1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: It's July of nineteen seventy one. A car rolls down 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: the ancient roads outside of the sprawling city of Palermo. 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: Inside the car are a local driver and three American filmmakers. 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: The Godfather has arrived in Sicily. Francis Ford Coppola, his 5 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: production designer Dean Tavalias, and producer Gray Frederickson are scouting 6 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 1: locations near Corleone, the town whose name Mario Puzo appropriated 7 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: for his American mafia family. 8 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 2: Dean Tavalius takes his camera out of his bag and 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 2: starts taking photos from the back window of the car. 10 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 2: The driver goes berserk. No camera, no photos, someone will see, 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 2: he says. 12 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: On this summer's day in nineteen seventy one, many mobsters 13 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: still live here, which causes the furor over Tavalerus's. 14 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 2: Tensions are high. A judge was recently assassinated, and the 15 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 2: authorities think the culprit is hiding out in Corleone. 16 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: But Corleone is too urban, dirty and crowded to capture 17 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: Coppola's vision. The group travels on. They finally reached the 18 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: tiny villages in the hills, just a few miles away 19 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 1: from the coastal resort town of Taramina. Here is Coppola's 20 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: land of ghosts, where Michael comes to live in exile. 21 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 2: I'm Mark Seal and I'm Nathan King, and this. 22 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 1: Is Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli. 23 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: In today's episode, we're making our way from the Sicilian 24 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 2: light to the darkness of Hollywood editing studios and the 25 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 2: tumultuous season of post production. 26 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: From drug induced obsession to compulsive defiance. The war behind 27 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: the making of The Godfather rages on. 28 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 2: So we escaped grim New York for the hot, bright 29 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 2: light of Sicily in July of nineteen seventy one. 30 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: Yes, and it comes as a relief for Coppola and 31 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: our beleaguered crew. 32 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 2: The slim down cast and crew went to Sicily for 33 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 2: two weeks, which was yet another fight that Copla had 34 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 2: with the studio. 35 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: The studio brass, of course, thought it would be a 36 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: lot simpler and a lot less expensive to shoot on 37 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,959 Speaker 1: the back lot of the studio than to travel all 38 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: the way to Sicily with a crew and shoot there. 39 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 2: Can you imagine how different that would have looked? 40 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it would have made a big difference. 41 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: I mean, you can feel these scenes when Michael's walking 42 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: through these back roads of Sicily with his bodyguards, and 43 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: then he meets Apollonia by chance and is hit by 44 00:02:47,520 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: what he calls the thunderbolt. Even Gordon Willis the fronts 45 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: of darkness embraced the Sicilian light. Here he is in 46 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: a two thousand and two interview on NPR. 47 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 3: So I figured at that point Sicily should look, you know, 48 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 3: mythical and sonny and kind of storybook feeling, So that 49 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 3: there was a juxtaposition between these two places, New York 50 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 3: and Sicily. And there was a counterpoint when I went 51 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 3: back and forth. 52 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 2: Willis and Coppola were finally getting a long once they 53 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 2: got to Sicily. Why the sudden congeniality. Were they just 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 2: happy to be in Italy? 55 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: Well, I think the pressure was a little turned down. 56 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: Filming was almost over, and crucially, Jack Ballard was an 57 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: ocean away, no longer breathing down their necks. 58 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 2: If Jack Ballard has gone, how is Robert Evans keeping 59 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 2: tabs on filming? 60 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: Well, he's really not. Jack Ballard had this idea that 61 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: dailies could be overnighted to him every day, but that 62 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: didn't really work out. 63 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 2: I have a feeling they got lost in the mail. 64 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, it wasn't the best plan. Listen to this memo. 65 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: Twa flight eight forty five leaving Rome two pm every 66 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: day and arrives in Los Angeles one h five am 67 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: the next day. This means Monday's dailies would be sent 68 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: on Tuesday, arrived Hollywood Wednesday running Beverly Hills the same day, 69 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: and we in turn would ship Thursday morning. 