By admin Al Pacino almost got fired while filming The Godfather.
From the beginning, the studio did not want Pacino for the role of the son of mob boss Michael Corleone, preferring Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford or Warren Beatty.
But Pacino had one thing in his favor – director Francis Ford Coppola was on his side.
Pacino details his time working on “The Godfather” in his memoir “Sonny Boy.” Getty Images for Turner Fortunately for Pacino, director Francis Ford Coppola (center) wanted the actor for the role. Courtesy of the Everett Collection
However, soon after filming began, problems immediately arose.
Filming lasted about a week and a half, and word spread that Paramount was not happy with Pacino’s performance, as the actor recalled in his memoir “Sonny Boy.”
Francis Ford Coppola summoned Pacino to a meeting at a Lincoln Center restaurant and dropped a bombshell.
The studios wanted Warren Beatty, Ryan O’Neal or Robert Redford. Both the studio and Coppola were pleased with Pacino’s work in the first week of shooting.
“You know how much you mean to me,” said the director, “how much faith I had in you. Well, you won’t cut it.
The next day, Coppola showed the footage to Pacino, and the actor had to admit that “there was nothing spectacular here.”
The “Serpico” star explains that he purposely downplayed Michael.
There are rumors that Pacino is about to be fired. Courtesy of the Everett Collection
“I thought this guy was going to appear out of nowhere,” he writes. “That was the power of that characterization. That was the only way it could work: this person showing up, discovering his abilities and potential.
Fortunately for Pacino, Coppola started filming this iconic photo scene “to give Hollywood doubters an incentive to believe in me and keep me in the frame.”
The “Serpico” star admits he was disappointed when he watched the early footage. Courtesy of the Everett Collection Paramount Studios did not want Pacino to be cast as Michael Corleone. Courtesy of the Everett Collection
It’s unclear whether Coppola did this for Pacino’s benefit, but it certainly worked.
The “Scarface” star writes that he, Al Lettieri, who played heroin dealer Virgil Sollozzo, and Sterling Hayden, who played crooked cop Captain McCluskey, spent 15 hours filming the scene in which Michael shoots them both at point-blank range .
Pacino notes that both Lettieri and Hayden were “precious to me”.
Coppola began filming the restaurant shooting scene. Courtesy of the Everett Collection The shoots from this scene saved Pacino’s job. Courtesy of the Everett Collection Pacino and Keaton reunited years after making “The Godfather.” Courtesy of the Everett Collection
“They knew I was going through a difficult time, feeling like I had the world on my shoulders, knowing that the ax could fall on me any day… Sterling and Al Lettieri helped me keep my morale up; they set one and were role models for me.”
“Because of the scene I just did, they kept me in the movie,” he added.
Pacino attended the premiere in Times Square with his then-girlfriend Jill Clayburgh, his grandmother, aunt and cousin.
Pacino attended the film’s premiere with his then-girlfriend Jill Clayburgh. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
“Then we sat down in our seats, but I didn’t watch the movie,” he writes. “I didn’t want to see the finished product. As soon as the light went out, I left.”
He left the theater and went to a bar around the corner with producer Al Ruddy and several people who worked on the film and got ready to have a “drink”. It was the perfect word – sous – when you can’t drink anymore but you keep drinking anyway.
Pacino admits that he saw his beloved classic only in 2022, when a show was held to celebrate its 50th anniversary.