In spite of Mario Puzo's denials and insistence that his novel is a work of fiction, it's generally accepted that The Godfather character Johnny Fontaine is based on Frank Sinatra. Fontaine is a popular singer who owes his career to Don Corleone and the mob.
the Johnny Fontaine character was modeled after. Frank Sinatra, and that the mob helped him get a big. movie role. Actor Patrick Gallo, who plays Mario Puzo.
Who was originally supposed to play Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather?
The popular singer was originally cast as the Sinatra-esque Johnny Fontane. He dropped out, attributing his pride in being Italian, though he would later state that it was all about the money. The Fontane role is much, much bigger in Mario Puzo's source material.
Damone eventually declined the role because of a salary dispute and also because he did not want to provoke the mob or anger Frank Sinatra, whom Damone profoundly respected. Ultimately, the part of Johnny Fontane was given to Martino.
Fictional biography and early years. Vito Corleone is based on a composite of mid-20th-century New York Mafia figures Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello, Joe Bonanno, and Joe Profaci. The character's story begins as Vito Andolini in Corleone, Sicily, in the Kingdom of Italy.
Hyman Roth, played in The Godfather: Part II by actor Lee Strasberg, was based on real-life mobster Meyer Lansky. Lansky is widely credited for coming up with some of the key innovations upon which the casino and gambling industry is built today.
Both Greene's character and personality are based on Bugsy Siegel: his affiliation with the mob in Los Angeles, his involvement in the development of Las Vegas, and his flamboyant tendencies.
What did Frank Sinatra think of the movie The Godfather?
The Chairman of the Board was not a fan of "The Godfather," an opinion Sinatra made abundantly clear as Mario Puzo's 1969 novel was being adapted for film. In a legendary blowup at Hollywood eatery Chasen's, Sinatra snarled, "Choke.
A staunch civil-rights advocate who refused to entertain in venues that discriminated against African Americans and Jews, Martin was fiercely proud of his Italian heritage. Indeed, he abhorred “The Godfather”: “I hated that movie, what it did to the Italian people. There was no call for that.”
Colombo family crime boss Joe Colombo (center) first tried to stop production on the "The Godftaher" — then turned over and helped it get made. Director Francis Ford Coppola accepted one of the film's three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
De Niro auditioned for the character of Sonny Corleone in the first The Goodfather film in 1972 and after a difficult decision, Francis Ford Coppola preferred Caan, who died Thursday at the age of 82. Caan took the character to another level and is still remembered for his performance 50 years later.
According to Peter Cowie's 1997 publication The Godfather Book, Paramount initially targeted Warren Beatty and Robert Redford to star as Michael Corleone. By the early '70s, however, Beatty already had a loyal following after starring in the 1967 classic Bonnie and Clyde.
When Francis Ford Coppola and Paramount Pictures set out to cast the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, they had a disagreement. The studio wanted Robert Redford, Warren Beatty or Ryan O'Neal. Coppola wanted an unknown Italian American actor.
Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime family.
In reality, Al Ruddy and Francis Coppola were not on speaking terms during most of the shooting schedule and Bob Evans looked upon Ruddy with both distrust and disdain.
Brando, who was only 47 at the time, underwent a transformation with the help of prosthetics, makeup, and a wig to make him appear older and burdened as the head of a crime family.
He was almost certainly fluent in dialect and could probably converse with a fair degree of success with others speaking only standard Italian, however, with a first-generation Italian-American father, his siblings, and his cousins, such fluency would have faded over Martin's adult and senior years.
A sidenote: Wikipedia says "Martin did not attempt to deliver the lyrics in an authentic Italian accent, but used the accent of an American trying to mimic Italian pronunciation." In fact, Martin's Italian was not that good, judging from his pronunciation in songs like "Volare"!
Coppola's request to film on location was observed; approximately 90 percent was shot in New York City and its surrounding suburbs, using over 120 distinct locations. Several scenes were filmed at Filmways in East Harlem. The remaining portions were filmed in California, or on-site in Sicily.
It's believed this is based on how Frank Sinatra got the part of Private Angelo Maggio in 1953's From Here To Eternity, which won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra took grave offense to Fontaine's character in The Godfather, seeing it as a thinly-veiled shot at him.
1974–1980: Scorsese collaboration and acclaim. De Niro had a pivotal role in Francis Ford Coppola's crime epic The Godfather Part II (1974), playing the young Vito Corleone.
The movie is a meditation on power, family, and loyalty, and it asks questions about what people are willing to do to protect those they love. The portrayal of the Mafia as an organization with a strict code of honor also fascinated audiences, as did the movie's exploration of the immigrant experience in America.
Michael arranges to have Roth killed at the airport where he is about to be taken into U.S. federal custody. Minutes after disembarking the plane, he is fatally shot by Michael's caporegime Rocco Lampone, posing as a reporter. Rocco himself is killed by federal agents as he tries to escape.
Fredo's decision is most likely a result of resentment toward Michael, by whom he felt he had been passed over. Michael was Fredo's "kid brother," and the fact that their father chose for Michael to take over the "family business" came as a great insult to Fredo, who was neither as intelligent nor as strong.
Its fame started when its name was linked to the name of the mafia Family in the American movie saga “The Godfather.” In fact, the Corleone family does not exist. It is a cinematographic fiction.
