Coppola wasn’t a big fan of the original script for “The Godfather”. It turns out that Puzo doesn’t actually speak Italian – which most people would realize is a pretty big blockage when writing a book and screenplay that is almost entirely made up of Italians and their culture.
But Puzo forged ahead, doing his best to create phrases that meant what he wanted – and thanks to the popularity of the films, they’ve entered the American lexicon. “Don” now means boss, but it originally means something more like “Uncle,” somewhat similar to Japanese honorifics for an older male.
A Pair of Boycotts
It's no surprise that "The Godfather" raked in the awards. It's still seen as one of the best movies of all time, and when award season rolled around, it won plenty of Oscars.
However, the movie's two biggest stars, Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, both boycotted the Academy Awards that year for different reasons. Brando boycotted in order to protest Hollywood's racist depictions of Native Americans. Pacino's reason was a bit more selfish: he thought that, since he had more screen time than Brando, he should be up for Best Actor, instead of Best Supporting Actor. He didn't win anyway.
What Was to Be
There are tons of ways "The Godfather" could have turned out differently. For one, Mario Puzo (who wrote both the book it was based on and the screenplay), at first wanted famous spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone to direct. However, Leone wasn't interested in glorifying the Mafia.
The script's first draft was also as a low-budget gangster film instead of a high-budget mob epic, but when Coppola joined the project, he rejected the script and guided the movie toward a huge, sprawling, period piece. Actors, directors, and movie aficionados everywhere may never stop thanking him.
The Lost Minutes of Sonny
The late, great James Caan would have stolen the show as the emotional and violent Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather", had he not been right by acting titans like Pacino and Brando.
Audiences loved the character, and Caan knew he had done well. This prompted an outburst at the premiere of the film when he found out a good forty-five minutes of his character had been cut out. It severely limited the depth of the character, and Caan got into an argument with producer Robert Evans. While it wasn't as violent as Sonny is in the film, some fiery language got tossed around.
The Man He Wanted
One of the biggest casting decisions for the film was that of Michael Corleone. Actors such as Martin Sheen and Jack Nicholson were all considered, but Coppola found them too WASP-y to play the Italian Michael. He pushed hard for his preferred actor, Al Pacino, and eventually got his way.
This was to the chagrin of producer Robert Evas who referred to Pacino as “The Midget.” Boy, this Evans character certainly wasn't making any friends. Of course, Evans was probably plenty pleased with the finished project and Pacino's performance. Eat your worse, Evans.