Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Al Pacino: `I Was Nearly Fired From The Godfather`
Monsters and Critics ^ | Dec 7, 2010 | Grant Hodgson

Posted on 12/07/2010 12:06:11 PM PST by nickcarraway

Al Pacino has told how he was nearly fired from his iconic role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather and said he hasn't defeated his alcoholism, but 'just doesn't drink'.

The 70-year-old Oscar winner also told CNN's Larry King how Marlon Brando's support helped keep him in the career-making Godfather film.

Talking about working with Brando and nearly being fired from The Godfather, he said, 'Brando was a source of inspiration.

'It was unnerving playing with him in Godfather. But he was good to me. He was sensitive to me.

'They thought I was wrong for Michael and they were going to let me go.

'Francis said, 'You're not cutting it for me kid'.

'What kept me in was the restaurant scene.

'They kept me after the shooting.'

Talking about his battle with drink, he said, 'I didn't defeat it that's all you can say. I just don't drink.'


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: alpacino; michaelcorleone; thegodfather
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140141-155 next last
To: Amberdawn

Well, among actors, he was considered to have fantastic talent. I think almost all of the movies he was in were Best Picture winners.


121 posted on 12/07/2010 2:18:44 PM PST by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 85 | View Replies]

To: All
A true hero to the people.

DiNiro as Harry Tuttle Have you got a 27 B-?

The mob these days is just crooks filling out forms

122 posted on 12/07/2010 2:33:54 PM PST by mylife (Opinions ~ $1 Half Baked ~ 50c)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 121 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

I never understood the part where Sonny is handed a package with Luca Brasi’s bullet-proof vest wrapped around a fish and asks, “What’s this”?

Clemenza explains that it is a Sicilian symbol that Luca sleeps with the fishes.

How could Sonny, who grew up in the home of a mafia Don, as well as serving as his father’s right hand man, not have known of such a symbol?


123 posted on 12/07/2010 2:34:17 PM PST by JohnG45
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

Yeah. And the wedding night scene, too.


124 posted on 12/07/2010 2:37:14 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: mylife
I was offered a job once with a nice greek faction of the racketeers.

Oh they didn’t word it that way, but it was bad ju ju.
I walked away.

my dad was an honest(everything is relative) NYC COP...at my parents wedding he was approached by some of my mothers second cousins who were connected...asking him if he wanted to be a sergeant. He smiled and walked away. that was dad.

125 posted on 12/07/2010 2:37:42 PM PST by Vaquero ("an armed society is a polite society" Robert A. Heinlein.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 119 | View Replies]

To: Vaquero

Amen.


126 posted on 12/07/2010 2:41:54 PM PST by mylife (Opinions ~ $1 Half Baked ~ 50c)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 125 | View Replies]

To: andy58-in-nh
Classic!!!

So many quotable lines....

Michael: How bad do you think it's gonna be?

Clemenza: Pretty goddam bad. Probably all the other Families will line up against us. That's all right. These things gotta happen every five years or so, ten years. Helps to get rid of the bad blood. Been ten years since the last one. You know, you gotta stop them at the beginning. Like they should have stopped Hitler at Munich, they should never let him get away with that, they was just asking for trouble. [Clemenza now finishes working on the gun]

Clemenza: You know, Mike, we was all proud of you being a hero and all. Your father too. [Clemenza hands the gun back to Michael]

127 posted on 12/07/2010 2:44:14 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Williams

Tom wasn’t happy at being removed as wartime consigliere after Sonny’s death. IMHO he wanted part of the revenge.


128 posted on 12/07/2010 2:45:46 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: NonValueAdded

Yes. He did.

My 14 year old son is a big fan of the GF movies.


129 posted on 12/07/2010 2:48:47 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Puppage

I’m smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I’m smart and I want respect!


130 posted on 12/07/2010 2:48:57 PM PST by fml
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine

A quote that apparently only guys remember...

“say hello to my little friend...”


131 posted on 12/07/2010 2:50:58 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Lucius Cornelius Sulla
No argument on substance (i.e., in general, peninsula Italians lighter than Sicilians) but there are indeed lighter Sicilians. A few of my Brooklyn friends who were lighter were Sicilian (many Sicilians in Brooklyn). And, the paragraph below comes from here:

Prevalent stereotypes (and ignorant authors outside Italy) sometimes paint a superficial physical picture of Sicilians which bears little similarity to reality. While individuals having extremely light blonde hair represent only a small part of the Sicilian population, many Sicilians have blue or green eyes and light complexions (and red hair). In Sicily the range of complexions, from cream to olive, is striking, and combinations are interesting --blue-eyed dark brunettes and brown-eyed strawberry blonds. Moreover, the idea that northern Italians are overwhelmingly "lighter" than southerners is statistically inaccurate. Anybody who spends even a few weeks travelling the country could plainly observe this. Let's remember, of course, that superficial physical traits are only a tiny part of an individual's genetic profile. Sicily, more than most other parts of Italy, has had a particularly wide influx of "immigrants" over the centuries, creating a greater genetic diversity than one might find in some other regions of Europe.

132 posted on 12/07/2010 2:56:04 PM PST by Pharmboy (What always made the state a hell has been that man tried to make it heaven-Hoelderlin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 120 | View Replies]

To: litehaus
Indeed ... made me think of this line from the book Catch-22:
"You put so much stock in winning wars. The real trick lies in losing wars, in knowing which wars can be lost. Italy has been losing wars for centuries, and just see how spendidly we've done nonetheless. France wins wars and is in a continual state of crisis. Germany loses and prospers. Look at our own recent history. Italy won a war in Ethiopia and promptly stumbled into serious trouble. Victory gave us such insane delusions of grandeur that we helped start a world war we hadn't a chance of winning. But now that we're losing again, everything has taken a turn for the better, and we will certainly come out on top again if we succeed in being defeated."

133 posted on 12/07/2010 2:57:47 PM PST by NonValueAdded (Palin 2012: don't retreat, just reload)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator
“I can handle things, I'm smart, not like everybody says. Not dumb, I'm smart, and I want respect!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeJj9k851R0

“Ode to Fredo”

The more you love “The Godfather” the funnier this is.

134 posted on 12/07/2010 2:59:08 PM PST by allmendream (Tea Party did not send the GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

Lol.


135 posted on 12/07/2010 2:59:33 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 84 | View Replies]

To: Frantzie
Christopher Walken...

My wife and I were laughing the other day about how frequently Walken has been in movies. Sometimes the star, sometimes bit parts. He must have set a record.

136 posted on 12/07/2010 3:03:04 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 86 | View Replies]

To: dhs12345

“What we need is more cowbell...”


137 posted on 12/07/2010 3:05:10 PM PST by Snardius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 136 | View Replies]

To: JohnG45

Because the audience wouldn’t know and it would be explained. So, Sonny had to play dumb. :)


138 posted on 12/07/2010 3:10:35 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 123 | View Replies]

To: safeasthebanks

Yup. That was the purpose of the final scene. Excellent!


139 posted on 12/07/2010 3:12:17 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 117 | View Replies]

To: Snardius

Lol.


140 posted on 12/07/2010 3:14:24 PM PST by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 137 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140141-155 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson