'The Offer' Episode 9: Penultimate chapter explores the aftermath of Robert Evans' dismissal
'The Offer' chronicles the tumultuous production of one of the greatest movies ever made 'The Godfather'. Based on its producer Albert Ruddy's experiences, the series' penultimate episode shows how the production faces challenges even as the film nears completion. Robert Evans is fired from his job and the studio demands Coppola's director cut be shortened.
In Episode 9 titled "It's Who We Are" Robert Evans (Matthew Goode) is absent from work and Barry Lapidus (Colin Hanks) is not happy about it. He enquires about Evans’s whereabouts and learns that he’s working from home. An angry Lapidus announces that he is going to take charge of Evans’ office. Later in the episode Ruddy (Miles Teller) learns that Evans is going to be fired by Bluhdorn (Burn Gorman) as no one knows where he is. Ruddy meets Bluhdorn to convince him to not fire Evans. Ruddy says that Robert Evans is the only reason that Paramount still exists. Bluhdorn says that he trusted Evans despite everyone else telling him he was not fit for the job. He trusted Evans for his charisma and spark but now he doesn’t want to take a chance on him. Bluhdorn informs Ruddy that Lapidus has replaced Evans in LA and he will be in charge.
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As the episode continues, Ruddy finally meets Evans who reveals that his wife Ali has left him and he can't get her back. He is depressed about his wife cheating on him and wants to be left alone in peace. Ruddy reminds Evans that ‘The Godfather’ needs its godfather and calls him a maverick. He begs him to return back to the studio and to the movie.
In the next scene, Lapidus, Ruddy and Coppola (Dan Fogler) have a meeting with Lapidus who reveals that he isn’t happy with the cut of 'The Godfather' as it is 45 minutes too long. Lapidus elaborates how the longer cut will reduce the number of screenings per day. He also mentions that no one will sit in a theatre that long for a gangster movie and asks Coppola to cut down the length.
Ruddy and Coppola attend another meeting with the marketing team along with Peter, Barry and Bluhdorn. As they argue about the shorter cut versus the longer cut, Evans makes a surprise entrance to tell Lapidus that the audience doesn’t care about the business. He discards the shorter cut and says that Coppola’s cut is sublime and perfect. Evans says “We can’t chase after what we think audiences want to see, we have to show the audiences what they need to see.” While Bluhdorn and Barry have a conversation, Ruddy thanks Evans for coming back. Lapidus gives up his position and admits that Evans is a better fit. Bluhdorn tells Evans that Ruddy is getting a chance to rewrite his history and he better not disappoint him this time. Evans reveals to an ecstatic Ruddy that Bluhdorn agress to the longer cut.
Episode 9 of 'The Offer' is available on Paramount+