Co-Starring Jake Gyllenhaal
Oscar Isaac will play film director Francis Ford Coppola in a film titled Francis And The Godfather, which will co-star Jake Gyllenhaal.
Oscar-winner Barry Levinson is set to direct the upcoming drama about the “legendary and wild battles” behind the making of the 1972 Oscar-winning crime drama The Godfather. Gyllenhaal has been cast as film producer Robert Evans.
The movie will explore the making of the iconic mafia drama and how Coppola, who was only 31 at the time, persuaded Evans and Paramount Pictures to allow him to shoot in New York, even though Mario Puzo’s original book was based in Kansas City, which made the production significantly more expensive.
Francis And The Godfather is based on a Black List script written by Andrew Farotte, which was redeveloped by Levinson. Speaking about the difficulties back in the 70s, and the development of The Godfather, Levinson said –
“Out of the madness of production, and against all odds, a classic film happened,”
Deadline has offered some details about the project –
“Coppola was 31 at the time, determined to convince Evans and the studio to allow him to film expensively in New York, set in the time period of a novel which would become a big bestseller. This after the original Mario Puzo script was set in contemporary Kansas City. Among the other debates was the idea to gamble on Marlon Brando, an eclectic character who hadn’t been in a hit film in years, to play mob family patriarch Don Corleone (for which he would win the Best Actor prize), and also Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, a character who slowly evolved from a desire to get far away from the family business to taking it over when it was clear his father would be murdered even after a bungled assassination attempt. Evans, who took the top job after a career as an actor, had pressures all his own, as the studio was in danger of closing up shop. There was also the uneasy discussions with real mobsters who were none too pleased to have their dirty business to be aired in a major studio film,”
Coppola had this to say about the project –
“Any move that Barry Levinson makes about anything, will be interesting and worthwhile!”
Coppola recently announced that he is working on a new cut of The Godfather: Part III, which is reportedly titled Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone, as he wanted a better ending to the trilogy.
Keep checking back with LMO for more updates on Francis And The Godfather.
