Director's relatives in the Godfather?

Director Francis Ford Coppola has used a number of his family members in the Godfather films, I was wondering whether Nicholas Cage who is his nephew, was in the movie or not. (His Father August Coppola is brother of Francis).

Other Cast who were related:

Talia Shire who played Connie is Francis sister.

Sofia Coppola who was Mary is his daughter. She was also in Godfather 1 and 2. I am not sure but i think the child Michael baptised was her.

Gian-Carlo Coppola who was Baptism observer was son of Francis.

Carmine Coppola who was Piano player in montage scene is father of francis.

Vincent Coppola who was a street vendor in GF1, is surely related.

Roman Coppola who played Sonny Corleone, as a boy in GF2 is his son.

There might be more.


Why do you think he used his family members to act in his films? and most importantly do you think they got paid ?

With the exception of Sofia, I think that they were all vry good in their parts, and have no problem with them being in the films. Stallone did the same thing in Rocky, using his brother Frank as the corner crooner. Rob Reiner used his mother in When Harry Met Sally, and wasn't Scorcese's mother in Goodfellas?

Scorcese's mother was also in GF III and yes that was her in goodfellas, I Know its annoying people casting family etc, but we would do the same, so we can't really complain.

TK

If I were in that business, I would use relatives also. Yes, they probably got paid.

And I thought Sophia did a good job. What is this glandular need on the part of some Board members to take every opportunity to criticize Sophia's performance. What is it about a 19 year old girl that she failed to accurately portray? Hey Babe, how differently did you behave when you were 19? How different was that behavior from what Sophia portrayed?

I found her delivery wooden and her voice incredibly whiny and annoying, and that she had zero sexual chemistry with Andy Garcia. THAT'S why I knocked her performance.

Scorsese's mother, Catherine, was great in GoodFellas, she fit so perfectly as Tommy's Ma. She was also in (Scorsese's) Casino, Mean Streets, The King of Comedy, Cape Fear, Who's That Knocking at My Door, and It's Not Just You Murray!

Oh and don't forget that small film not alot of BBer's know about, The Godfather Part III.

Wasn't Coppola's mother an extra in the wedding sequence in Part I as well? Or was it is grandmother? She's in the background during part of the "that's my family Kay. It's not me" part. His son Gio (who has since died I think) helped him and Talia plot out the Carlo beating scene.

I think it's inevitable, and very sweet, that he would include his family in a project like the Godfather trilogy, being as it was centred around a huge italian american family. Coppola was elated that his Dad got an Oscar because of it.

It does annoy me slightly that Talia Shire got the part of Connie because I have to say some of her acting in Part I is painful. She seems to have one level of emotion: hysteria. Coppola always makes this big thing about how reluctant he was to have to choose her.. blah blah.. but she was the best he found.. blah blah... Wait - he auditioned practically every actress on the face of the earth and his sister just happened to be the best? Uh, right.
But in Part II she was much better so I can't really complain. Part III - yeah I kind of expected her to aquire a monacle and start rubbing her hands together with an evil laugh. But hey, that fits the overall tone of the movie...

As for Sofia though... don't get me started. Partly what I hate so much about the Godfather III is that it's so obviously about Coppola and where he was at as he made the film. He thinks he's Michael. And to cast his daughter as Mike's daughter... Have some dignity man!
He could have got away with it if she was any good but she was vomitricious.

Yes, if you saw her in the street behaving like that, you'd take her for a 19 year old girl. But that just doesn't cut it, that wasn't the requirement of the part. She had lines to deliver which were supposed to mean things, not just be said (rather awkwardly, with much flicking of the hair and gangly movements) Her eye contact and flat tone of voice are distractingly bad (If I was Andy Garcia I would have had to take her aside and ask her to STOP staring cross-eyed at my mouth through every scene) At the party when she presents the cheque, she's so self conscious I half expect her to look directly at the camera as she passes it, or call "like this Dad?" during the middle of the scene. And kudos to Garcia for managing that cooking scene... He has to do everything, she looks like a silly nine year old when he kisses her.
Worst of all, Mary was intended to be the ultimate part of the Godfather's tragedy. Where Mike's past comes back to haunt him. The most terrible, ironic of losses. Worse than Fredo.
Yes, the opera sequence is wonderful. Yes, Al's silent scream should go down in history. But it is Michael's suffering that I mourn in that final scene on the steps, not Mary's death. I don't care about Mary, I spend the whole ending wondering why anyone actually cared about her in the first place. (Heartless, moi?)

I shouldn't be so hard on Sofia, it wasn't her fault. She should have been protected from making such a dog's dinner of herself by her father, who after working with Brando, Pacino and De Niro, had no excuse for not knowing the difference between the art of acting and the skill of remembering lines. Bad Francis! Bad!

Sorry for the essay but it just distresses me thinking what could have been if they'd only waited for Winona Ryder to recover - or even given Christina Ricci a pair of high heeled shoes...

Mama Scorsese did wonderful work in "Goodfellas"--her storytelling at the table was one of the high points of a film that had many high points. And she did a nice turn as Artie Piscano's mother in "Casino."
BTW: Scorsese's father, Charles, did a silent bit in "Mean Streets" as Tommy Como's pal, and was Vinnie (as in "I'm an old timer--t'oity years") in "Goodfellas."

I adamantly disagree with you about Sophia. Such a perjorative assessment of her performance is without merit. She portrayed a typical 19 year old. She did it well. She was naive, vulnerable, trusting, and loving. With five girls, I do know what girls act like at that age and she pegged it.

So you're a mind reader, also. You know that FFC intended her part to be the ultimate part. Sorry, my ESP isn't that good.

Methinks thou dost protest too much.

Hi Olivant,

I'm a 21 year old girl and I can remember as far back as two years (when I first saw the movies, incidentally) I don't know anyone as awkward as Mary was in that movie. If she was supposed to be 14, sure, but my age? Nope.
Like I said though, great, she acted like a teenage girl. But, IMHO, she didn't act particularly like Mary Corleone. She was acting like Sophia Coppola, on set with her dad watching.

And as for my admittedly astounding ESP skills I'm just saying, from a dramatic standpoint, that one might expect the climax of the third film in an epic trilogy, to be the most cathartic moment of all the hours of film presented to us. Al tries valiantly. Everyone tries valiantly. But once again I am distracted from the tragedy by trying to remember why we're supposed to care about Mary in the first place. Fair enough the character they wrote for her was not particularly strong, but even so it could have been improved if FFC hadn't been so indulgent in casting his daughter rather than someone who could act the hell out of a scene.

Again, I don't know what constitutes the awkwardnes you refer to. Her character was self-effacing. In addition to having raised five girls all of whom went through their late twenties, I teach college age girls. On more than one occasion I have witnessed them stumble through explanations about why they didn't turn in an assignment or why they missed class. I have witnessed their chagrin when (such as when they are standing in front of daddy trying to explain how the car got wrecked) I don't excuse them. It's all called vulnerability which Sophia pegged. In fact, Sophia's portrayal might have been the only non-affectated portrayal in the movie. I'm sorry, but I still demur!

I wouldn't have minded Winona Rider playing Mary Corleone, but not Christina Ricci....pleeeeeeeeeeease!!!!! I can't stand her!