HBO Developing Film About the Making of The Godfather, Francis and The Godfather
45 years after it was made, The Godfather is rightly hailed as one of the greatest movies ever made and now HBO are to bring to life the difficult, turbulent, story of how it was made.
Variety reports that HBO is developing Francis and The Godfather as an original film, telling the story about the making of the classic movie. Based on a 2015’s Black List script from writer Andrew Farotte (Dwelling), and is set to be produced by Mike Marcus (The Ward), Doug Mankoff (Nebraska), and Andrew Spaulding (The Young Messiah). Paul Bart, the executive who first optioned The Godfather for Paramount, will serve as a consultant on the project.
The film would follow how Coppola came to the project, the casting of Pacino and Brando, and the behind-the-scenes deal making with New York’s mob.
As the story goes, Coppola famously fought with producer Robert Evans and Paramount to maintain control over his and writer Mario Puzo’s vision. Manifesting itself as on and off set turmoil, Coppola knock heads with the studio, all the while dealing with pressure from Mafia-affiliated groups who had a vested interest in shutting production down.
The fact that The Godfather got made and was so successful is something of a minor miracle.
There’s no one in place to star or direct the project yet or when we’ll see the final piece but HBO have certainly made us an offer we can’t refuse.
