http://podbay.fm/show/214089682/e/1479330000?autostart=1
from November 2016



Francis Ford Coppola signed on to direct The Godfather when he was just 29 years old. The film centers on a fictional Sicilian crime family in New York City and Coppola knew nothing about the Mafia, but he did understand Italian-American culture and tradition — and he was determined to avoid stereotypes.

Released in 1972, The Godfather went on to become an iconic American film. It won three Academy Awards — including for best picture and best adapted screenplay — and its sequel, The Godfather: Part II, won six. Coppola was nominated for another Academy Award in 1991 for his work on The Godfather: Part III.

The director tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he had no idea at the time how successful the film would be. Instead, as a young director, he was focused on getting the studio to let him do it his way. "It was just the most frightening and depressing experience I think I've ever had," he says. "I had no power and yet I had real opinions in how it should be done."


As he was preparing to make the film, Coppola put together a notebook with ideas for each scene and pitfalls to avoid. It also included pages from the eponymous Mario Puzo novel the film was based on, with Coppola's notes in the margin. Coppola has now published those materials into a new book called The Godfather Notebook.