Luca Brasi Information
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The nerve! Did you know Lenny Montana, who played Luca Brasi, was a total nervous wreck working with Oscar-winning icon Marlon Brando and got tongue-tied? While shooting his first take with Marlon, the actor was so rattled, he was flubbing his lines. And that’s the take that made it onto Francis Ford Coppola’s final cut! Why? The mafia classic’s director was impressed by the genuine nervousness of Lenny Montana. Of note, scenes of Luca practicing his iconic speech at the wedding were later added to the film. Interestingly enough, Montana was not originally cast as Luca Brasi. Francis Ford Coppola wanted to cast Timothy Carey, who turned down the role to film a television pilot.
Dark Times on Set
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Sounds shady! Paramount Pictures thought early footage of the film was much too dark for viewers and told the director to lighten up, literally! Studio suits didn’t know the flick’s famous cinematographer, the late Gordon Willis, was nicknamed “The Prince of Darkness.” Coppola and Willis stayed firm, insisting the dimly lit sets reflected “the shadiness” of the Corleone fam’s criminal dealings. Willis’ groundbreaking work “defined the cinematic look of the 1970s,” explains a critic, adding his techniques “put the decade’s moral ambiguities into stark relief.” However, the relationship between Willis and Coppola was intense, and they would often have words with each other. Willis was hard on the actors because should they miss their marks, they would be filmed in total darkness due to the low lighting scheme. Coppola tried to protect the actors from Willis’ stern demands and wanted the actors to move freely.
Brando’s Furry Friend
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Much of Marlon Brando’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Don Corleone was improvised. Even from his initial audition for The Godfather, Brando was already doing things that only Marlon Brando would do — even going so far as to stuff his cheeks with cotton wool to make Don Corleone “look like a bulldog.” For the actual filming of the movie, a dentist crafted a mouthpiece for Brando to wear that delivered the same effect. Remember the cat that Don Corleone pets in the opening scene? That wasn’t in the script, either. Coppola found a stray cat while on the Paramount Lot and added it to the scene! The cat was so content in Brando’s arms that its purring muffled some of Brando’s lines, and many of those lines had to be later looped in.
Jokes on Set
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Brando was known to be quite the prankster, and he didn’t disappoint while filming The Godfather. During a scene where Vito Corleone returns home from the hospital and people have to carry him up the stairs, Brando puts weights under his body on the bed to make it harder to lift him. But it wasn’t all fun and games on the set, as Brando’s darker side revealed itself. In a scene with Al Martino’s character Johnny Fontane, Marlon Brando improvised a smack to Martino’s face. Martino’s confused reaction to the smack was real.
An Improvising Masterclass
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Brando wasn’t the only one improvising on set. Every actor in the Corleone family had to bust out their improvisational acting chops. Francis Ford Coppola held improvisational rehearsals in which the Corleone family actors had to sit down and have a family dinner together. The actors were not allowed to break character, and this helped establish the family roles that ended up on screen. Once filming began, James Caan took it upon himself to add his flare to a scene when he improvised by throwing an FBI photographer’s camera to the ground and subsequently throwing money at the man’s feet.
Listen to Coppola
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Francis Ford Coppola was so dead set on his vision for The Godfather that it almost got him fired. Before his eventual Academy Award Nomination for Best Director, there was friction between Coppola and Paramount Pictures — so much so, that Paramount frequently tried to replace him specifically with Elia Kazan. Paramount worried about Coppola’s inability to stay on schedule, accrue unnecessary expenses, and what they deemed production and casting errors. The joke ended up being on Paramount, when Coppola finished the film ahead of schedule and under budget, and netted 3 Academy Awards and 8 Nominations.
The Godfather Minus Pacino?
moviefan2/moviestillsdb
Al Pacino was almost fired from The Godfather. In the first few weeks of filming, Paramount studio heads viewed the dailies from The Godfather production and supposedly did not like what they were seeing from Pacino’s performance. This led Francis Ford Coppola to ask Pacino to take a look at the dailies himself. Pacino, to his credit, did not sway one bit from his vision. To save Pacino from a likely fire, Coppola moved up the filming schedule of the scene where Michael shoots Sollozzo. Pacino’s performance was so powerful that it convinced Paramount to back off and leave Pacino in the leading role.
A Family Affair
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Francis was not the only Coppola in the world of The Godfather. Far from it! Initially reluctant to let his sister, Talia Shire, audition for the role of Connie because he thought she was too pretty and also didn’t want to be accused of nepotism, he eventually caved when Mario Puzo himself requested an audition from Shire. Additionally, Francis’ mother, Italia Coppola, can be seen as an extra in the restaurant meeting. His father, Carmine Coppola, is the piano player in the Mattress sequence. His two sons Gian-Carlo and Roman can be seen as extras when Sonny beats up Carlo, and his daughter, Sofia, is the baby in the baptism.
Working With De Niro
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Robert De Niro was almost in the first Godfather movie. Before winning an Oscar for his portrayal of Don Corleone in The Godfather Part II, De Niro campaigned hard to get a spot in the mob movie. First, he auditioned for both the parts of Michael and Sonny Corleone. He then was almost cast as Carlo, before being offered the role of Paulie Gatto. It appeared as if De Niro was all set to be in The Godfather until De Niro was offered Pacino’s former part in Gang. Coppola gave his blessing for De Niro to back out of the part. This decision paved the way for De Niro to return to a leading role in The Godfather Part II… the role that would make his career.
Having Some Fun
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Guns, cannoli, and… backsides? There was no shortage of on-set mooning during The Godfather production. It all started when James Caan and Robert Duvall decided to break the tension during one of the initial rehearsals, mooning Marlon Brando and Francis Ford Coppola. Caan told TIME Magazine, “My best moon was on Second Avenue. [Robert] Duvall and I were in one car and Brando was in another, so we drove up beside him and I pulled down my pants and stuck my [backside] out the window. Brando fell in the car with laughter.” The “moon” for the ages later came when Brando and Duvall showed their behinds to four hundred cast and crew members during the shooting of the wedding scene!