70 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 2: Well, no wonder Copola was happy. By the time he 71 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 2: gets notes on the first day of shooting, four days 72 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 2: have gone by. 73 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, And it didn't work out the way Jack 74 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: Ballard wanted. According to Al Ruddy, the shooting in Sicily 75 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: just went smoothly. They got in, did their work, and 76 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: got out with very little fanfare. 77 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 2: So tell me about casting the Sicilians. I know the 78 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 2: casting of Apollonia was so important to Copola. 79 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: It was and Coppola gave an interview in two thousand 80 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: and one that we've mentioned before where he takes us 81 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: through his prompt book. I'm in the Sicilian section. 82 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 4: I see it says the corps to show how Michael 83 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 4: meets and falls in love with Apollonia and demonstrate that 84 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 4: he intends to marry her, and indicate Fabrizio's desire to 85 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 4: go to America. 86 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: And even at this stage of early planning, Coppola knew 87 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: that Apollonia had to be a true beauty. 88 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,479 Speaker 4: Five pitfalls If Apollonia doesn't make your heart stop just 89 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 4: to look at her. 90 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 2: How did Coppola end up finding the woman who would 91 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 2: play Apollonia, Semonetta Stephanelli. 92 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: Well, there were a list of twenty two front runners. 93 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: They were looking at really more well known young Italian actresses, 94 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: but ultimately they still weren't quite there with the casting 95 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: of Apollonia, and a casting director sent Coppola a photo 96 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: and he said, let's meet her, and so he met 97 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: her for an audition, and she apparently was perfect. 98 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 2: And for such a short lived character, she delivers an 99 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 2: incredible performance and her and Pacino have an incredible chemistry 100 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 2: as well. 101 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: Yes, and she spoke no English, but she later said 102 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: in an interview that she could tell Cino wanted to 103 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: talk to her, but they mostly spoke with their eyes. 104 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 2: And Sicily was a bit of a homecoming for Pacino, 105 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 2: right his grandparents were from there. 106 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: I phenom mistaken, yes, and I think he felt so 107 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: at home there, freed up from the pressures that he 108 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: had in New York where he felt like he was 109 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: going to be fired, and in Sicily he knew the 110 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: role was his and he was able to relax a 111 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: little bit. You know, I was able to interview Pacino 112 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: by email for the book, and I can read you 113 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: a bit of what he said about filming in Sicily, 114 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: and I quote the Sicilian people embraced us. I loved 115 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: their honesty, openness and hospitality. I had not become well known, 116 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: so I had the luxury of just being another person. 117 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,279 Speaker 2: And that very much mirrors his character in the movie Michael, 118 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 2: who sort of escapes New York and lives in relative 119 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 2: anonymity in Sicily. My name is Michael Kohli. 120 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 5: Sama, Miguel Gorlone. There are people who pay a lot 121 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 5: of money for that information so that a better kids think. 122 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: But then your daughter would. 123 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 6: Lose a father a lot of our given that. 124 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 5: A bombas it, instead of gaining a husband. 125 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: And I suppose I think Paccino felt freed up from 126 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: the pressures that he had in New York, where he 127 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: felt like he was going to be fired, and in 128 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: Sicily he knew the role was his and he was 129 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: able to relax a little bit. And you can kind 130 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: of see it, you know, you see him in the villages, 131 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: drinking at that bar, meeting Apollonia's father and walking down 132 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: those ancient roads. I mean, you feel he's more relaxed. 133 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 2: So filming in Sicily ends with the literal bang of 134 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 2: Apollonia's untimely death. 135 00:07:54,280 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: The day as Simonetta Stephanelli so simply put it in 136 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: that interview. I met him, I married him, I. 137 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 2: Died when it came time to leave Sicily, the production 138 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 2: moves back to Los Angeles, where the mood is quite different. 139 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: Now the fight over post production begins. 140 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 2: But for this fight, Coppola has a slightly different Robert 141 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 2: Evans to contend with. 142 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: That's right, during the height of filming, when Evans was 143 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: watching dailies and absolutely obsessed with the movie, he injured 144 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: his back supposedly playing tennis. Here's what his then wife 145 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: Alan McGraw told me. 146 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 7: He played very good, but very un beautiful tennis and 147 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 7: he just, you know, it's just a freak thing. He 148 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 7: just swung back and tripped and torqued his back severely. 