Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1474575
T H E O F F E R | P E R S P E C T I V E 7 1 Francis Coppola's most recent picture had failed; additionally, American Zoetrope owed Warner ros. . In directing the proect that so many top directors had passed on, he saw an opportunity to make a film within the studio system that he could believe in, that would get him out of debt and out of director ail—if he could figure out how to pull it off. oe Colombo, boss of one of the five crime families of NYC, needed people to stop talking about the Mafia—especially the NPD and the FI. In an assertive move, he became involved with the Italianmerican Civil Rights League, using it to promote a positive image of the I community. He hated and publicly railed against Puzo's book when it became a runaway bestseller and made it his mission to ensure that the movie would never get made. Upstart Al Ruddy had brazenly managed to trade a job he hated at The Rand Corporation for one producing television by pitching CBS the idea for Hogan's Heroes. But Ruddy wanted more than anything to make movies. Tasked by Evans with producing what Paramount considered a modestly priced gamble, it was Al who had to wrangle Francis' creative appetite—while still defending the director's choices—and go up against Evans and Bluhdorn to get what the project needed. He would shortly find himself in conflict with oe Colombo. life spent immersed in film has given me a keen appreciation for the mad tales behind movies. The war stories we hear from our elders in the business have purpose: Beyond their undeniable entertainment value, they're a tribal form of sharing experience and knowledge. Few movies come wrapped in as much lore and myth as The Godfather. It's the dividing point in the before and since' of modern American cinema, and the story of its dicult birth has generated much discussion about (and argument over) responsibility, input, stewardship, alliances and enmities. The concepts of 'print the legend' and 'your view, mine and the truth' both figure largely in the story's telling by those involved. When initially approached to design The Offer, it wasn't without hesitation that I considered the project, having enormous respect and admiration for all the filmmakers involved in The Godfather. I was however, intrigued…I'd read a good bit about A. THE POLO LOUNGE. BUILT SET, PARAMOUNT STAGE 15. AS THE LOOK OF THE RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE YEARS, I LANDED ON A PASTICHE OF ITS MOST DRAMATIC ELEMENTS FROM THE '70S. IMAGE COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT+. B. THE POLO LOUNGE.IN PROGRESS. B