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How a Mafia movie became a pop culture hit and launched a new generation of stars.

By Mara Reinstein in Parade

he cast is all wrong. The tone is too somber. It needs to be shorter. And does it have to be set in the 1940s?

These were just some of the complaints from Paramount Pictures executives during the troubled production of The Godfather -- an adaptation of the Mario Puzo gangster novel about a powerful Italian American family that ascends to the top of New York City's Mafia (although it was filmed with the caveat that the word "Mafia" never be mentioned) -- as it lumbered toward its theatrical release on March 15, 1972.

Director Francis Ford Coppola, who had co-written the big war biopic Patton , landed the coveted position of director after Elia Kazan ( On the Waterfront ) and Arthur Penn ( Bonnie and Clyde ) turned it down. But his job was on shaky ground even after the cameras started to roll.

"There were [directors] standing to the side ready to take over," says actress Talia Shire [interviewed below], who played Don Vito Corleone's only daughter, Connie. "Can you imagine?!"

Al Pacino, a breakout in the large cast, who portrayed Vito's youngest son, Michael, recalls: "It was a great script. But we didn't know what filmmaking was, really."

Today Coppola's The Godfather is considered a true cinematic masterpiece and a pop culture touchstone. It grossed $136 million in all, surpassed at the time by only Gone With the Wind and The Sound of Music. Adjusted for inflation, that's $711 million, making it the 26th highest-grossing film of all time. It also went on to win three Oscars -- for best picture, actor (Marlon Brando), and adapted screenplay (cowritten by Puzo and Coppola).

"The movie is extraordinary on every single level, from the performances to the musical cues to the language," says Shire. "Time doesn't tick for it." Here, we salute the remarkable history and legacy of the most monumental mobster film ever made.

TALIA TELLS ALL

"I love the movie because it's a very Shakespearean drama," says Talia Shire, who played Connie Corleone in all three Godfather films. The actress shares her memories.

Did you have to audition, or did Coppola, your brother, just cast you? The first times I asked him to audition, he said, "No, no, no." Then about a month later, [author] Mario Puzo said [to Coppola], "Why not just audition her?" I remember flying to New York and doing the scene where Connie gets beaten up. I could hear Francis crying behind me.

What did you think of the Connie character? She takes a lot of abuse in the first movie. She interested me because she was somebody who stays in the kitchen. I knew I could find my way in there. But look what happens to her: She marries a guy who murders her brother, and he gets murdered by another brother. She can't be a total weepy character, but she's the agent of a kind of female victimhood. She changes a lot by the third movie.

What was Brando like on the set? He was a breathtaking man and brought tremendous elegance to the character. Look at the way he dances with me in that wedding scene. But what I found was that he was also incredibly charismatic, generous and disciplined. He really wanted you to be great in a scene.

Did you have a siblinglike relationship with the actors who played your brothers? Yes, yes. And John Cazale needs to be highlighted because he was so joyous, and that joy was infectious. He was what I would call a great acting partner.

Do you stay in touch with the cast? I am a shy person and don't live in a big world. But I love Diane. And when I see Al, of course, he's [still] my brother. Also with Jimmy. It's a kinship.

How often do you watch the movie? There was a 45th anniversary screening at Radio City Music Hall [in 2017]. I made sure my [three] kids were there because they needed to see it that way. And Francis sat behind me. But I don't see it too much on television.

Will the Coppolas do something special to mark the milestone? I don't know. All the family members are involved in writing and doing and creating, so we come together. My children [Robert Schwartzman, 39; Jason Schwartzman, 41; and Matthew Orlando Shire, 46] spent a huge amount of time during this pandemic up with Francis in Napa [California]. We're always interested in the next creative thing. We can't help ourselves.

