Originally posted by Cristina's Way:
dontomasso, I didn't even take note of the fact that Michael had the contracts out BEFORE he spoke to Moe Green. This is a case in point of how little things that don't register at first will crop up in subsequent viewings (or when someone on these boards points them out 
).
The novel provides a small but significant nuance on that scene:
In the novel, Hagen's the one who proposes that Johnny sign contracts to appear, with his show-biz pals, at Corleone owned or influenced hotels in return for points in the hotels. And he visits Johnny before Michael returns from Sicily. Johnny immediately senses that there'll be strings attached, so he says something like, "If the Don wants me to do something, he has to ask me. I won't take it from Sonny, y'know?" Hagen immediately recognizes the good sense of this answer--the Don asking Johnny for a favor is one thing, the hotheaded Sonny quite another. He replies, "Your Godfather would never ask you to do anything that you wouldn't volunteer to do yourself without his asking." Nice touch!
