Something to delight fans and make those who have not yet seen Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece want to watch it! Created by Michael Tolkin (to whom we owe the screenplay of The Player by Robert Altman), The Offeravailable this Thursday on the new Paramount + streaming platform, recounts in 10 episodes the crazy story of the creation of one of the most acclaimed classics of world cinema, The Godfatherreleased in 1972. A tasty dive behind the scenes of New Hollywood through the prism of a shoot as tumultuous as it is dangerous.
A producer ready to do anything to make his film
Told from the producer’s perspective Al Ruddy (Miles Teller, seen in Top Gun Maverick and chosen as replacement for Armie Hammer, who was fired due to rape charges against him), The Offer shows how the latter fought to preserve the artistic integrity of the film against all odds.
“Al Ruddy was an outsider, entrusted with what became the greatest film of all time. What is unique is that he not only fought against the studio system, but also against the real mafia. These issues of life and death can be grasped by the public, even if they have not seen The Godfather “, rejoices Nikki Toscano, the producer of the miniseries, that 20 minutes met during a round table at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
A lot of documentary research
“Michael Tolkin spent two weeks interviewing Al Ruddy and collected some 140 pages of anecdotes from the filming of the Godfather “says Nikki Toscano. Nikki Toscano worked with Al Pacino on the series Hunters “Our series is largely the result of anecdotes told in the first person by Al Pacino,” she says, hailing a “wonderfully sincere storyteller.”
” As The Godfather is arguably the best movie ever made, there are different versions of who takes credit for what, who was involved… That was one of the challenges, because the truth is not the same for everyone” , explains the producer.
To disentangle the true from the false, the screenwriters relied on interviews of the time or the documentary on Robert Evans, The Kid Stays in the Picture. “It is not a documentary, but a fiction”, insists Nikki Toscano
A portrait of Los Angeles in the heart of New Hollywood
The miniseries captures the electric atmosphere that reigned within an industry when the New Hollywood pushed his thrust against the formatted cinema of the studios. ” The Offer tells the difficulty of doing something in Hollywood, and even more something good”, summarizes the producer.
The Offer tells how the legendary production manager Robert Evans (Matthew Goode seen in Downton Abbey) saved Paramount Studios from disaster by greenlighting bold projects such as Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatownor The Godfather. The series also gives a glimpse into his hectic lifestyle, marked by excess, cocaine and escapades such as the high-profile affair of his wife Ali McGraw (Meredith Garretson) with Steve McQueen during the filming of ambush.
“It was incredibly meta to shoot on a Paramount set where The Godfather has been turned. It was an incredible experience for everyone and honestly, it was a bit trippy,” laughs Nikki Toscano.
Two women in the shadows brought to light
The series also highlights two women in the shadows: Françoise Glazer, the future wife of Al Ruddy (Nora Arnezeder seen in Army of the Dead) and secretary-turned-agent Bettye McCartt (Juno Temple seen in Ted Lasso).
A way of pointing out the misogyny of the film industry: “We felt incredibly responsible for Betty, because she was a woman, and she was navigating the sexual sphere of the time. She was in direct contact with her boss, but also with Charles Bluhdorn. What kind of woman could have such an influence on the boss of Gulf + Western by being a secretary? We have decided not to compromise her relationship with Al Ruddy or any other protagonist of the series with a romantic relationship,” says the producer.
A particularly hectic shoot
The miniseries follows the purchase of the rights to the best-selling book by Mario Puzo (Patrick Gallo seen in The Irishman), the fight of Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler seen in Fantastic Beasts) to impose his artistic vision and Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito seen in Our bruised hearts) and Marlon Brando (Justin Chambers, Alex Karev of Grey’s Anatomyat the top of its game) to distribution.
“We had early discussions about casting actors to portray such iconic figures. We decided to stay away from imitation and find actors who capture the essence of the character. We saw a ton of people, especially for the roles of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, ”explains Nikki Toscano.
The series also shows how the dream factory almost turned into a nightmare. Before filming began, the Italian Americans Civil Rights League, a pressure group, launched a campaign to obstruct the film’s production. Ironically, the president of this organization was Joseph Colombo, the godfather of the Colombo family, one of the five families of the New York underworld. “Al Ruddy had plenty of anecdotes about various mob members from Vegas and New York. Her relationship with Joe Colombo [Giovanni Ribisi] was the basis of our plot on the mafia”, explains the producer, who recalls that the producer of the Godfather “could have had a bullet between his eyes at any time”. This is why the words “mafia” and “cosa nostra” are never pronounced in The Godfather.