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Coppola Slams Godfather Game

Posted by Zonk on from the collaborate-with-the-original-vision dept.

greysky writes "Gamespot cites an interview on AMC where Coppola reveals that he is upset with Paramount for making his Godfather movies into a video game. He's quoted as saying 'I knew nothing about it. They never asked me if I thought it was a good idea...I think it's a misuse of film'. The interview is set to air on AMC this Sunday."

39 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. One condition by Atriqus · · Score: 5, Funny

    The game should be based on part III so that way the fewest number of people will care about them ruining the movie.

    --
    Hey, look! It's Bono's brother.
    1. Re:One condition by FidelCatsro · · Score: 1

      .. as if they could ruin it more than the travesty that was pt 3 *shudder*

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  2. good--maybe by cahiha · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If the movie studios piss off enough important people, maybe people will be less quick to sign over their rights and let them run the show.

  3. Boo hoo. by Seumas · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As someone who has never seen a God Father movie, all I can say is I suppose it sucks for him, but it's not really up to him. If God Father belongs to Paramount, they can do whatever they like.

  4. No point in this game. by generalleoff · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Really the whole idea of a godfater game is kinda dumb. The best they will be able to do is just make a mafia game so they could just name it something else and avoide the whole "games based on movies suck" negitive image it will get right from the start. Even if this game turnes out super great and is the best game of the year they are still going to have that wall to get over. The movie basis is going to knock the score down no mater what. I'm sure the first thought that crossed everyones mind even fans of the movies was "not another movie converted to a game" :)

    1. Re:No point in this game. by kiddygrinder · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The thing is, most people who buy games don't know the "movies->Games" thing makes the game suck. I bet the matrix game was one of the highest selling console games of it's time. They could probably make "Virtual turd: The underside of the matrix" and people will still buy it, cause that's the way it works.

      --
      This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
    2. Re:No point in this game. by FalleStar · · Score: 1

      The best they will be able to do is just make a mafia game so they could just name it something else and avoide the whole "games based on movies suck" negitive image it will get right from the start. As if the mainstream gamer cares about things such as review scores or well... quality in general. Look at Enter the Matrix. HORRIBLE game, tons of bugs, terrible review scores. However somehow it went on to sell well over a million copies. Most people assume that just because a movie is great, so will the game even though that's rarely (but sometimes) the case.

    3. Re:No point in this game. by FalleStar · · Score: 1

      Damn, someone beat me to using the Enter the Matrix example :( damn me for not refreshing my browswer often enough.

    4. Re:No point in this game. by generalleoff · · Score: 1

      heh. Yea I guess those matrix games werw a pretty big hit. I forgot about em though. The matrix lends itself more to a game then the gadfater does though. This one should be a hard one to pull off tohugh. The gadfater movies have complex dramtic plots and sticking to that in a game will proly mean slow gameplay and if they ignore it it will piss off the godfater fans. I guess we will see what happens but I still say the ebst they can do is make a mafia game so they might as well drop the name and avoid the problems and restrictions. Name recognition is a big deal though :)

    5. Re:No point in this game. by milkman_matt · · Score: 1

      The best they will be able to do is just make a mafia game so they could just name it something else and avoide the whole "games based on movies suck" negitive image it will get right from the start.

      They did, and they called it Mafia. I have this game, and I think it's EXACTLY what I was looking for. I was always a big fan of GTA:VC due to its Scarface plotline. It was totally based on Scarface, but enough not, that it's totally unique in it's own right, and a lot of fun to play. I always thought while playing VC "They need a MAFIA game like this, like The Godfather!" 'Gangsters' was a total flop IMO, but Mafia, I think, did it right, it's like Goodfellas, based in the times of The Godfather. It's a 1930s gangster game where you play the role of a soldier for the Mafia and work your way through. I was totally impressed with it. It's got a couple rough edges, but they're all forgivable.

    6. Re:No point in this game. by elhedran · · Score: 1

      The thing is, most people who buy games don't know the "movies->Games" thing makes the game suck. I bet the matrix game was one of the highest selling console games of it's time.

      I'd also be willing to bet it was the highest reselling game of all time. As in, most people who bought it would trade it in or in some other way attempt to get some of their money back.

