Booknote: The Making of the Godfather

Mario Puzo, The Making of The Godfather: an Original Essay. New York: Hachette Audio, 2013. Read by Max Casella. ISBN: 9781478926887

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: films, books, essays, Hollywood
Format: electronic audiobook
Source: Overdrive system of the Madison Library (KY) Public Library

This book is more like an extended essay where Mario Puzo discusses how he wrote the book and turned it into the motion picture that would become the famous film. Puzo is pretty straightforward and honest in the essay. He admits that The Godfather was not his best novel; he wrote it to make money. As for the film, he realized early on that he had to write it so he could then go on to write the books he actually wanted to write. In many ways, he is just a guy who wants to make a living out of his writing and so he writes what will make money while using that money to live on so he can  write what he really wants. In the end, Puzo concludes that writing books is better than Hollywood.

The book also offers some interesting bits of trivia, such as:

•  Puzo claims that when he wrote the novel, he never met a mobster. That happened after the book became famous. At some point, a story, more like a rumor, circulated that the Mob paid him a hefty sum to write the novel as a PR  move.
• On making a million bucks or so from The Godfather. On  the  one hand, much of it went to taxes, debts, agent fees, lawyers, and other expenses, so he was not rich yet. But the part he did manage to get, he lived it up and spent it  as fast as it came in. Go figure.
• "Accountants who make profits disappear like Houdini." This is Puzo's remark on the movie world and how they make money (and make it disappear so as not to have to pay certain people, like those who actually make a film). This  is still an issue to this day, but I am sure many  of today's actors. writers, so on, have better lawyers to watch their interests.
• Puzo clarifies that the Johnny Fontane character in the book is NOT based on Frank Sinatra. Sinatra still thought it might be, and  he fussed. In a chance encounter, which was not Puzo's idea, a millionaire friend wanted to introduce Puzo to Sinatra; Sinatra was basically a serious asshole, definitely not like Fontane.

This book first came out in 1972, which is the year the film came out. It gives a bit of insight into the context and times in which the film was made from the book. The narrator of this version has a nice, strong voice which makes me wonder how close is it to Puzo or not. Overall, it was an interesting book.