CAST: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Michael Corleone Al Pacino The New York City-born actor, who starred in all three Godfather movies, has memorably portrayed intense characters on both sides of the law in such films as Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Scarface (1983), Heat (1995) and The Irishman (2019). Still in demand at age 81, he most recently co-starred in House of Gucci .	Vito Corleone Marlon Brando The mercurial star -- who made an explosive debut in the 1950s in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront -- refused to appear in The Godfather: Part II . But he agreed to pull off a tongue-in-cheek version of a Godfather-like mob boss in the 1990 comedy The Freshman . He died in 2004 at age 80.	Sonny Corleone James Caan He auditioned for the role of Michael before Coppola chose him for brash older brother Sonny. Now 81, Caan has stayed busy during the later decades, with more than 90 film and TV credits -- most notably in the 2003 holiday classic Elf .	Tom Hagen Robert Duvall Since his film debut as Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Duvall -- who played the Corleones' legal consultant, Tom Hagen -- has racked up seven Oscar nominations, including for The Judge in 2015. (He won in 1984 for Tender Mercies .) The actor, now 91, is also a skilled tango dancer.
Connie Corleone Talia Shire After playing the abused wife in The Godfather , the actress was the ever-supportive Adrian in Rocky . Shire, now 75, reprised the role in Rocky 's four sequels and appeared in other films, including I Heart Huckabees (2004) and Palo Alto (2013).	Kay Adams Diane Keaton Now 76, Keaton played wife Kay in all three Godfather movies and established herself as one of Hollywood's premier comedic actresses in films such as Annie Hall (1977), Baby Boom (1987) and The First Wives Club (1996). Her latest charmers? Poms (2019) and Love, Weddings & Other Disasters (2020).	Fredo Corleone John Cazale The Boston native, memorable as Fredo in two Godfather films, went on to other memorable performances in The Conversation (1974) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975). He died of cancer at 42 after completing his role for The Deer Hunter (1978). He was in a relationship with his Deer Hunter co-star Meryl Streep at the time.	That Cat Long since departed to kitty heaven, Vito Corleone's pet gray tabby was a stray that Coppola told Brando to improvise with.

TRIVIA

A Family Affair Director Francis Ford Coppola didn't just cast his sister, Talia Shire, in the movie. Their father, Carmine, composed music for the soundtrack. And Michael and Kay's baby boy in the baptism scene was the director's daughter, Sofia Coppola, who grew up to appear in the sequels (in other roles) and has become a renowned writer and director herself. Her brothers, Roman and Gian-Carlo, also had small background roles.	No Marlon Brando? Imagine Burt Lancaster, Laurence Olivier or Anthony Quinn as crime boss Don Vito Corleone. Those were the actors that Paramount preferred.	$100,000 That's what it cost to do Sonny's tollbooth death scene (all those bullets!).
Hijinks on Set Caan and Duvall, initially intimidated by the legendary Brando, broke the ice on set by dropping their pants and mooning him. "He made me!" Caan says of Duvall. Brando upstaged them by dropping his own trousers while the crew was setting up the wedding photo scene.	A Blond Michael? The studio floated Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal for the role of the youngest Corleone brother. Martin Sheen also auditioned.	That Bloody Horse Head Discovered in the bed of the ruthless movie producer Jack Woltz (Bob Marley), it wasn't a prop: It was a real horse's head from a dog food plant in New Jersey.

IN POP CULTURE

Return of the Jedi (1983) It's no coincidence that Princess Leia kills Jabba the Hutt by strangling him with her chain. Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan was inspired by Luca Brasi, whose eyes and tongue bulge out as he's garroted by an assassin.

You've Got Mail (1998) Doing his best Vito impression, Tom Hanks insists that life's problems can be solved by one of The Godfather 's credos, telling Meg Ryan to "go to the mattresses," to fight for her business to stay open.

The Sopranos (1999) The TV series made several references to the original mob family, like when Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) gets shot after chugging orange juice near his car.

Despicable Me (2010) Even this G-rated kiddie movie includes a nod: Villain Gru (Steve Carell) finds a doll's head in his bed and screams bloody murder."

Excerpts from the 'Bat Out of Hell' rocker's never before published final interviews.