      I bought it (then sold it), because I am sure sometimes the move->game thing works. I think Riddick, return to butcher bay is supposed to be an example, but I haven't had a chance to play it yet.

    7. Re:No point in this game. by Toby_Tyke · · Score: 1

      'd also be willing to bet it was the highest reselling game of all time

      Yes, but by the time you realise how bad it is, the publishers already have your money, so what do they care if you re-sell it?

      --
      "I realise this is not a very popular opinion but it's the truth, and there for needs to be said" -Bill Hicks
  5. Easy money? by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is it that difficult to be original? Do you have to use an existing story? Why would you want to replay the story you've seen 100s of times on TV. Just make a new mafia game, with a new story.
    Anyone played the game called Mafia? It was a great game with a good story, set in 1930. So fund a sequal to that game to be set in 1980. I'm sure it would be much more succesfull than a simple remake of a Godfather movie into a game.

    1. Re:Easy money? by gl4ss · · Score: 3, Insightful

      it's harder to get financing if you're trying to be original. but true, the name and the character names have very little to do if the game will be good or not - however, unfortunately, they do have very much to do with the game selling big or not(and getting space in gaming mags and gettins helf space.. all which equalt to selling big on the first few weeks).

      I also think Mafia from few years back is the best mafioso game still though.. and probably for a few years to come. a fun, challenging game that had a good story, excellent graphics and most of the time good gameplay.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  6. Excuse me... by Nice2Cats · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...but wasn't the original "Godfather" a book? This is not Coppola's baby, but Mario Puzo's. Even given that Puzo's dead, what is Coppola shooting his mouth off? When they do the film version of "Apocalypse Now", I'll listen.

    1. Re:Excuse me... by fmita · · Score: 4, Insightful

      First of all, Apocalypse Now is based on "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, and second of all, the game is quite obviously based on Coppola's characters--what, with Duvall and such doing voices for it. They even have the rights from Paramount, not from whatever publishing company.

  7. They aren't even Coppola's characters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    He adapted the story from a (admittedly inferior) novel by Mario Puzo.

    Anyway, if he denounces the project it probably means it's going to be a great game. Based on the last six or eight films he's made, his artistic judgement has gone into the toilet.

    1. Re:They aren't even Coppola's characters. by mooingyak · · Score: 1

      Funny thing about Puzo... his first two novels received considerable critical acclaim, and barely made him enough to eat. He wrote 'The Godfather' as his third novel, and targeted it towards the exact audience that loved it, bought it, made it into a movie, and made him rich.

      It was only 'admittedly inferior' in the classic literature sense.

      It acheived the exact goal Puzo was after, which makes it a supreme success in my mind.

      --
      William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
    2. Re:They aren't even Coppola's characters. by jea6 · · Score: 1

      The screenplay credit goes to both Puzo and Coppola: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/fullcredits#wr iters.

      --

      sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
  8. Honestly shouldn't matter. by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Frequently, the people that understand a work of art least of all are the people that created it in the first place. This game may very well suck, but that isn't because it's inherently a bad idea to adapt Godfather, and it isn't because Francis Ford Coppola would know how to do it correctly.

    --

    There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    1. Re:Honestly shouldn't matter. by macshit · · Score: 1

      Frequently, the people that understand a work of art least of all are the people that created it in the first place.

      Er, however in this case the competition for that honor is studio executives and movie tie-in video game makers.

      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    2. Re:Honestly shouldn't matter. by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      I just don't know how you take a linear story like this and turn it into a good game. You know the way the whole story goes, is this going to combine events in the book that didn't make it into the movie? What is the gameplay going to be like?

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  9. Spoilers for those who have avoided Godfather III by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I never found much of a problem with Godfather III other than the fact that it had Coppola's no-talent daughter in the role intended for Winona Ryder (who is infinitely hotter and almost inifinitely more talented), and that it was kind of boring. Other than Zaza's move against the other families and his assassination, it was nothing compared to the previous movies in terms of action. The final hunt at the opera house was spoiled by the fact that, elsewhere, a "killer cannoli" was being used as a plot device. Oh, and involving the Pope was a definite no-no in terms of keeping the film believable. After all, Michael Corleone was, for all non-romanticizable purposes, just another lowlife.

