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The Godfather might be Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, but it didn’t land well with everyone. Apparently, popular late musician Frank Sinatra, of all people and for reasons still not fully clear, despised the project.
It was long before the film became the benchmark for mob movies that Sinatra had already decided it had no place in Hollywood. He hated it to such an extent that he tried hard to stop the screenplay from being written and kept a close watch on the people involved.
Mario Puzo, who penned the original novel, became one of Sinatra’s angry targets. At a Hollywood restaurant one time, things got out of hand when the singer learned about the film adaptation. He exploded and was furious that the story was making its way to the big screen.
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Rumors have it that this was personal for Sinatra. Why? Well it was because he reportedly believed the character Johnny Fontane was based on him, a washed-up singer using mob ties to revive his career.
On this day in 1972, The Godfather opens in theaters. Johnny Fontane is mainly inspired on the singer, Frank Sinatra. This leads to the #godfather moniker to mean a top notch individual in their own respect. #respectmusic pic.twitter.com/CQe5duN4EH
— FlipRoll (@FlipRollMusic) March 24, 2020
However, Sinatra didn’t stop at words. He even tried to get hold of the manuscript before the novel was even in bookstores. He wrote to Puzo, demanding access but had no formal connection to the book, no rights and no approval role concerning it.
Sinatra’s pushiness didn’t end there though.
When casting began, Sinatra got involved again. He didn’t want Al Martino playing Fontane and as a result he called him up and tried to shake him off the part. But Martino stood his ground and even told Sinatra’s agent he’d had enough.
According to Far Out Magazine, Martino told Sinatra’s agent, “Now look, Jimmy. You pick up that telephone and you call Frank up and you tell Frank just this. You say that Al Martino called me—you—and said that I should tell you that I’m playing this part in this big movie and to get off my back. Now I’m gonna hang up the telephone. You decide whether you want to call Frank and tell him that. I suggest you do that. After all, I’m still paying you, Jim.”
At the end, Martino got the role but Sinatra’s presence never really went away. Every time the film came up, so did his anger.
It is said that Sinatra owned the hotel where Puzo once stayed while working on the book. Maybe that was why he thought that gave him a stake or maybe it was just his ego or maybe he didn’t like the way Italian-Americans were portrayed.
Whatever it was, his interference didn’t stop the film and it never could. However, it added a strange layer to a movie that would become one of the most celebrated of all time.
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