'The Offer' Episode 7: Paramount conspires to fire both Coppola and Pacino from 'The Godfather'
'The Offer' explores the making of the 1972 Oscar-winning mobster saga 'The Godfather' and is based on Hollywood producer Albert S Ruddy's experiences.
The new episode of 'The Offer' reveals the chaotic environment surrounding the 'The Godfather' movies as the studio heads and director Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) often clashed with each other. Coppola had to fight tooth and nail for every major creative decision. Paramount even conspired to have him removed from the movie. Similar to Coppola, even Pacino (Anthony Ippolito) was on the verge of being fired after the studio felt his performance was ruining the movie.
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While filming ‘The Godfather’, Coppola was constantly on the verge of being fired. Paramount Pictures, the film's production company, and distributor didn't have confidence in him. Once the studio saw the initial footage of the film, they felt the scene was too dark and they could hardly see anything. They worried that Coppola’s vision was too slow to succeed. His casting ideas for Al Pacino and Marlon Brando also got him in trouble.
In Episode 7 titled 'Mr.Producer', Coppola is struggling with his production crew. Many crew members quit the movie due to Coppola's attitude. The director even has a fight with the cinematographer Gordy (TJThyne) about the lighting. Gordy threatens to walk out of the movie if Coppola doesn’t apologize to him. Coppola lets Ruddy (Miles Teller) know that he won’t apologize. Ruddy tries to fix the situation by letting Coppola know that he can’t achieve his vision unless he has the crew on his side. Coppola is also informed that Paramount wants to fire him from his position. Later, Coppola apologizes to Gordy and solves their feud.
On the other hand, the studio wants to fire Al Pacino after they see his footage. His performance is described as boring and not intimidating at all. Bluhdorn (Burn Gorman) demands a new actor to play Michael Corleone. When Ruddy learns about this situation, he requests Coppola to shoot a good scene with Pacino so they can convince Bluhdorn to not fire the actor.
Pacino, who knows he is about to get fired, struggles with his confidence. He is very nervous about his performance, but Coppola supports him. The director helps him with his scene and they get ready for the infamous restaurant scene, where Michael kills Solozzo. Studio heads Bluhdorn and Robert Evans (Matthew Goode) witness the brilliant scene and Bluhdorn gives a green signal to keep Pacino and Coppola in the movie.
The new episode of 'The Offer' is available on Paramount+.