As dramatic, entertaining, and sometimes frightening as the film is, the story of how this iconic Mob inspired film came to the big screen might be even more so! New Canaan Library presents Mark Seal, author of Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather, for a riveting live webinar discussion of his eye-opening book, which looks at the creation of one of the most important films in cinematic history. The webinar airs on Thursday, January 13 at 7 PM EST; register at newcanaanlibrary.org for Zoom sign in.
Stories and versions of the making of this epic film have swirled around over the years – some correct, some conflicting, but all compelling. In his carefully researched book, Seal sifts through the evidence and adds confirmation of the truth through extensive new conversations with director Francis Ford Coppola and several heretofore silent sources, complemented by new, colorful interviews with key players including actors Al Pacino, James Caan, Talia Shire, and others for tantalizing insights. Between contending with the Mob and their demands, dealing with the book’s author Mario Puzo and the film’s reluctant superstar, Marlon Brando, it was touch and go for a while. Seal’s compelling new narrative delivers exciting insight into how the movie whose success some initially doubted roared to glory.
Mark Seal joined Vanity Fair as a contributing editor in 2003, covering stories as varied as the Bernie Madoff scandal, Ghislaine Maxwell, Tiger Woods, the fall of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, the making of classic films such as Pulp Fiction, and many more. His 2016 Vanity Fair article “The Over the Hill Gang,” about a gang of retired thieves who pulled off the biggest jewel heist in British history, was the basis of the 2018 film, King of Thieves, starring Michael Caine. In addition to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. he is the author of the books Wildflower and The Man in the Rockefeller Suit. His website is Mark-Seal.com.