Movies and shows based on real events tend to have their facts questioned, and those watching the Paramount+ series The Offer, the dramatization of the making of The Godfather, can be forgiven for wondering if the bizarre events of the series are real.

In the series, producer Al Ruddy faces off with studio producers, nit-picking artists, mafia leaders, and even Frank Sinatra in order to get the film made. While many of the events actually happened — yes, Mario Puzo and Frank Sinatra really almost came to blows at Chasen's restaurant — it's hard to tell the difference between real events and the writers taking creative liberties for dramatic purposes.

Barry Lapidus Is A Fictional Character

Colin Hanks as Barry Lapidus in The Offer

Most characters in the show can be googled, and have enough info on them for fans to judge whether or not the adaptation is faithful to the real person. But fans who googled Colin Hanks' Barry Lapidus, the Paramount suit who just doesn't think The Godfather is a good idea may have noticed, he doesn't exist.

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Showrunner Michael Tolkin referred to him as an "amalgam." The common writing strategy was used to take a plethora of avaricious naysayers and turn them into one man, making the show much easier to follow and much less expensive to cast. Don't like Barry Lapidus? Al Ruddy likely had to deal with dozens of him.

Paramount's Disinterest In Al Pacino Was About Looks

Al Pacino In The Offer

In The Offer, Francis Ford Coppola has envisioned Al Pacino to play one of the lead roles as Michael Corleone. Bob Evans, played by Matthew Goode, is adamantly against the casting for seemingly unclear reasons. Fans can infer that it's mainly due to the relative unknown of the actor at the time, compared to desired picks like Robert Redford, but really, it was just the way he looked.

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According to the real Francis Coppola, the studio envisioned a blonde actor with blue eyes as they believed that's what a real Sicilian at the time would look like. There was also a stigma on Pacino's height, as referenced in the show by Bob Evans.

Marlon Brando's Screen Test Was A Studio Demand, Not Artistic Kismet

Don Corleone wearing a suit and sitting in The Godfather.

It's true that Brando did take an interest in the project due to a letter from author Mario Puzo. However, the studio considered Brando a financial risk, as depicted in the series, and one of their conditions for hiring was Coppola conducting a private screen test with the actor.

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The scene is depicted as more of a meet and greet in the series, with Al Ruddy, Mario Puzo, and Francis Ford Coppola all going to pitch the film to Brando. Marlon Brando's miraculous invention of Vito Corleone was properly shown, as the actor did mention the bulldog-like face and use of cotton balls to create the look.

The Mafia Involvement

The Offer - Giovanni Ribisi

The storyline of Joe Colombo and his involvement in the making of The Godfather seems too absurd to be true, but this was actually one of the most accurate depictions in the show, according to a New York Times article from 1971. The mafia were heavily involved with the making of the film, and did have a say in the word "mafia" being removed from the script.

Due to Al Ruddy's friendship with Joe Colombo, members of the mafia were even hired on the set to stand in as extras, and perform small roles to help ensure the quality remained authentic. He also allowed Colombo's Italian-American Civil Rights League to review the script, and suggest changes on their behalf.

Bob Evans' Support

Matthew Goode in The Offer

The Offer depicts Bob Evans as an ally of the film, though probably one with more self interest than interest in seeing The Godfather come to fruition. According to Peter Bart, who worked as an executive for Paramount Pictures during the making of the film, claims that Evans was a fan of the genre, and was a firm supporter of Coppola and of creating a "gangster art movie."

Evans was a supporter of the project, and consistently watched footage from the project and found Coppola's work to be exceptional. While well performed by Matthew Goode, the show has taken some dramatic freedoms with Evans' character. Evans is depicted as having an eye for talent and good filmmaking, which is what helped him create one of the best movies to win an Oscar.

How Hollywood Works

Griffin holds up a postcard in The Player

Show writer Michael Tolkin is known for his works regarding the corruption of Hollywood, most notably 1992's The Player. This notability made him an excellent choice to pen the series, and it held true to expectations. The Offer does a solid job examining the darker sides of Hollywood and the people who make movies.

While the show dramatizes moments for dramatic intrigue, the off-hours activities of the major producers involved aren't disproven anywhere but are based on Ruddy's recollection of the people involved. As with any personal account, it's likely that Ruddy is looking through rose-tinted glasses at his own actions, and the actions of those close to him are skewed through his point of view.

Puzo Wasn't So Star-Struck By Frank Sinatra (But He Was Almost Struck)

Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity

Episode one of The Offer depicts the events of Puzo approaching an almost immediately infuriated Frank Sinatra at a restaurant to praise him. According to Puzo's recount from 1972, something of this sort did happen, as Sinatra threatened to "beat the hell out of him."

Puzo, in his essay, didn't take kindly to the situation, and suggested that the encounter wouldn't have gone well for Sinatra had something occurred. It seems the conflict between the two was real, but that Puzo wasn't the gobsmacked fan that The Offer depicted him as.

Finding A Director Was Not So Simple

Francis Ford Coppola gives instructions to Marlon Brando on the set of The Godfather

The process of hiring Al Pacino was a long, drawn-out storyline in The Offer, while Francis Ford Coppola was seemingly picked early on. In reality, the search for a director went on for some time, and Coppola himself didn't see enough merit in the film at first to work on it. The process of finding a director is an area that viewers hoped The Offer would address.

In The Offer, Coppola reluctantly takes the job in order to earn credibility in the industry, in hopes that they'll allow him to work on projects of his own after. This was true to life, but in reality he was not the first choice, as directors such as Sergio Leone turned down the job first.

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