In “The Offer” Episode 2, Joseph Anthony Colombo had waged war against Paramount and was taking every step to stop the production of “The Godfather.” From sending the gangster Mickey Cohen to shoot at Albert Ruddy’s car, to sending his men to threaten Vic Damon, who was supposed to play Johnny Fontane, he ensured that the film that defamed his community did not see the light of day.
Variety had published an article that Bob Evans was being kicked out of Paramount, and it was a matter of grave concern for not only Bob but the entire team of Godfather, as he was the only supporter they had who was backing their efforts. Albert Ruddy met Mickey Cohen, who told him that he was just a pawn carrying out orders from the masters who were controlling the state of affairs. Congressman Diaz had told him clearly that he wouldn’t allow him to shoot the film in New York, and Francis Ford Coppola was not ready to shoot it anywhere else. Ruddy was under a lot of stress and pressure. He wanted this film to be made, but the resistance from all sides was making it look like an implausible task.
Directed by Adam Arkin, the 3rd episode of “The Offer” would reveal whether Joseph Anthony Colombo, the mafia leader, would come to terms with Ruddy’s proposition and whether Bob Evans would agree to Al Pacino playing the character of Michael Corleone.
Is Albert Ruddy Able To Convince Joseph Colombo?
In the episode 3 of “The Offer” we see that Albert Ruddy finally meets Joseph Colombo, but not in the way he would have imagined. He is picked up at gunpoint from the street by the henchmen of Colombo and taken to his den in Brooklyn City. Till that point, Frank Sinatra had pestered Colombo so much that even he was frustrated with the singer. Ruddy reasons with Joseph Colombo. He tells him that the film does not intend to defame him or his community. To win over his trust, he did something that was unheard of before. He called the mafia leader to visit him in the Paramount Pictures office, where he would make him read the final draft of the script. Joseph was shocked at the offer. He was sort of overwhelmed and impressed too at the gracious offer made by Ruddy. Here was a man who was ready to reveal all his cards just so that he could get the approval of the mafia leader.
Joseph Colombo decided to come to Paramount Pictures and read the script, but the problem was that the script still wasn’t finished. Francis and Mario had written the first act, but it wasn’t enough to give assurance to Joseph Colombo. Francis Coppola was of the opinion that they couldn’t rush things ahead. He wanted to spend time with each and every scene. He tells Mario to not listen to what the producers say, and to keep going at a pace that they like. Albert Ruddy couldn’t explain to them why he was telling them to quickly finish the screenplay. Everything was at stake. If Colombo didn’t approve of the script, then the project would be shelved forever. It was the last chance he had, and he was not ready to let it go. So he sends his assistant, Bettye McCartt, to check on the writers. She manages to grab the screenplay draft and deliver it to Ruddy.
He was distraught to see that only the first act had been written, which was no doubt brilliant in every sense, but still, he needed a complete script to bring Colombo to his side. Bettye asks him to not show the incomplete draft, but he decides to take the risk. He punched some rough papers at the end of the script to make it look like complete work. He hoped that Mr. Colombo wouldn’t scrutinize it very minutely. To his relief, Joseph Colombo didn’t even read a page properly. It was enough for him that Rudy was willing to be transparent. He just had one request: to remove the word “mafia” from the script. It was ironic that the word “mafia” was used only once by Mario and Francis in the whole screenplay which focused on the life of a mafia family. With Joseph Columbo on Rudy’s side, they were all set to take “The Godfather” on the floor.
Did Charlie Bluhdorn Want To Fire Bob Evans?
After the article in Variety, Bob knew that Charlie Bluhdorn was making up his mind to fire him. Bob knew he couldn’t let that happen. He knew he had to stay a step ahead and take the reins in his hands before it was too late. He asked his assistant to give him details about every project that was, in all probability, going to make a lot of money. “The Godfather” was by far the dark horse on which he had put all his bets. He knew that if he could somehow show Charlie Bluhdorn how the project would mint money for him, he might be able to save his position.
