studio execs didnt want him, they wanted Laurence Olivier(huh?)

pretty cool, to see a bit of that screen test and seeing Marlon transform in mere seconds.

You didn't know that? They didn't want Pacino either, they wanted Redford.

Pacino was actually going to get fired off the set because he really wasn't performing in the early weeks of shooting. Coppola somehow convinced them to give it one more shot and came and told Pacino the situation. He then banned Pacino from speaking to anyone on set. Absolutely everyone, hoping it would give Coppola the kind of intensity he needed to see from Pacino. It worked.

I only know this because one of my old teachers was the Production Sound Mixer for the Godfather (Christopher Newman).

RomanM wrote:You didn't know that? They didn't want Pacino either, they wanted Redford.

Pacino was actually going to get fired off the set because he really wasn't performing in the early weeks of shooting. Coppola somehow convinced them to give it one more shot and came and told Pacino the situation. He then banned Pacino from speaking to anyone on set. Absolutely everyone, hoping it would give Coppola the kind of intensity he needed to see from Pacino. It worked.

I only know this because one of my old teachers was the Production Sound Mixer for the Godfather (Christopher Newman).

Wow, that's cool.

Those were the least of his worries back then. Not to mention compared to what he went through during Apocalype Now.

I knew about Brando, but the Pacino thing was new for me.

Brando was known to be difficult to work with and was also considered to be past his prime, as well as "box office poison."

Jack Nicholson also turned down the role of Michael Corleone, stating that "at that time I believed Indians should play roles written for Indians and Italians should do the same."