Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola and “The Godfather”

Francis Ford Coppola has written a new introduction for the 50th anniversary edition of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and Entertainment Weekly has posted it.

The new intro is worth a read for fans of the book or movie.  Here are a few tidbits:

• Coppola didn’t want to direct The Godfather until his second reading of the novel.
• Most of Don Corleone’s most memorable lines were really spoken by Puzo’s mother!
• Puzo advised Coppola to never associate with real gangsters! (Which leads to an interesting “encounter” with John Gotti.)
• Puzo didn’t like the idea of Michael having Fredo killed.
• It was Talia Shire (Adrian in Rocky!) who came up with the idea of Michael’s wife having a secret abortion and then telling him.
• Both Coppola and Puzo wanted the third film to be called The Death of Michael Corleone.

 Entertainment Weekly’s post is worth a read and so is Puzo’s novel!