149 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: He was in immense pain, completely drugged up with painkillers 150 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: and cocaine and literally being wheeled between the paramount editing 151 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: rooms in West Hollywood on a gurney. Here's Peter Bart 152 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: but he was. 153 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 5: In such terrible shape that he was physically a myth, 154 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 5: and he looked like a ghost. 155 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 2: I feel like this whole episode goes to show how 156 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 2: dedicated Evans was. Nothing was going to stop him from 157 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 2: leaving his mark on the film. 158 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: Certainly not. But as he wrote in his memoir several 159 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: years later, the drugs really took a toll on him. 160 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 2: So Evans is running his empire from mcgurney. Where's Copola? 161 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: Copola basically recuses himself back to San Francisco to take 162 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 1: a first pass of the edit. He and his wife 163 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: Eleanor had just bought a huge Victorian mansion in San 164 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood. 165 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 2: That's a step up from the borrowed apartment in New York. 166 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: It was a step up, but according to Eleanor, these 167 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: previous owners had a lot of and so they woke 168 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: up in the middle of the night scratching, and they 169 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: had been bitten by fleas. 170 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 2: But at least he's not in La Copyla had insisted 171 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,680 Speaker 2: from the beginning that the Godfather was not and should 172 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 2: never be an La production. 173 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: I think it was a technicality. Coppola is in San Francisco, 174 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,319 Speaker 1: but Robert Evans' presence had followed him there. Coppola later 175 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: said that Evans threatened to take the edit away from 176 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: him if he delivered a movie longer than two hours 177 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: and fifteen minutes. 178 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 2: So where does he begin. 179 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: Well, Coppola hires two editors, Bill Reynolds and Peter Zenner, 180 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: and the trio start the editing process right in that 181 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: flea ridden Victorian home, where they screen almost ninety hours 182 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: of footage. It was so much to get through that 183 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: the two editors flipped a coin. Reynolds would take the 184 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: first half and Zenter the second, and somehow the three 185 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: of them got a cut together that was two hours 186 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 1: and fifty three minutes long. 187 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 2: Well, that's it. Copola loses the addit if Evans's rule 188 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 2: is to be. 189 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: Believed, Yes, in his characteristic defiance, Coppola delivers a cut 190 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,319 Speaker 1: that he knows it's too long. He showed it first 191 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: to his colleagues an American Zoo trope in a San 192 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 1: Francisco screening room, and then to the suits at Paramount 193 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:30,040 Speaker 1: at the Gulf and Western Building in New York. 194 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 2: How does Robert Evans make it to New York but 195 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 2: it's bad back. 196 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: I have no clue. 197 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 2: Maybe with the help of some drugs. 198 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: Maybe. 199 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 2: So what are the reactions to the screening? 200 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: Well, Coppola remembers the San Francisco reaction being just so so. 201 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: Walter Murrat remembered it being incredible, but the New York 202 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:54,439 Speaker 1: screening was a different story. Here's Peter bart And with. 203 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 5: The president in charge of Italy. The territory said that 204 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,319 Speaker 5: the picture would never play in Italy. He said, I do. 205 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 5: I'm not sure it's even worth advertising it overseas. Not 206 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 5: a good movie, so it was very negative at that point. 207 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:16,359 Speaker 1: Apparently Evans was in a feud with Paramounts new president 208 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: Frank Yablans, who were both buying for the approval of 209 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:22,120 Speaker 1: Charlie Bludorn. 210 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 5: Frank said, too long, won't play it often enough, and 211 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 5: he didn't like the picture that much. 212 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,559 Speaker 1: So word gets back to San Francisco. The Coppola has 213 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: to cut forty minutes from his masterpiece. Oh now he 214 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: gets worse. Not only does he have to cut forty minutes, 215 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: he has to take the new cut down to La 216 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,839 Speaker 1: to screen it in the poolhouse at Woodland for an 217 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: adult Robert Evans. 