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.
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.
Just Making Stuff Up
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.
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.
Switching Roles
Coppola wanted Pacino so badly, he forced Paramount Pictures to pull some strings and get Pacino out of his previous job (a role in the film "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight"). Robert De Niro replaced Pacino on the film – De Niro was originally going to be Paulie in "The Godfather".
This ended up working out well for everyone; Al Pacino killed as Michael Corleone, and Robert De Niro went on to play young Vito Corleone in "The Godfather II". This ended up being his big breakout role and even earning him an Oscar.