Patrick Gallo Reveals How The Offer And The Godfather Collided In Real Life - Exclusive
Streaming now on Paramount+ is "The Offer," a 10-part limited series about the making of one of the greatest movies of all time, "The Godfather." The movie was based on Mario Puzo's bestselling novel about a powerful New York crime organization — the Corleone family — and became an even bigger phenomenon than the book, earning over $250 million from its initial release (via Box Office Mojo) and winning three Oscars, including best picture.
Despite all that, "The Godfather" faced extraordinary obstacles in getting to the screen, with director Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount chief Robert Evans, Paramount owner Charles Bluhdorn, and producer Albert Ruddy feuding over everything, including the budget, the cast, the locations, the story's time period, the movie's final runtime, and more. Coppola and then-unknown star Al Pacino both thought they'd be fired, with Coppola even the target of a failed coup by some of the crew at one point (via Time).
All this and more is chronicled in "The Offer," which itself encountered some major bumps along the road to completion. Cast member Patrick Gallo, who plays Mario Puzo in the series, is philosophical now about the situation: "That happened the entire time we shot," he told Looper in an exclusive interview. "And it made it so much more exciting."
The Offer faced its own problems in getting onto the screen
Shortly after "The Offer" was announced in the fall of 2020, Armie Hammer was cast as Albert Ruddy, the "Godfather" producer on whose recollections — which have been disputed by others — the series would be based. But Hammer dropped out of the production in January 2021 after allegations of sexual abuse came to light about him.
That wasn't the only sand thrown in the gears of "The Offer": Hammer's replacement, Miles Teller, allegedly came down with COVID during production, forcing filming to temporarily shut down. Teller denied accusations that he was unvaccinated. In another development mirroring the threat of mob-controlled union action against "The Godfather" when it filmed in New York, "The Offer" withdrew from filming scenes at Los Angeles' famed Chateau Marmont hotel due to labor issues there (via Deadline).
It didn't escape Patrick Gallo's notice that "The Offer" was dealing with difficulties just as the production it was chronicling grappled with them 50 years earlier. "The overall production had a few situations and then it was down to a personal level," Gallo said. "There were so many parallels occurring that were so similar to stories that were connected to the making of 'The Godfather' ... We would constantly sit there and be like, 'Is that really what's happening right now?'"
But the actor added that whatever issues "The Offer" encountered only reinforced his certainty that this story had to be told. "It's one of those things where you're doing something and the universe keeps telling you [that] you're exactly where you're supposed to be," Gallo said. "We were telling a story about art imitating life. It was all happening at the same time. That happened the entire time we shot, and it made it so much more exciting. You knew you were in the right place."
"The Offer" is streaming now on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering on Thursdays.