By Andy Greene in Rolling Stone

n a November 1978 interview with Rolling Stone, Meat Loaf tried to explain why he put so much energy into his concerts that he sometimes lost consciousness after the final encore. "I get so possessed by the songs, so wrapped up in the show, that it's like withdrawal when it's over," he said. "I get tired during the show, but I can't stop -- and sometimes it gets painful as hell." Pushing through the pain was a theme of Meat Loaf's life. His childhood was marked by violent clashes with his alcoholic father, and the early days of his career were clouded by constant doubts of whether the public would have any interest in the bombastic, operatic rock songs he created with composer Jim Steinman. He proved everyone wrong by selling more than 40 million copes of 1977's Bat Out of Hell , but the pressure to craft a follow-up left his voice and psyche shattered. Against all odds, he clawed his way to the top of the charts in 1993 with "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," and followed it up by reviving his acting career in Fight Club and other films.

He was plagued by health problems in recent years, and died Jan. 20 at 74. No official cause was given, but he was a vocal vaccine skeptic, and there are reports he contracted Covid-19 in his final days. Below are excerpts from interviews Meat Loaf gave to Rolling Stone reporters in 2019 and 2021, the majority of which has never been published. They give Meat Loaf the chance to tell the story of his life in his own words.

Why did you become a singer? Most people do that to get girls.
Not me. I wanted to play professional football. That is all I wanted to do. No way was I good enough for that, but I didn't want to be a rock & roll star. I still don't want to be a rock & roll star. When Bat Out of Hell came out, they wanted to run this ad, "New Star on the Horizon." I said take the "star" out. New artist. When people call me a legend, I tell them not to do that. I'm not a legend. I don't pretend to be one. I want to just be normal. I want to be a normal human being.

But you can't be.
Yeah, I can. I sit here, and I'm normal. I watch Law & Order, I watch Blue Bloods. I am hooked on The Good Doctor. It's fantastic.

Do you remember the last thing you cried over? Nah, but it was yesterday.

It happens that frequently? Yeah, just all of a sudden something will happen. You know, some show I'm watching or some interview.... There are dog-food commercials that will make me cry.

Has it always been like that? Even as a kid? I mean, I'm tough as nails. I grew up in Dallas and got into fights constantly. When I was at North Texas State, I would always end up getting into a fight with some guy from Oklahoma. When it was over, he wished he hadn't.

Did you win most of your fights? I lost one.

When you sing, you inhabit your characters. Yeah. Every song is a different character. Every song I have a trigger to get to a different character.

You haven't done a concert since 2016. Are you done with touring? I don't want to be. But I don't know. I have offers, but it's going to be tough. They want to put tickets on sale soon, but I don't know if I'll be ready. I'm between a rock and a hard place. I want to do more shows, but I've got to get into rehab [Meat Loaf was suffering physical ailments, including a bad back]. I've got to get my knee back so I'm not limping.

I will never be able to do what I used to do because of my back. All that movement and running and stuff. It's not like a fake energy. It's not like, you know, bells and whistles and stuff. The people don't really understand the energy.

Who did you vote for in the [2016] election?
I'm not going to tell ya.... I voted for Trump. I'm not supposed to talk politics.... USA Today listed me as a Republican, and that drives me crazy. I'm not. I'm not a registered Republican at all.

Let's talk about your childhood. I know your father came at you with a knife once. Sounds like you cheated death there. I cheated death long before that. He threw me through a plate-glass window.

Do you remember what the offense was?
Oh, nothing. He was an alcoholic. He was like Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses. He would disappear for days on end, and my mother would go out looking for him when I was young. I think that's how I learned how to act.

So your father was a bad man? Yeah. He was an alcoholic. When he sobered up, he wasn't. And he did get sober. My mother passed in '66 or '67, and that's why I dropped out of college. I stole my father's credit card and went to Love Field. I didn't know where the plane was going. Whatever the next flight was was the one I was getting on. And it was going to L.A.

