News Analysis India

Tag: Francis Ford Coppola

  • People filling theatres to see ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Barbie’ victory for cinema: Francis Ford Coppola 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Veteran filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola says he is happy to see audiences flocking to cinema halls to watch “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, terming the favourable response to the two big-ticket releases “a victory for cinema”.

    Coppola said this in response to fans’ questions on his Instagram Stories, asking if he had watched Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan yet.

    “I have yet to see them, but the fact that people are filling big theatres to see them and that they are neither sequels nor prequels, no number attached to them, meaning they are true one-offs, is a victory for cinema,” the 84-year-old director said.

    According to entertainment website The Hollywood Reporter, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have been on a roll since their opening weekend from July 21-23.

    Gerwig’s film not only had one of the top openings since the COVID-19 pandemic but “Barbie” also broke the record for the biggest opening for a female director.

    As far as Nolan’s movie is concerned, “Oppenheimer” ranked as the third-biggest opening ever for a biographical film in North America, the outlet stated.

    While Coppola previously expressed his dislike for franchises, he was behind “The Godfather” film trilogy, which spawned from Mario Puzo’s best-selling 1969 novel.

    When another social media user asked him about the future of cinema, the director said he had big hopes for the film exhibition industry.

    “My hunch is that we’re on the verge of a golden age.

    Wonderful and illuminating cinema seen in large theatres,” he said.

    LOS ANGELES: Veteran filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola says he is happy to see audiences flocking to cinema halls to watch “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, terming the favourable response to the two big-ticket releases “a victory for cinema”.

    Coppola said this in response to fans’ questions on his Instagram Stories, asking if he had watched Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan yet.

    “I have yet to see them, but the fact that people are filling big theatres to see them and that they are neither sequels nor prequels, no number attached to them, meaning they are true one-offs, is a victory for cinema,” the 84-year-old director said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    According to entertainment website The Hollywood Reporter, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have been on a roll since their opening weekend from July 21-23.

    Gerwig’s film not only had one of the top openings since the COVID-19 pandemic but “Barbie” also broke the record for the biggest opening for a female director.

    As far as Nolan’s movie is concerned, “Oppenheimer” ranked as the third-biggest opening ever for a biographical film in North America, the outlet stated.

    While Coppola previously expressed his dislike for franchises, he was behind “The Godfather” film trilogy, which spawned from Mario Puzo’s best-selling 1969 novel.

    When another social media user asked him about the future of cinema, the director said he had big hopes for the film exhibition industry.

    “My hunch is that we’re on the verge of a golden age.

    Wonderful and illuminating cinema seen in large theatres,” he said.

  • An offer you can’t refuse

    Express News Service

    “Great men are not born great, they grow great.” This is one among many, many popular quotes from The Godfather. It’s a line that can be said about films too. The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, was released on March 14, 1972, and now, 50 years later, it continues to grow great. Look at how this film continues to inspire generation after generation of filmmakers across the world, who have come up with different iterations of the original. If ever there was a film worthy of the ‘classic’ tag, this here is it. Here are contemporary filmmakers speaking on why this 50-year-old film endures and continues to fuel cinema across the world.

    For Abhinav Sunder Nayak, the editor of films like Uriyadi and director of the upcoming film Mukundan Unni Associates, finally getting to watch The Godfather on the big screen will be the realisation of a childhood dream. “I first saw The Godfather in the early 2000s. My dad, a huge fan of the first two films, who had seen it at Kozhikode’s Crown Cinema upon its release, kept saying that these films should be experienced on the big screen.

    When we bought a DVD player for the first time, this was among the first films we watched. And yet, I could see that the CRT monitor didn’t quite do justice. It even got me wondering what the big deal with this film was.” In fact, Abhinav went on to call the film ‘overrated’. “I watched it again after years, out of sheer curiosity, and this time, I was stunned. I found it to be an extraordinary piece of cinema. With maturity and more knowledge about filmmaking, my appreciation had grown. I later rewatched The Godfather on a Blu-ray of the remastered version. I have since seen this film at least 10 times by now. I am stoked about seeing the latest 4K Remastered version.”

    Rocky director Arun Matheswaran wasn’t aware of the re-release when we reached out to him. “I am definitely going to catch it!” he began. “The Godfather is the bible for gangster cinema. It has inspired so many stories and films including my own film, Rocky. The introduction of Mani Maran (Bharathiraja) in my debut film is inspired by the first scene of The Godfather, where a grieving father pleads to avenge the wrong done to his daughter.” Arun says he learned the art of framing from this film. “Notice Kay Adams (Diane Keaton), Michael Corleone’s wife, in the last shot of the film. As Michale becomes the don and men kiss his hand, Kay is outside trying to take a peek into their world. She stays an outsider. The film also serves as a character study—be it Vito Corleone or the impulsive first son… It’s an extraordinary lesson.”

    For Malayalam filmmaker and screenwriter Salil V, the re-release is a special occasion as this is the first time he will be seeing the film! “I have read the book, of course, but not seen the film despite having the DVD with me. The novel is fantastic and I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing this supposed marvel of filmmaking on a huge screen for the first time. I hope that the theatres bring out the sequels too soon.”

    For Telugu filmmaker Sudhir Varma, the director of films like Ranarangam and Dohchay, even getting the chance to speak about The Godfather for its 50th anniversary is an honour. The Swamy Ra Ra director is vocal about how he gets inspired by classics: “There are numerous remakes and inspirations of The Godfather-like Nayakan and the Sarkar series. My own film, Ranarangam, is part of this list. The visuals of The Godfather engrossed me the first time. There isn’t a single frame that’s boring. It was a visual spectacle made in the 70s without modern tech, and I daresay, no film has or will match it ever. Also, while numerous films get adapted from books, they usually don’t live up to the original work. I have read the book, and I think the film has outdone the novel.”

