Based on Al Ruddy's life as a producer and his experience of working on The Godfather. He is Miles Teller, Bob Evans is played by Matthew Goode, with a slightly blocked nose (I found this a little distracting), Coppola rather well by Dan Fogler again and mobster Joe Colombo by Giovanni Ribisi, also with a slightly distracting accent. Actually Burn Gorman has one as well, playing the head of Gulf & Western.
With Juno Temple as a highly useful assistant, Colin Hanks on good serious form, Jake Cannavale (son of Bobby and Jenny Lumet), Lou Ferrigno. And Patrick Gallo as Mario Puzo, Anthony Ippolito as Pacino, Nora Arnezedar as Ruddy's girlfriend, Meredith Garretson as Ali MacGraw, Joseph Russo as 'Crazy' Joe Gallo, Justin Chambers as Brando.
Temple plays her character well and she's a great one - chumming up to the boss of Gulf & Western, independently seeking help from Colombo, sorting out the script. Good stuff between Coppola and Puzo. There were so many problems associated with this film - Italian pressure, Sinatra really didn't want it made, a proposed sale of the studio, Evans and Ruddy being sacked - it's amazing it was made at all, never mind being the brilliant iconic film it became - which I guess is partly why this is so interesting.
A lavish ten parter for Paramount +. Tolkin wrote The Player. Though we almost thought that episode 9 was the last one - particularly the special screening for the mob, in which you can see just from their reactions which bit of the film we're at. Ruddy's decision to leave the GF and go his own way is almost anticlimactic. Nevertheless we thought is was one of the best streaming things of the year, and Juno Temple's Bettye McCartt a fabulous character.
Loved the scene in which Brando very simply becomes Don Corleone. Also where the actor playing Talia Shire's husband has hit her for real and Juno instructs Caan to beat the shit out of him - not true, but a great scene.
Directed by Adam Arkin, Dexter Fletcher, Colin Bucksey and Gwyneth Horder-Payton.
We'd been planning to watch just two episodes then celebrate Donald Sutherland with MASH, but we just had to watch the last four together.
Evans' career pretty much tanked after Chinatown; Ruddy did not much better, latterly though producing both Million Dollar Baby and the less successful Cry Macho for Clint Eastwood. And it is true that editor Aram Avakian was involved early on but not to sabotage Francis - in fact the opposite. They were friends (Aram had cut You're a Big Boy Now) and when Ruddy asked Avakian if he could replace Coppola as director he refused - see here.
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