218 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,839 Speaker 2: And how does Evans feel about the new cut? 219 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: Robert Evans groans. He says the shorter version, which by 220 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: the way, is still two hours and fifteen minutes, feels 221 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: even longer. Here's Evans sparing no words about how he 222 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: felt in his memoir. 223 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 8: The picture stinks, friend has got it. The Untouchables is better. 224 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 8: You shot a great film. Where the fuck is it 225 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 8: in your kitchen with your spaghetti? It's sure ain't on 226 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 8: the screen. Where's the family? 227 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 6: The heart? 228 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 2: The feeling is that lift of the kitchen too. 229 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: He immediately calls New York and tells al Ruddy that 230 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: if they leave it at two point fifteen, then he's 231 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 1: walking and they can close the fucking studio. 232 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 8: Name me a studio head that tells the director to 233 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 8: make a picture longer, only enough like me would sounds 234 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 8: about right. 235 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,079 Speaker 1: The movie consumed him, and keep in mind he's still 236 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,559 Speaker 1: being rolled around on this gurney and insists that Coppola 237 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: stay in La so they can edit the movie together. 238 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 2: This guy can't escape. 239 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: No, you really can't. And to make it worse, Coppola 240 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: is strapped for cash at this time. He's waiting on 241 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: his next paycheck, so he's staying in James Conn's guest room. 242 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 2: And how long does it take? 243 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: About two weeks. But the facts are fuzzy, partially, I 244 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: think because Evan's later would recall it like something out 245 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: of a bad acid trip. Here's Evans again, reading from 246 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: his memoir. 247 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 8: I was feeling like a fucking cartoon character, having various 248 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 8: hands turned me over from one orthopedic bed to another, 249 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 8: from bedroom to home screening room to paramount screening rooms, 250 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 8: to bed on wheels, going from sound stage to sound stage. 251 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: He was completely consumed by the Godfather, and I think 252 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: he went a little nuts. 253 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 8: My priorities are so fucked up and nothing bothered me. 254 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 8: Nothing got in my way, including my health, my wife, 255 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 8: my kid, my finances. My obsession was the Godfather. 256 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 2: And how did that obsession show up in the edit? 257 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: Well? According to Evans, he made the radical decision to 258 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: make the film longer, and he painstaking the extended shots 259 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: and found new scenes, but. 260 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 2: Coppola wanted it longer from the beginning exactly. 261 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: I was able to communicate with Coppola over email when 262 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: I was writing the book, and I sent him a 263 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: list of questions. Next to the question what were Robert Evans' 264 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: contributions to the final edit of the film, he just 265 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: left a blank, So no contribution apparently, And it makes 266 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: sense that they have different recollections of this time. According 267 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: to Peter Bart, they weren't even speaking. They just spoke 268 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: through him. Here's what Peter told me. 269 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 5: Now, Bob feels that he found scenes that Francis had 270 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 5: left out and nuance, scenes had great nuance about character, 271 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 5: and restored those. I do not know who is right. 272 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 5: I suspect that A that Francis is correct, that b 273 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 5: that Bob also had a brilliant take on the picture 274 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 5: and did let scenes run long that had been cut 275 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 5: too abroughly. 276 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 2: And it wasn't just a behind the scenes There was 277 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 2: a public press war going on too. Can you tell 278 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 2: us a little bit about that. 279 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: Yes, the press caught win that the premiere was being 280 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: pushed from Christmas to March, which according to Evans, spells 281 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: disaster for a movie. 282 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 5: And it was exacerbated by Bob then foolishly confiding in 283 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 5: Joyce Habro the Calumnists that he had saved the movie. 284 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 5: Then he recut it and saved The. 285 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 2: Godfather that's a pretty brazen insult. Why do you think 286 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 2: he did this? It can't be good press that a 287 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 2: director and studio executive rewarring over the edit. 288 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: Well, it certainly drummed up excitement for the movie. But 289 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: according to Bart, Evans and Joyce Haber were friends and 290 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: it might not have been premeditated. 