In the episode 3 of “The Offer” we see that the grave situation at hand forces Bob to think about why he was so passionate about making movies in the first place. Why did he choose to be at Paramount? He tells his assistant, Peter, that he went to worship with his father when he was young, and he saw people there praying for a magic to happen. One day, he pretended that he was going for the service but instead went to watch his first movie, “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” In that dark room, he saw people going silent, just like in a place of worship. A beam of light flashed from the projector, and what he saw was pure magic. It was larger than life, and it transported him to a parallel world. It gave him hope that maybe life was not so bad after all. The people were glued to the screen, and he was beyond mesmerized. He knew it there and then, the darkened movie theater was his calling.
Bob Evans was ready to put up a fight, and his most lethal weapon was “The Godfather.” Meanwhile, Bettye McCartt went on a date with Charlie Bluhdorn. She did not want to, but she had to get him out of the office so that Albert Ruddy could have a meeting with Joseph Colombo. During the date, Charlie asks her what she thinks about “The Godfather.” She told him that it was going to make him tons of money. Charlie was sold there and then. Charlie changes his mind, and Bob knows that he might have escaped a steep fall, but he still has to deliver, and the projects in the pipeline have to be a commercial success.
Does Bob Evans Agree To Al Pacino Playing Michael Corleone?
In episode 3 of “The Offer”, Francis Ford Coppola meets the actor on whom he has placed his bets. Al Pacino shares his insights and perceptions about the character of Michael Corleone. They discussed the intricacies of the character and how Pacino was going to approach it. Francis takes a screen test of the actor and makes him perform a scene or two. He wanted to be prepared with evidence to show Bob Evans that Pacino was a worthy choice.
Meanwhile, Francoise requests Albert Ruddy to let her take charge of the scripts that he was not able to pay attention to because of his involvement in “The Godfather.” She wanted to work as a producer alongside Albert. Her presence in the office causes inconvenience to everybody, and she starts meddling in day-to-day affairs. She began to prattle in a lot of situations where she didn’t understand the dynamics and delicateness of the matter. She proposes to take Frank Sinatra in the film and make him play the character of Don Vito Corleone as a solution to the whole mafia fiasco that was providing an unnecessary hurdle in their way. Bob is stunned at the thoughtless proposition.
As expected, Bob was beyond frustrated when Francis and Albert told him that they wanted Al Pacino to play Michael Corleone. He doesn’t even watch the recorded test scenes that Francis had brought to show him. He leaves the theater yelling at them. He was even more annoyed and lost his temper completely when he saw that the screenplay was 170 pages long. It was almost twice the length of an average script, and Bob thought that he had made a big mistake by taking Mario Puzo on board. He tried to change his perspective and took the novel writer to write a screenplay, but somewhere he realized that he had committed a big mistake.
‘The Offer’ Episode 3: Ending
At the end of the episode 3 of “The Offer” we see the mafia families were having a discussion over Joe Gallo, who belonged to the Colombo Family. He had committed some heinous crimes, and now he was being released from prison. The Italian American mafia families had a code of conduct that they abided by. Respect and honor were two things that were never put at stake. The crimes of which Joe Gallo had been accused had brought about great dishonor and put a blot on the mafia families. So now the discussion was how to put a leash on Gallo. Joseph Colombo asked the other families to let him handle the matter as it was an internal affair for the Colombo family. Carlo Gambino agrees to his request.
After many debacles, finally, good news graced “The Godfather” team. Marlon Brando had responded to the letter that was written by Mario, asking him to play the character of Don Corleone. He had agreed to play the part. The team was ecstatic. They had got the greatest actor of all time to play a role in their movie. Though it was a tough road ahead, with Brando coming on board, the crew had gathered enough motivation to conquer every obstacle that came their way.
“The Offer” Episode 3 is streaming on Paramount+ and Voot Select.
