Filmmaker Barry Levinson has made Oscar Isaac an offer he can’t refuse: the chance to play legendary director Francis Ford Coppola in a film about the creation of one of the all-time-great movies. According to Deadline, Levinson – the director of Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam – is making Francis And The Godfather, telling the story of the making of The Godfather with Isaac as the determined director.
The making of the mobster epic was no easy feat, with Coppola – then only 31 years old – battling studio politics, the controversial casting of Marlon Brando and a then-untested Al Paxino, and growing displeasure from the real-life mafia in his quest to make the film. Jake Gyllenhaal is on board to play Robert Evans, the Paramount exec who had different creative ideas to Coppola about how The Godfather should end up on-screen. As well as directing, Levinson has reworked a script by Andrew Farotte which featured on the famed Black List. “Out of the madness of production, and against all odds, a classic film happened,” says Levinson.
As for Coppola himself, he said: “Any movie that Barry Levinson makes about anything, will be interesting and worthwhile.” The director has recently been immersed again in his trilogy, announcing in September that he’s working on a new cut of The Godfather: Part III, reportedly titled Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone. “"For this version of the finale, I created a new beginning and ending, and rearranged some scenes, shots, and music cues,” he explained. “With these changes and the restored footage and sound, to me, it is a more appropriate conclusion to The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II and I’m thankful to Jim Gianopulos and Paramount for allowing me to revisit it."
There’s no word yet on when Francis And The Godfather is scheduled for, while Coppola’s new Godfather: Part III is expected to arrive in the US this December.