291 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 5: So in a moment of weakness, Bob says this, and 292 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 5: it gets in the paper in Francis. Rightly. As fragile 293 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 5: as their relationship had did, it became more fragile because 294 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 5: Fress's copeless opinion. Movie didn't need to be saved. Ninety 295 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,280 Speaker 5: percent could have been done by restoring the cut that 296 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 5: Ya Bons had seen and rechecked it. 297 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 2: Well, whatever happened, Evans and Copla must have done something right. 298 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:16,440 Speaker 1: Yep, and everybody wants credit right. Al Ruddy put a 299 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:19,959 Speaker 1: Hollywood spin on the famous quote a bad movie is 300 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: like an orphan, but a great movie has twenty eight fathers. 301 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 2: At the height of the post production battle, things came 302 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 2: to a head between Copola and Evans. With the film's 303 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,720 Speaker 2: iconic score. Tell us about this final battle mark. 304 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: Well, if you can believe it, this is a bigger 305 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 1: knockdown drag out fight than the editing. 306 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 2: Oh, I can believe it with these guys. 307 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: Apparently, while in Sicily, Coppola could hear the haunting score 308 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 1: of The Godfather in his head. He knew exactly what 309 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: he wanted, But the problem was that Evans knew exactly 310 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: what he wanted as well, and they were polar opposites. 311 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 2: In fact, Evans had already commissioned a composer to the score. 312 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: Yes and get ready for this. It was Henry Mancini, 313 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: who had done Breakfast at Tiffany's. 314 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 2: And Copola, on the other hand, felt that the film 315 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 2: needed something a little bit darker, and he wanted Nino Rota, 316 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 2: who was called the Italian Mozart. 317 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 1: Rota was an elusive Italian who had composed the score 318 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:33,879 Speaker 1: for Franco Zaffarelli's Romeo and Juliet. The only problem was 319 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 1: Nino Rota lived in rome and he wasn't easy to find. 320 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: His nephew had told me that he was like a phantom, 321 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:43,240 Speaker 1: you know, and he didn't want to be found. He 322 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: simply disappeared. 323 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 2: So how did Coppola find him? 324 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: So Coppola had to hunt down a phantom of sorts, right, 325 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: But he found a connection It was an Italian actress 326 00:18:55,440 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: and screenwriter Suso Checchi Diamico, who a meeting at Nino 327 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: Roto's apartment in Rome, where Coppola screened an early cut 328 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:06,959 Speaker 1: of the film. 329 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 2: Dar I ask how long it was? 330 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,400 Speaker 1: It was five hours. He showed him a five hour 331 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: cut of the movie. 332 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 2: Can you imagine? What did Roda think? 333 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: Well, apparently Roda loved it. There was an immediate connection 334 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: between these two artists, and Coppola left Roda with the 335 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: cut and instructions for each piece of music that he 336 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 1: felt was needed. By the time Coppola went back to 337 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,239 Speaker 1: Rome for his second visit with Roda, he had an 338 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: edited version of the film and Roda had a surprise 339 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: for him. 340 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:38,680 Speaker 2: What was it? 341 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: He picked up Coppola at the airport and he was 342 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: humming a song that's it and Evans hated it, You're kidding. 343 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: Six weeks before the release, which would be March of 344 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two, Robert Evans called an emergency meeting at Woodland. 345 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: It was a hot dog lunch served by his wife 346 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:06,439 Speaker 1: Ali McGraw, and in this meeting he makes his case 347 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: for using Henry Mancini's music for the film. He says, 348 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 1: the dark movie needs some bright American music to counter 349 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: all of the blood and all of the bodies. 350 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 2: How did Coppola react to this? 351 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: Not well? He goes on one of his signature diactribes 352 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: and says that they want to change the music, they 353 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 1: can fire him, hire another director, and make them take 354 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: out the music. Evans says he wants to screen two 355 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: versions of the film to test audiences and let the 356 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: audiences choose. 357 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 2: Isn't it a little late for that? 358 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: Of course? And luckily, just as he's making this argument, 359 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: Ali McGraw walks into the room with more hot dogs 360 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: and reminds Evans that they have plans to go to Acapulco. 