I eventually was cast in "Hair," and I had to move to New York to do it on Broadway. New York City freaks me out. I break out in these blisters that are covering my body from nerves. So they ship me to Pittsburgh. That's much better. I continue with "Hair," leave "Hair," get an agent named Jeff Hunter. He ways to me, "If you're going to work as an actor in New York, you're going to go to the Public Theater."

That's where you met Jim Steinman. He was directing a play called "More Than You Deserve." I came in to audition. I sang a Motown-style song called "(I'd Love to Be) As Heavy as Jesus." I didn't know Jim. He didn't know me. But when I was done, he walked by me and said, "By the way, you're as heavy as two Jesuses."

Then he said, "Can you wait here?" He came back with 16 people, including the casting director and Joe Papp, the head of the theater. They asked me to be a part of this showcase to preview the musical. They gave me $125 a week, enough to pay my rent and have groceries.

I never asked Jim -- ever -- what he wrote a song about. "Why'd you write this? What's it about?" I would never ask a writer of a script, "Why did you write this character. What is this character about?" Because it's none of his business after I get it.

Where did "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" come from? Nobody knows this, but "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" was my song. It was about a girl named Renee Allen, who I went out with. We'd park somewhere and she'd, in so many words, say "Stop right there." And I had a 1963 red Galaxie convertible that I worked to buy. It had the "Dashboard of Doom." I told Jim this story sitting in front of his apartment.

Why did it take so long for Bat to come out?
We auditioned for people all over town, but they'd say to me, "We want to sign you to our label, but you gotta get rid of this guy." In the meantime, to augment the money, we were playing small supper clubs around New York for 60 people a night.

Clive Davis was the worst. He said, "You don't know how to write a song." People just wanted to sign me. In the meantime, I did the lead vocals on Ted Nugent's record. They wanted me to go with Nugent and REO Speedwagon, all these people. I went, "Stop it! This is not happening! I'm not leaving Jim! They go, "Then you'll never make a record."

What caused it to finally pop?
We signed with Cleveland International and made the album with Todd Rundgren producing. It took off because Walter Yetnikoff at CBS believed in it, and a program director in Buffalo, New York, named Sandy Beach put it on because in "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" there's the line "You'll never find gold on a sandy beach." Also, John Belushi helped us get on Saturday Night Live in May 1978.

Saturday Night Live broke the egg, and Bat Out of Hell spilled out all over the world. We went from selling no records to being five-times platinum. From that point on, I was always at 11. I would get up, go do the morning radio, go to soundcheck, do interviews, do the show, sometimes go to a radio station after the show. I'd go to Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings.

What happened with the follow-up?
For us, success was a lot harder to deal with than failure. When Bat Out of Hell broke big, I had a nervous breakdown. I lost my voice when I was working on the next record. And I felt abandoned by Jim at that moment.

It took years for you guys to make peace.
Jim and I got back together in 1984. I was recording for RCA at the Power Station. Jim was working on something there, and we started hanging out. Jim said, "I think it's time we did another record." It took us until 1993, but that's OK. Look how long it took us to do Bat Out of Hell. When the second one was done, the label was like, "Great, 'Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through' is the single." We turned around and said, "No, that's not the single. Are you nuts? 'I Would Do Anything for Love' is the single." It took a lot of arguing to get them to agree.

What was your relationship like in the final years of Jim's life? As he got sicker, he turned to me more and more. I kept wanting to go see him, but he'd be in the hospital for a surgery or I'd be on the road. I was always on the road because I never got any royalties. Only in the last few years, when my health took a dive, did I go see Jim. When we got together, I made him happy. I made him laugh. His nurse would call and I'd talk to him via FaceTime during Covid. His brain was there. He was trapped inside a body. He held it together. But it was hard because he was so weak.

After he died, his nurse, Mary Beth, left a message saying how much he loved me. She said I was the person he needed more than anyone else. I don't want to die, but I may die this year because of Jim. I'm always with him, and he's right here with me now.  

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