Legendary actor Al Pacino recalls almost being fired from Francis Ford Coppola's Hollywood classic film, The Godfather. Originally released in 1972, the popular mafia crime film was met with rave reviews and quickly rose the box office chart to the top with nearly $86 million. With subsequent re-releases, the film has pulled in nearly $740 million in lifetime gross (adjusted for inflation). The film has since become a cultural phenomenon and has been recognized as one of the greatest films of all time. The Godfather ranks second on the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movies updated 2007 list, only behind Orson Welles' cinematic masterpiece Citizen Kane.
Pacino stars as Michael Corleone, crime boss Vito Corleone's (Marlon Brando) youngest son in the epic period drama. Returning from World War II, Michael initially wanted nothing to do with his family's criminal business. However, following two attempts on his father's life and the killing of his eldest brother, Michael found himself in too deep with the Corleone family's illicit affairs. By the film's end, Micheal accepts his duty to his family's criminal enterprise and becomes the new leader of the organization.
While on a panel at the Tribeca Film Festival (via Deadline), Pacino recalls that he was almost fired from The Godfather. The venerable actor remembers always being under the constant threat of being let go. He admits that Coppola helped save his role by rearranging a crucial scene in which Michael kills Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) and Police Officer McCluskey (Sterling Hayden) in a restaurant. Read what the actor says below.
They were going to let me go. Francis said, 'I want you to know, I believe in you.' Francis pushes that scene forward. The studio liked it.
Coppola's effort to save Pacino's role was a clever one, as the scene with Michael killing the Tattaglia family representative and the corrupt cop was such a significant and elaborate one to shoot, requiring special effects to simulate the murders. Re-shooting the scene for the sole purpose of replacing one actor would have cost the studios thousands of dollars. As history went, Pacino maintained his role and the killing in the restaurant proved to be one of the most memorable scenes in the entire film.
As The Godfather has gained status since its release decades ago, it is hard to imagine any other actor who could embody the charmingly reluctant Corleone son who must turn to crime to save his family. Robert DeNiro was once strongly considered for the role but was eventually passed over, only to later star as a younger Vito Corleone in the Oscar-winning sequel The Godfather Part II. Pacino's legacy as Michael has been firmly cemented in Hollywood history as The Godfather is now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, an assessment that doesn't seem destined to change anytime soon.
Source: Deadline