Al Pacino in The Godfather
Al Pacino, in an interview, has revealed that he was being threatened with dismissal several times while making The Godfather, but was saved because of one scene.
It is hard to imagine the all-time classic The Godfather without Al Pacino, right? He made the character of Michael Corleone a legend in the world of cinema. However, did you know that Al Pacino once almost got fired from the film that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year? That’s true. During a panel discussion at the ongoing Tribeca Film Festival, the 82-year-old actor revealed that the makers of The Godfather “were going to let me go” but director Francis Ford Coppola stepped in told him that he “believes” in him, reported ScreenRant. “They were going to let me go. Francis said, ‘I want you to know, I believe in you.’ Francis pushes that scene forward,” Al Pacino was quoted as saying by the publication.
The said sequence in the 1972 mafia crime-drama is when Al Pacino had to shoot mobster Michael kills Virgil Sollozzo and cop McCluskey to commit to his family, who is knee-deep in crime world. Al Pacino’s character Michael Corleone, Vito Corleone’s youngest son, had no interest in being involved in the family business. However, he became the new leader of his family’s mafia business after the murder of his older brother and two assassination attempts on his father.
The scene in question here later turned out to be one of the best scenes from the film.
The movie was a massive hit and generated sequels. The first two films of the franchise are still called iconic.
Francis Ford Coppola is now working on Megalopolis, starring Adam Driver. Al Pacino recently appeared in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. According to IMDb, his next film Sniff will premiere at TIFF 2022. He co-stars with Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and Danny DeVito in the film.
