https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2021-12-19-show/ Many versions of The Godfather's creation on film have been told. In the latter half, veteran journalist Mark Seal shared extensive new information about the movie gleaned from director Francis Ford Coppola, actors like James Caan, and the son of Mario Puzo (the book's author). The classic movie managed to revolutionize filmmaking, mint a generation of new acting stars, and help save financially troubled Paramount Pictures, he noted. Puzo (who, in addition to writing the novel, co-wrote the screenplay for The Godfather) was able to create a tale about gangsters that were a family, which added heart to the tale, and made the audience care about the characters, Seal commented. Coppola, just 31 years old when the film was made, was a surprising choice to helm the project, but a lot of more established directors weren't interested in it, he noted. Some of Coppola's casting choices didn't please the studio. For instance, Marlon Brando was considered very difficult to work with and the studio requested a screen test. Only 47 at the time the test was shot at his home, Brando pulled back his ponytail, dotted shoe polish under his nose to effect a mustache, and stuck Kleenex in his cheeks to create the jowls of the old Mafia Don, Seal recounted. "In this magical moment, with the camera rolling, he becomes Don Corleone," and no one could deny him the part after that, he added. Al Pacino was a stage actor, not well known to movie execs at the time, and Coppola insisted he was right for the role of Michael, though the studio pushed for bigger names like Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and Ryan O'Neal.