How ‘The Godfather’ star James Caan taped ‘f–k you’ onto a co-star’s tongue
Francis Ford Coppola’s operatic mob drama, “The Godfather,” premiered on March 24, 1972.
The landmark movie, up there with “Citizen Kane” by way of cinematic type and affect, altered the profession trajectories of its stars — together with James Caan, who performed fiery, doomed Santino “Sonny” Corleone, the eldest son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and brother to Fredo (John Cazale), Connie (Talia Shire) and Michael (Al Pacino).
Previous to his breakout, Oscar-nominated position in “The Godfather,” The Bronx-born Caan was best-known for roles on a slew of ’60s-era tv collection — together with “The Untouchables,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” “Get Sensible,” “Wagon Practice,” “Bare Metropolis” and “Route 66” — and for enjoying cancer-stricken Chicago Bears operating again Brian Piccolo reverse Billy Dee Williams (as Gale Sayers) in “Brian’s Music,” ABC’s tearjerking Film of the Week which aired in November 1971.
(He additionally appeared in a number of films, together with “The Rain Individuals” in 1969, directed by Coppola — Caan’s classmate at Hofstra — and co-starring Robert Duvall, aka Corleone Household consigliere Tom Hagen.)
Caan, who turns 82 on Saturday (March 26), spoke to The Submit in a wide-ranging interview about his recollections of filming “The Godfather,” which airs someplace on tv nearly on daily basis — in all of its iterations — and will probably be re-released Tuesday (March 22) in a complete 4K ultra-high-definition Blu-ray package deal.
“One of many issues that made ‘The Godfather’ profitable, in addition to sensible directing and writing and great actors … was that everybody actually loved making it, and that comes off on the display,” Caan stated. “And I feel the viewers can inform that we had been having an excellent time doing what we had been doing up there.
“Marlon was nice,” Caan stated of Brando. “He had an excellent humorousness, however he would have bother determining the f—ing punch line generally. We’d go to lunch — these silly Polish jokes had been popping out on the time … after which two hours later, in the midst of a scene, I’d take a look at him and say one thing and all of the sudden [imitates Brando laughing] I’d say, ‘What the f–ok’s the matter with you?’ and he stated [referring to the joke] ‘That’s humorous.’ Two hours later it was enjoying in his f—ing head. He was like a baby like that. I cherished him.”
Caan recalled how Coppola requested him to loosen up Lenny Montana, a hulking former professional wrestler and bodyguard for the Colombo crime household making his display debut as gruff, feared Corleone enforcer Luca Brasi — who first seems within the opening scene in the course of the wedding ceremony of Don Vito’s daughter, Connie.
“He knocks on the door and he says, ‘Don Corleone, I'm honored to be right here on the day of your daughter’s wedding ceremony, might her first youngster …’ He did it a few instances, the door opens, with digicam on the opposite aspect of the door with Marlon. Francis comes operating out and stated to me, ‘Jimmy, do one thing!’ I stated, ‘What are you speaking about Francis?’ He stated, ‘Do one thing with him. I stated, ‘What would you like me to do with that f—king beast?’ ‘Do one thing to goose him up, do a few of your s–t.’ He was stiff, and Francis was mad that he couldn’t get extra out of him than [said in flat Luca Brasi voice] ‘Don Corleone.’
“So I seize Lenny and stated, ‘Lenny, come right here. You gotta do one thing while you open the door.’ I used to be making an attempt to present him this snow job. ‘Whenever you say, “Don Corleone,” stick your tongue out’ — his tongue appeared like a shoebox for f–ok’s sake — ‘and I’ll put a bit of tape on it that claims “F–ok you.” He was like a child, ‘Oh, Jimmy, don’t make me do that,’ and I stated, ‘Lenny, please, it’s humor, everybody’s gonna snigger and also you’ll really feel higher. Please do that for me.’
“So I get a bit of tape and put it on his tongue … growth, they are saying ‘Motion!’ and that’s when he says, “Don Corleone” — he sticks his tongue out and all people falls down laughing. He was smiling. He was pleased. Marlon’s line was, ‘Luca, my most cherished pal,’ and when he did that scene he had “F–ok you” written on his tongue, too.”
Caan additionally stated he used a little bit of on-the-spot improvisation within the scene the place Sonny beats up his pregnant sister’s husband, Carlo (Gianni Russo) on the road along with his fists, his legs and the highest of a rubbish can.
“The stick I threw at [Carlo] when he’s operating away, that wasn’t within the script,” he stated. “I took a type of industrial brooms and lower the top off and put it below my seat [in the car as Sonny drives up to confront Carlo]. They stated, ‘It’s not within the script’ and I stated, ‘What the f–ok’s the distinction, simply put it down there.’ I swear to God I had no thought what I used to be going to do with it, however I knew that’s what quite a lot of guys did in my neighborhood. We referred to as them ‘angle adjusters.’ I simply grabbed it and fired [the stick] at him and Francis stated, ‘That’s nice, Jimmy, you appeared such as you had been going to overlook him.’ So he’s mendacity behind the vehicles on the opposite aspect and by chance, on the upswing, I caught him on the highest of the coconut.”
Caan stated he additionally went again to his Bronx roots for the scene wherein Sonny confronts the FBI outdoors the gates of the Corleone compound on the day of Connie’s wedding ceremony _ and for Sonny’s iconic black-and-white footwear.
“The [FBI] man took an image of me with a type of outdated sq. field cameras,” he stated. “This was not written within the script [but] I acquired so f—king sizzling that I grabbed his digicam and smashed it on the bottom. I took like $40 out of my pocket and saved strolling — as a result of, in my neighborhood you paid for it. It didn’t matter what you probably did, however you paid for it.
“We didn’t actually have an enormous finances and we added to it continuously,” he stated with a chuckle. “They stated, ‘The footwear usually are not within the script’ and I stated, ‘Numerous Italian guys in my outdated neighborhood, they've perhaps two fits to their identify however they’ve acquired 10 pairs of footwear.’ So I went to The Bronx someday and acquired these black-and-white footwear for $10 and wore them within the film.”
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