correlate the events of the novels with the events of the films. ""The Godfather's Revenge"" covers the years 1963 to 1964. Continuing Puzo's habit, as seen in ""The Godfather"", of featuring characters who are close"
"found Puzo's novel sleazy and sensationalist, describing it as ""pretty cheap stuff"". At the time Coppola's studio, American Zoetrope, owed over $400,000 to Warner Bros. for budget overruns with the film ""THX 1138"" and when coupled with his poor financial standing, along with advice from friends and family, Coppola reversed his initial decision and took the job. Coppola was officially announced as director of the film on September 28, 1970. Paramount had offered twelve other directors the job with ""The Godfather"" before Coppola agreed. Coppola agreed to receive $125,000 and six percent of the gross rentals. Before ""The Godfather"" was"
"The Fortunate Pilgrim The Fortunate Pilgrim is a 1965 novel by Mario Puzo. Until his dying day, Mario Puzo considered the novel his finest, most poetic, and literary work. In one of his last interviews he stated that he was saddened by the fact that ""The Godfather"", a fiction he never liked, outshone the novel of his mother's honest immigrant struggle for respectability in America and her courage and filial love, as portrayed in ""The Fortunate Pilgrim"", 1965. ""The Fortunate Pilgrim"" is the real birthplace of ""The Godfather"". As Puzo says, the book's hero, Lucia Santa, is based on his"
"The Godfather Part II The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Partially based on Puzo's 1969 novel ""The Godfather"", the film is both sequel and prequel to ""The Godfather"", presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone (Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone crime family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the prequel covers the journey of his father, Vito Corleone (De Niro), from"
"artist, one usually working outside his / her expected field. Previous guest designers include Gus Van Sant, Tom Waits, Laurie Anderson, Marjane Satrapi, Guillermo del Toro, David Bowie, David Byrne, and Dennis Hopper. Coppola serves as founding editor and publisher of ""All-Story"". Coppola stated that ""The Godfather Part IV"" was never made as Mario Puzo died before they had a chance to write the film. Andy García has since claimed the film's script was nearly produced. Coppola was the jury president at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival and he also took part as a special guest at the 46th International"
"been released to supplement the film series. The releases include: ""The Godfather"", ""The Godfather: The Game"" and ""The Godfather II"". The Godfather (film series) The Godfather is an American film series that consists of three crime drama films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The series follows the trials of the Corleone family, Italian Americans whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in"
"last major American motion picture to be filmed in Technicolor. George Lucas commented on the film after its five-hour-long preview, telling Coppola: ""You have two films. Take one away, it doesn't work"", referring to the movie's portrayal of two parallel storylines; one of a young Vito Corleone and the other of his son Michael. In the director's commentary on the DVD edition of the film (released in 2002), Coppola states that this film was the first major motion picture to use ""Part II"" in its title. Paramount was initially opposed to his decision to name the movie ""The Godfather Part"
"and Vito's first meeting with Hyman Roth. According to Coppola, Puzo had composed a rough draft alternating between Vincent's reign as boss and the ""Happy Years"" of 1926–1939; passages from the original novel not previously incorporated into the movie storylines. Leonardo DiCaprio, Luis Guzmán, Ray Liotta, and García himself all expressed interest in the film. However, this project has lain dormant since Puzo's death in 1999. Vincent Corleone Vincent Santino Corleone (né Mancini) is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film ""The Godfather Part III"", in which he is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy"