Take the Cannoli: The Godfather Podcast

👥 In this episode of “Take the Cannoli: The Godfather Podcast,” host Lou Bortone interviews Hunter Gatewood, a leadership expert and keynote speaker.
💼 Hunter Gatewood discusses the importance of building trust and connection within teams, especially in the context of remote work environments.
🔗 Hunter emphasizes the value of small interactions and shared interests in developing trust and loyalty.
💡 He also highlights the significance of embracing imperfection and creating psychological safety for team members.
🎥 The interview references the movie “The Godfather” and explores themes of loyalty and fear-based leadership.

www.TheGodfatherPodcast.com presents... The Unseen Magic: A Hollywood Insider's Journey Beyond the Camera Lens

In this special interview, movie industry veteran Liz Scully shares her journey and experiences working in the visual effects industry in Hollywood. She discusses her role in post-production, where she added visual effects to films after they were shot. She also talks about the challenges of working with green screens and fiberglass models, as well as the evolution of technology in the industry. The guest reflects on the similarities between film directors and entrepreneurs, both of whom juggle multiple projects simultaneously. The interview is filled with humor and insights into the world of visual effects and the creative process.

http://www.TheGodfatherPodcast.com presents..

The Mythology of The Godfather:  In this episode of The Godfather Podcast, we're looking at the historic and record-breaking opening of The Godfather, including what it meant to a struggling movie business, the unexpected and lasting impact on our culture, and why the film still resonates 50 years later.

This episode features some very rare, behind-the-scenes "home movie" footage from the making of The Godfather, as well as highlights from an interview with Godfather producers Al Ruddy and Peter Bart.  In addition, we've got footage and clips with celebrities and film directors who recall being part of the historic premiere and first few weeks of the motion picture's opening.

Check out this episode and previous episodes on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/LiZeKU2_0Rs

The Godfather Podcast: Episode 9 - “A runt will not play Michael.”

While Francis Ford Coppola had won the hard fought battle to cast Marlon Brando as Don Corleone, the casting of Michael would prove to be an all-out slugfest - nearly resulting in the firing of Coppola.

Francis knew he wanted Al Pacino to play Michael from day one, but at the timePacino was a relatively unknown actor with little experience and even less name recognition.

The Paramount studio execs, and studio head Robert Evans in particular, instead that the role of Michael go to an A-List star like Robert Redford, Ryan O’Neil or Warren Beatty. Even Jack Nicolson and Dustin Hoffman were considered. In all, there were at least 40 “Michaels” under consideration for the role. Anyone but “that midget” Pacino, as Robert Evans referred to him.

“Absolutely not,” Evans told Coppola. “A runt will not play Michael!”

But just like with Brando, Coppola was tenacious and relentless…

Get the entire podcast at: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOe43wI4ZB7rjOWAHxXxgCI4v-Mg5IlZ7

Vivendi recently reported that a whopping 77% of brands could disappear tomorrow and no one would care. Customer disloyalty is the new normal.

How can you and your business gain and retain new clients, customers, and even employees in this uncertain, post-pandemic world? (Without using fear and intimidation like the Mafia?)

The answer is loyalty.

And the proof comes from an unlikely source: The Godfather.

In this episode of The Godfather Podcast, we look at the theme of "loyalty," and what it means not only in The Godfather, but also in business today.  I'll explain why "Loyalty is the New Currency," and how you can build a "wall of friendship" just like Don Vito Corleone.

We'll also look at some of the best and most repeated quotes from The Godfather!

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Lou Bortone is a writer, producer and speaker who keeps his friends close and his enemies closer. Lou is also a ghostwriter, author, and Consigliere to some of the best and brightest minds in digital marketing.

Lou’s brushes with fame include getting drum lessons from Doors drummer John Densmore, and standing up to “Sonny Corleone” when he refused to re-write a promo script for James Caan while working at E! Entertainment Television.

“I had hoped we could all come here and reason together.” - Don Corleone

One of my favorite scenes in The Godfather also contains some of the best leadership lessons of the Corleone’s…

Part of the Corleone Family’s incredible power and influence comes from Vito Corleone’s ability to be “reasonable.” The Don believes strongly in reason, collaboration and, when possible, cooperation. He is an eminently practical and patient man.

The Italian’s have a saying: “Patience for a moment, comfort for years.”

Nowhere is that more apparent than at the big meeting of the Five Families. The Don arranged this “sit down” between all the warring Mafia families to seek an end to the bloodshed after his eldest son Santino is gunned down at the toll booth.

“This war ends now,” the Don tells his Consigliere, Tom Hagen.

One of the things to note about this amazing scene in the movie is that it was held at a typical corporate board room. As we see the heads of the Families around that big oak conference table, you realize that it could very well be a board meeting for any big corporation, whether it’s a big banking company or traditional fortune 500 company.

This setting was intentional - part of Francis Ford Coppola’s attempt to make The Godfather movie a metaphor for capitalism in America. Coppola wanted to show that corporate greed was the same as criminal greed - perhaps even more so, because at least the Mafia had a code of loyalty and honor.

The scene was shot in the board room of the Penn Central Railroad above Grand Central Station in NYC. The exterior shots were filmed at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Very corporate indeed!

Again, Coppola’s subtext here is that the Mafia is just another business - like any powerful American corporation.

But back to the scene where the five families come together to discuss a truce. Let’s watch the scene and observe how Don Vito Corleone calmly and modestly appeals to reason…

How a Hollywood Has-Been Landed the Role of a Lifetime

By the late sixties, the legendary star once considered the greatest actor in the world was an overweight, out of work, washed up has-been. Worse yet, after a string of bad movies and a reputation for being difficult to work with, he was considered "box office poison." No studio in Hollywood would touch him… 

So when Godfather author Mario Puzo and director Francis Ford Coppola told the studio execs at Paramount that they wanted the once-great 47-year-old Marlon Brando to play The Godfather, the suggestion was met with ridicule. 

The very mention of Brando's name sent Paramount owner "Hurricane" Charlie Bluhdorn into a fit of rage. Studio head Robert Evans said "anyone but Brando - Marlon is as dead as could be." Another Paramount exec insisted that Brando would tank the movie. "He's washed up, he's finished," they warned Bluhdorn. I

n fact, studio president Stanley Jaffe had a meeting with Coppola and stated: "As long as I'm president of the studio, Marlon Brando will not be in this picture, and I will no longer allow you to discuss it." 

Today, it's hard to imagine anyone but Brando in the role of Don Vito Corleone, but at the time, everyone involved had an opinion about who should play The Godfather…

Who was Don Corleone based on?  Was it a specific, real-life Mafia boss?  And, how did Mario Puzo create a Mafia universe so accurate that even mobsters were convinced he had to have been connected?  In this episode, we'll tackle these and other Godfather mysteries, while exploring the life of Mario Puzo and the backstory of how the Godfather novel came to life.

The Godfather’s most famous line - which has become a cultural touchstone and perhaps the most famous quote in movie history, is uttered twice in the first few minutes of the movie…

First, Michael tells Kay that his father helped his Godson, Johnny Fontaine, early in his career by making a band leader “an offer he couldn’t refuse” to get Johnny out of the bandleader’s contract.

Then, of course, as Johnny bemoans the fact that movie studio head Jack Woltz won’t give Johnny the part in the big new war movie…

The Don assures his Godson that he’ll make the movie mogul “an offer he can’t refuse.”

Even Johnny Fontaine is skeptical when The Godfather assures im “leave it all to me.”

Then the Don discharges new Consigliere Tom Hagen to Hollywood to talk with Jack Woltz, the powerful head of the movie studio…

We'll  take a look and then we’ll break down the classic  "offer he can't refuse" scene, and we'll explore the scenes with movie mogul Jack Woltz.  Of course, we'll also talk about the infamous horse's head scene! 

Watch or listen to Episode Four and other episodes on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yhF2riUHUmJmc4O5C8E1Y