    Echoing Sudhir Varma, Anjum Rajabali, screenwriter of Raajneeti, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Toofan, says, “There are few instances where the film is equal to, if not better, than the book, and that is the case with Coppola’s The Godfather. I’ve taught the film as a pristine example of adaptation and structuring. The book, a sprawling epic, establishes a lot about Vito Corleone’s childhood, his relationships, his psychology and all of that. Whereas in the film, his son Michael is the protagonist. And as Michael grows in power, parallelly his moral decline begins. His paranoia and isolation increase, breaching the family values his father held dear. This is captured beautifully in the holy-profane juxtaposition in the baptism sequence. Michael is a classic archetype that goes back to Arjun in the Mahabharata. Structurally, too, the film is masterful. All these factors make the movie such a fine cinematic as well as a literary achievement.”

    The Godfather can be caught in limited PVR theatres this weekend.

    (With inputs from Sajin Shrijith and Shilajit Mitra) 

  • Limited re-release to mark ‘The Godfather’ 50th anniversary

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: The trailer for the 50th-anniversary limited theatrical re-release of Francis Ford Coppola’s classic ‘The Godfather’, starring Marlon Brando and some of the greatest actors of all times, “is, if nothing else, a reminder that the great mobster movie unleashed some of the most memorable lines of dialogue in Hollywood history,” reports ‘Deadline’.The one that is most often repeated: “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Only Brando could have made this line sound so sinister. Or the lines delivered by a young Al Pacino: “Don’t ever take sides against the family again.” And to Diane Keaton’s character: “Don’t ask me about my business, Kay.”Paramount Pictures released the new trailer on Thursday (U.S. Pacific Time) with the announcement that the film will have a limited 50th-anniversary theatrical release in Dolby Vision beginning from February 25, exclusively in Dolby Cinema at AMC Theatres in the U.S. and international territories around the world.A statement from Paramount Pictures introducing the trailer reads: “No movie changed Hollywood more than The Godfather. From the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo to box-office blockbuster, its influential legacy endures to this day.”The statement notes: “Starring Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning performance as the patriarch of the Corleone family, this first instalment in the three-movie saga paints a dramatic portrait of the Sicilian clan’s rise and near fall from power in America.And it concludes by reminding the film’s diehard aficionados: “Balanced between the Corleone’s commitment to family and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged, it features career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Caan, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall. This searing and brilliant masterpiece garnered 10 Academy Award nominations, and won three, including Best Picture.”According to ‘Deadline’, all three films in the trilogy — ‘The Godfather’, ‘The Godfather: Part II’, and Coppola’s recently re-edited version of the final film, ‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’ — have been restored under his direction and will be made available on 4K Ultra HD and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time ever on March 22.

  • Carrie Fisher, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael B Jordan among 2022 Walk of Fame honourees

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Actors Salma Hayek, Carrie Fisher, Willem Dafoe, Michael B Jordon, filmmaker Franchis Ford Coppola and rapper Nipsey Hussle as well as band Black Eyed Peas will be getting their own stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022.

    The selections were announced via the Walk of Fame Facebook page on Thursday night.

    The Walk of Fame Class of 2022 includes Hollywood’s popular names from motion pictures, television, recording, radio, live theatre and sports entertainment.

    Others who are part of the motion picture category are Macaulay Culkin, Helen Hunt, Regina King, Ray Liotta, Ewan McGregor, Adam McKay, Jason Momoa, James Hong and Tessa Thompson.

    TV honourees include Byron Allen, Greg Berlanti, Ricky Gervais, Peter Krause, Bob Odenkirk, Holly Robinson Peete, Norman Reedus, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jean Smart, Ming-Na Wen and Kenan Thompson.

    George Clinton, Jr, Ashanti Douglas, Avril Lavigne, Los Huracanes del Norte and Martha Reeves are joining the Walk of Fame under the music category, From theatre industry Patti Lupone, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.

    and Angelica Vale are part of Class of 2022, while Richard Blade is the only honouree from radio.

    Michael Strahan will be honoured in the newest category of sports entertainment.

    The recipients have been chosen by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Fame selection panel.

    “The panel did an amazing job choosing these very talented people.

    We can’t wait to see each honoree’s reaction as they realize that they are becoming a part of Hollywood’s history with the unveiling of their star on the world’s most famous walkway,” said Chair and Walk of Famer Ellen K.

  • Dan Fogler to play Francis Ford Coppola in ‘The Godfather’ making series

    By IANS
    Actor Dan Fogler is set to play The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola in Paramount’s limited series The Offer, which revolves around the making of the studio’s 1972 classic. Meanwhile, Giovanni Ribisi has been cast as notorious crime boss Joe Colombo, while Colin Hanks will play Barry Lapidus, a powerful Gulf & Western executive of the studio.

    Miles Teller will play The Godfather producer Albert S Ruddy, and the series is told from his point of view as he assembles everything for the gangster drama, which would go on to win Best Picture.

    Matthew Goode of Watchmen fame was recently cast as Hollywood legend Robert Evans, who was working as a Paramount executive at the time of the shoot.

    The Offer is a 10-episode series hailing from Paramount Television Studios and writers Nikki Toscano of Hunters fame and Michael Tolkin Known for The Player. Dexter Fletcher of Rocketman fame will direct the first and last block of the series and executive produce alongside showrunner Toscano as well as Tolkin, Ruddy, Teller and Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys). Production of the series is expected to start in the coming weeks.