Francis Ford: Last News

Al Pacino was constantly on the verge of getting fired from The Godfather but director Francis Ford Coppola saved the role that launched his career by shifting around shooting sequences to move up a scene – the one where Michael Corleone commits to the family business by popping another mobster and a crooked cop in a restaurant.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe freshly restored 50th anniversary edition of “The Godfather,” with director Francis Ford Coppola in tow, is set to open Italy’s Taormina Film Festival on June 26.Paramount’s latest restoration of what is arguably one of the greatest films of all time, conducted under Coppola’s watchful eye, will be kicking off the eastern Sicilian fest in its spectacular 8,000-seat ancient Greek theater in the shadow of the island’s active Mount Etna volcano.The 50th edition of “The Godfather” was released in U.S. theaters in February to robust box office results and subsequently played in the Cannes Cinema de la Plage section, though Coppola wasn’t in attendance.“Having the master Francis Ford Coppola inaugurate our 68th edition fills us with pride and joy,” reads a statement from Taormina’s trio of artistic directors, Francesco Alò, Alessandra De Luca and Federico Pontiggia.

Zack Sharf Elizabeth Olsen is tired of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola bashing Marvel movies. The actor, who is back in theaters as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” told The Independent that she gets frustrated when people make Marvel movies “seem like a lesser type of art.”“I’m not saying we’re making indie art films, but I just think it takes away from our crew, which bugs me,” Olsen said.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. A new star-studded TV series about the making of “The Godfather” arrives on Paramount Plus this week.Set in the early 1970s, “The Offer” follows the notoriously rocky production process that Paramount Pictures went through while adapting Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel for the screen.

return to the directing chair for a Netflix rom-com came as balm to her many fans, who have been waiting more than seven years for another comforting kitchen-set romp like “It’s Complicated.”David Lynch fans were thrilled when it was rumored that the “Mulholland Drive” auteur might have a new feature going to Cannes. But since there’s still a chance we might see a “Wisteria” TV series or feature on Netflix — or elsewhere — sometime soon, we’re going to leave Lynch off the list for now.Meanwhile, Kathryn Bigelow recently announced that she would make “Aurora,” her first film since 2017’s “Detroit,” while Francis Ford Coppola is still swearing he will get “Megalopolis” off the ground sometime soon.Then there’s George Lucas, who basically hung up his eyepiece after “Revenge of the Sith,” and said at the time that he would pivot to smaller independent films.

Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is putting together a high-concept drama, “Megalopolis,” and has been courting all sorts of actors such as James Caan, Oscar Isaac, Forest Whitaker, Cate Blanchett, Jon Voight, Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jessica Lange. After Isaac reportedly passed on the project, Coppola has been seeking a new lead actor and there is something of an update from an unlikely source.

The 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood not only honored the best in film for 2021, but also paid tribute to The Godfather trilogy.In recognition of the 50th anniversary celebration, the film's legendary director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola took the stage with leading man Al Pacino and The Godfather II star Robert Di Niro.While Coppola would give thanks to the audience and the fans at home, he made a point of singling out only two people who helped make the three iconic films possible, one of which he claimed he had never thanked publicly. Iconic: The 94th Academy Awards paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Godfather by having director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola and stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro give thanks for all of the accolades over the years Legendary: The Godfather premiered at Loew's State Theatre on Broadway in New York City on March 14, 1972 , and was widely released in the United States on March 24, 1972; stars James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino andJohn Cazale are pictured from the opening senesSean 'Diddy' Combs would first take to the stage, and do his best at givingthe trilogy its due justice on the impact its had film, but also popular culture as a whole.And then, following an edited piece complete with some of the trilogy's most iconic scenes and lines, Pacino, 81, Coppola, 82, and De Niro, 78, made their grand entrance on to the stage together for the ABC telecast.

Wilson Chapman editorDuring his acceptance speech at Friday’s ICG Publicist’s Guild awards luncheon, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola made an impassioned plea for the Russian invasion of Ukraine to end.“I confess I met Putin, and I met Zelenskyy who is really a show business guy, his whole government, all of them are actors,” Coppola said during his acceptance speech. “And I know of what I speak when I say, if one word would just be said, one word with the force of meaning: Stop.

Simon Thompson Being given the job of restoring arguably one of the greatest films of all time, “The Godfather,” is daunting enough. Doing it under the watchful eye of its director, Francis Ford Coppola, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the filmmaker’s Academy Award-winning opus is another level entirely.It was a team led by restoration expert Andrea Kalas, Senior Vice President of Archives at Paramount Pictures, and James Mockoski, Archivist and Restoration Supervisor at Coppola’s American Zoetrope, who took up the mantle.“The burden of restoring this masterwork was something everyone felt,” Kalas recalls, noting that it required some of the finest artisans in the industry to do so.Laura Thornburg, Executive Director of Preservation, had left Paramount, but Kalas brought her back to oversee the restoration.

