2. The Godfather
Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
Based on the novel by Mario Puzo
About the writing of the film:
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Peter Bart at Paramount took an option on Mario Puzo’s The Godfather before it was published, when
it was still only a twenty-page outline. —Peter Cowie, Coppola: A Biography
Puzo’s book was a bestseller, selling 10 million copies.
“In fact, the only person who knew less about the Mafia than Coppola was Mario Puzo, the rotund,
kind-spirited novelist. ‘Everything I know about “the boys” I learned from books,’ he told me at our first
meeting.”—Peter Bart, quoted in Coppola: A Biography by Peter Cowie
Some of the characters in The Godfather were based on the “Five Families” of New York crime.
While collaborating on the original screenplay, Coppola wrote “Clemenza browns some sausage.”
Puzo noted in the margin, “Clemenza fries some sausage. —(Gangsters don't brown).” ——Peter
Cowie, Coppola: A Biography
The presence of oranges in all three Godfather movies indicates that a death or a close call will soon
happen. The Senator is framed for murder after playing with oranges at the Corleone house, and
Johnny Ola brings an orange into Michael's office before the attempt on Michael's life. Fanucci eats
an orange just before he is gunned down and Michael is eating an orange (it looks like an apple, but it
is an orange) while plotting to kill Roth. Plus, Marlon Brando as Vito puts an orange peel in his mouth
prior to his death. ——Peter Cowie, Coppola: A Biography
The Godfather was the highest grossing film in history at the time it was released. It is still one of the
highest grossing films in history.
On the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
About the writers:
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Mario Puzo was both a novelist and a screenwriter.
Puzo was broke when he signed a contract with Random House for his novel The Godfather.
Screenwriting awards/nominations for Puzo: three Writers Guild Award nominations, with two wins,
for The Godfather and The Godfather Part II; three Golden Globe nominations, with one win, for The
Godfather; two Academy Award nominations and wins, for The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.
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Son of composer Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola won the Samuel Goldwyn Award for best
screenplay for Pilma, Pilma, when he was a student at UCLA. When he won the award, he was hired
to write the screenplay for Reflections in a Golden Eye.
While still a student at UCLA, he began his career working as an assistant to Roger Corman.
A childhood bout with polio kept him bedridden for a year.
Daughter Sofia Coppola is also a member of the WGA and won a Writers Guild Award and an
Academy Award for original screenplay for Lost in Translation in 2004.
Screenwriting awards/nominations for Coppola: six Writers Guild Awards nominations, with three
wins, for The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and Patton; five Academy Award nominations for
screenplay, with three wins for The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and Patton; four Golden Globes
nominations, with one win, for The Godfather.
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