361 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 2: Saved by the bell. 362 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: Finally, Evans and Coppola strike a deal. They'll screen just 363 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 1: the latest cut with Coppola's music to a small audience 364 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: and if they don't like the music, Coppola will take 365 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:04,160 Speaker 1: it out. 366 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,360 Speaker 2: What did the audience think, of course, they loved it. 367 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 2: And did Evans ever come around to the music? 368 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: Yes, And Walter March tells a fantastic story about Coppola 369 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: leaving him in La to finish the music with Evans. 370 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 1: Here's Walter March. 371 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 6: What is it about the movement his music? That Bubjet's 372 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 6: great music? Why doesn't he like it? And for some 373 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 6: reason I thought, well, wait, a minute piece ahead of 374 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 6: a studio and there's a scene with the head of 375 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 6: a studio, Waltz Studios, and that guy finds a horse's 376 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 6: head in his bed in his music, and it is 377 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 6: a little soft music. Maybe is there something that I 378 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:50,959 Speaker 6: can do in the music editing to make it a 379 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 6: little more hitchy than it is? And so I did 380 00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 6: things that I had done on GHX thirty eight, which 381 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,120 Speaker 6: was to take two copies of the music and slide 382 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:09,119 Speaker 6: one part of the music against the other one so 383 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 6: that there's a sort of dissonance going on. So I 384 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,399 Speaker 6: called Vin this up and said to have something to 385 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 6: show you, and he came in and he laid down 386 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 6: on the on the bed and we pushed the button. 387 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 6: We played it, and when the scene finished, he jumped 388 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 6: off of the bed and said, it's great. It's great. 389 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 2: Do you think he knew that he had lost the 390 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:34,440 Speaker 2: battle and wanted to be on the right side of 391 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:35,160 Speaker 2: the story. 392 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 1: It's possible. I also think this was an incredible moment 393 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: in the movie, and that small change must have swayed him. 394 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 2: And I have to ask what happened with Jack Ballard. 395 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: Well, in an almost surreal moment of karma, Jack Ballard 396 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: took his last stand and was properly cut down the size. 397 00:22:55,359 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 6: We were at the Paramount Lots screening the sound effects 398 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 6: to reel right after John Corleone leaves the hospital. 399 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,639 Speaker 1: Jack Ballard walked into the room and listened to a 400 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: few minutes of sound effects, and then he stood. 401 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 6: Up and said, these are the worst sound effects I've 402 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 6: ever heard in my life. And if the final film 403 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 6: is going to sound like this, you're never going to 404 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 6: work in this town again. 405 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: The twenty eight year old Walter March spoke up. 406 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 6: And I said, Jack, you don't know what you're talking about. 407 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: There was a long silence. 408 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 6: And he was swaying slightly, and I said, on top 409 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,239 Speaker 6: of editing everything else, you're drunk. And he's looked at 410 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 6: everyone and he said, you're right, damn drunk. Can I 411 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 6: told him what the hell I'm talking. 412 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: About, keep up the good work, and with that he 413 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: turned and left the room. 414 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 2: So Copla and his team won every battle, casting, location, filming, editing, 415 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 2: and me music. He vanquished his enemies and got to 416 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:04,720 Speaker 2: make exactly the movie he wanted. 417 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: And after all of that, he still thought he'd made 418 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: a long, boring movie. Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli 419 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: as a production of Airmail and iHeartMedia. 420 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,160 Speaker 2: The podcast is based on the book of the same name, 421 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 2: written by our very own Mark Seal. 422 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: Our producer is Tina Mullen. 423 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 2: Research assistance by Jack Sullivan. 424 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 1: Jonathan Dressler was our development producer. 425 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 2: Our music supervisor is Randall Poster. Our executive producers are 426 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 2: Mee Nathan King, Mark Seal, Doan Fagan, and Graydon Carter. 427 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Bridget Arseno and everyone at CDM Studios. 428 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 2: A comprehensive list of sources and acknowledgments can be found 429 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 2: in Mark Seal's book, Leave the Gun, Take the Conolly, 430 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 2: published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.