Nicolas Cage has revealed the baby names that he and his pregnant wife Riko Shibata have already chosen for their first child together.In a new interview, the Oscar-winner said he and Riko, 26, have pickedAkira Francesco if it's a boy and Lennon Augie if it's a girl.Cage, 58, explained to GQ: 'Augie was my father's nickname. And my uncle has decided to change his name to Francesco.' Making plans:Nicolas Cage, 58, reveals the baby names he and pregnant wife Riko Shibata, 26, have already picked for their first child together; they are seen in 2021The names have been chosen in honor of his late father, August Coppola, and his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola.

Zack Sharf Nicolas Cage disagrees with his uncle Francis Ford Coppola when it comes to Marvel movies. Speaking to GQ magazine, Cage defended superhero movies against viral criticisms made by top filmmakers such as Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Coppola made headlines in 2019 after he was quoted calling Marvel movies “despicable” while supporting Scorsese’s critical beliefs about comic book films hurting the film industry.

Nicolas Cage is in new phase of life. In a recent interview with , the 58-year-old actor shares how the impending birth of his third child has led to quieter days.Cage is already dad to 31-year-old Weston Cage and 16-year-old Kal-El Cage from previous relationships, and his 27-year-old wife, Riko Shibata, is now expecting her first child, his third. Cage says they already have the names picked out, which are inspired by his late father, August Coppola, and his uncle, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.  The couple like the names Akira Francesco for a boy and Lennon Augie for a girl.“Augie was my father's nickname,” Cage tells the magazine, «And my uncle has decided to change his name to Francesco.»As for becoming a father of three, Cage is thrilled.

To the world, Francis Ford Coppola is an Oscar award winning writer and director, but to actress Elle Fanning, he's 'Uncle Francis.'The 23-year-old star offered a heartfelt tribute Monday to the legendary director as he received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Great actress was among those offering accolades to The Godfather director on his special day. His sister, Godfather actress Talia Shire, offered her own high praise about the movie legend.

Zack Sharf When asked on “The View” this week about filmmakers slamming superhero movies (directors such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and more have criticized Marvel films for disrupting exhibition), Marvel Cinematic Universe stalwart Samuel L. Jackson said “it’s easy” for directors to do so “only because people aren’t going to see their movies.” Jackson has been a fixture of the MCU for almost 15 years as Nick Fury, a character he’s next bringing to television on the Disney Plus series “Secret Invasion.”“Movies are movies,” Jackson said about directors criticizing Marvel films. “Those are the movies that I went to see when I was a kid.

This coming week the universally acclaimed film - The Godfather - turns 50.And for Al Pacino, one of the leading men of the mafioso classic, it's taken him nearly a lifetime to come to terms with the enormity of its impact, andthe notoriety he's received for playing the career breakthrough role of Michael Corleone.While Pacino was 31 at the time of the shoot, in a new interview with The New York Times, he readily admits he had a tough time coping with the superstardom that followed his Oscar-nominated performance, considering he had only had one film on his resume when director Francis Ford Coppola approached him about playing Michael. Breakthrough role; Al Pacino, now 81, is opening up about how his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather has had on his life and career, now that the classic mafioso film turns 50; Pacino pictured in 2020Michael Corleone's character arc was as good as it gets for an actor - going from the shy son and reluctant family outsider who served his country honorably in World War II, to unsuspecting hitman, and eventually the ruthless mob boss of the Corleone family.But for Pacino, now 81, he didn't take Coppola's interest in him too seriously, being that he was so green, in terms of film, although he was considered a rising star of the theater at the time.

she had been in her brother Francis Ford Coppola‘s shoes, she wouldn’t have hired herself for the role of Connie Corleone in “The Godfather.”Alluding to the fact that Paramount Pictures execs were mulling whether to fire director Coppola from the production she revealed, “it was really tough for Francis.”Shire, 75, added, “And I think the last thing he needed was his sister at that time … It added one more tension for him … I wouldn’t have had me on the set.”But the actress also noted that she “had to audition” for the role — and she and her big bro, now 82, eventually “enjoyed a collaborative professional relationship on that movie.”Shire, who played the challenging role of the only daughter of Don Corleone — married to ne’er do well Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo) — said that the harrowing scene where a clearly pregnant Connie is throwing dishes while dodging blows from her onscreen husband was difficult to shoot.“It’s a rough thing to see a pregnant woman being knocked around,” she acknowledged before explaining that legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis was “in the center of the action.”“And I had to move from place to place and I was honestly terrified because you didn’t want to do another take. Another take meant everything had to be reset and I just wanted to keep going and sometimes things wouldn’t break.

Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola didn't mince his words when he learned the upcoming 94th Academy Awards won't be airing eight of the traditional 23 categories in an effort to make the ceremony 'more thrilling.'The makeover of sorts for the March 27 ceremony was only just announced on Tuesday. The categories that won't be apart of the telecast include: Documentary Short, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Production Design, Animated Short, Live Action Short and Sound.'All those [categories] are important.

One of Gary Oldman’s many memorable roles over the years was playing the title role in “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, director Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 take on the classic vampire tale.

told Esquire. “Winona says we are.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had an update about Francis Ford Coppola’s desire to bring his long-awaited passion project, “Megalopolis,” to the big screen. At the time, it appeared the filmmaker was searching for funding.

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Justin Chambers has lined up his next gig.