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Could Francis Ford Coppola be pulled back? godfather? Just when he thought he was out, a new Corleone family saga arrives on bookshelves that could be as tempting as cannoli at Louis’ house.
Random House just won an eight-way auction for Bea new novel under license from the estate of Mario Puzo, written by bestselling Italian-American author Adriana Trigiani. The book is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2027, and will tell the story from the point of view of Don Vito’s only daughter. The film rights go to Paramount.
That last part is no coincidence. When Paramount bought the rights to the original Puzo novel in 1969, it claimed ownership of the entire franchise, including future books. Pozo died in 1999, and after his heirs published two more godfather Novels, over studio objections, ended up in court. The final settlement gave the family the freedom to publish new books, as long as Paramount obtained the film rights. It wasn’t personal. It was pure business.
The female point of view may be the book’s biggest commercial asset. Hollywood is still learning the lessons The devil wears prada 2: That women, who have long been underserved as an audience, will appear in huge numbers in stories about them.
Sadly, a representative for Coppola told Rampling that it was “unlikely” that the 87-year-old director would make a female-focused film. Godfather IV Any time soon. It’s a shame, because it turns out that the original inspiration for Don Corleone – at least according to Puzo’s son Anthony – was Puzo’s mother.
Go figure, the whole thing was a matriarchy from the beginning.
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Also in the Rampling Reporter:
An estate auction for the late Matthew Perry’s estate begins next month.
This story appeared in the May 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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