    Otherwise, it wrapped things up nicely. Mike ignored his true family (wife & kids) because of his responsibilities as Godfather all throughout the trilogy, tries to step back into his role as father and husband in the third flick, fails (he's "pulled back in"), and is ultimately rewarded with a long, lonely life and solitary death, long after those he loved, such as his daughter, suffered and died for him. He started in the first film with potential for normalcy (didnt want anything to do with the family business) and brought everything crashing around himself by taking the role and responsibilities of someone with no possible clean way out. If he had died on the steps instead of his skanky incestuous monkey of a daughter (as so many people insist would have been the better ending), it would have been a much worse film.

    Okay, maybe it's a little worse than I say it is, but hoonestly, I don't regret having seen it. It did an okay job of capping off its two excellent prequels.

  10. Surely you jest! by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "'I knew nothing about it. They never asked me if I thought it was a good idea...I think it's a misuse of film'"

    I don't believe it! An MPAA member ignoring the will of content creators? I would have expected a relationship at least as rosy as RIAA members maintain with their artists...

  11. Misuse of film? by nicksthings · · Score: 1

    "...I think it's a misuse of film?" Where exactly is he Coppola quoted as saying that anywhere but slashdot.org? To the "flamebait" up there...you're right. If the rights belong to Paramount, Coppola, regardless of what his status as a film maker is, doesn't really have a say in any of this. He can, however, bitch all he wants.

    1. Re:Misuse of film? by greysky · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The original story that I submitted was from FoxNews.com, but whoever approved the story (Zonk) modified the link to point to gamespot or whatever. Blame the editor. Here's the link to the story that I submitted: Foxnews.com

  12. Best Part by baldass_newbie · · Score: 1

    Was when Sophia Coppola got plugged.
    I applauded. Her acting was _that_ bad.

    --
    The opposite of progress is congress
    1. Re:Best Part by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 1

      I thought she was hot, and I'm not joking. Please don't laugh at me when I tell you that it's because of her nose. I swear it's true. I love her nose.

      --
      Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  13. Let me get this straight by baldass_newbie · · Score: 2, Funny

    What you're saying is, "Lighten up, Francis?"

    --
    The opposite of progress is congress
  14. Did he complain last time? by S.+Traaken · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In the early 90s, The Godfather was released for Amiga, Atari and DOS. Check em out at Moby games and the Amiga version specifically at Hall of Light

    1. Re:Did he complain last time? by RotJ · · Score: 1

      Oh my God, I remember playing this game. It's just Operation Wolf only with a Godfather theme instead of a jungle war theme. All I remember about this game is that you could just shoot any random civillians in the background without penalty and you had to fight the helicopter from Godfather III, which I couldn't figure out how to beat.

  15. Actually... by Headcase88 · · Score: 1

    Actually, what I hated about Enter the Matrix more than anything is that it got some decent-scoring reviews. Expecially from those hacks from IGN. "Above average" was used in that review. Either way, though, a lot of people would have bought it without reading any reviews. Just shows the state of the industry:

    Licenses > Franchises >>> Gameplay.

    A few of my friends sorta kinda liked the game too. I thought it sucked.

    --
    "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
    1. Re:Actually... by sebi · · Score: 1

      A lot of people bought it without reading any reviews because there were no advance copies sent out. Reviews didn't start to appear until after the game was on shelves so a lot of people got suckered in. I know, because I was one of them. The game was hyped up to an incredible level. Integral part of the story. Who could have know that the story would turn out to suck that badly in the end.

      --
      Hank! White!
  16. For another angle on the story ... by dzym · · Score: 1

    Read this fascinating article at failmath.com.

  17. No context by Peteroo · · Score: 1
    It's hard to comment on this until the interview airs. As quoted here, we can't really judge whether Coppola's wounded feeling are over the lack of consultation or general objections to a film-to-game conversion or some combination of the two.

    But perhaps it's worth noting that this isn't the first game inspired by The Godfather. In the early '90s, U.S. Gold made a sideview shooter. I remember playing it on the Amiga. (There was also an IBM-compatible version.)

    It was pretty, but the gameplay was very limited ... and, as my Mom used to say, it was as slow as molasses in January. :) Peter

  18. He's a very scary guy. by Ackmo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They should have made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

  19. Godfather was not Coppola's original work by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 1

    Just to be clear, Coppola adapted Mario Puzo's book, it was not Coppola's original work so your Lucas / Star Wars analogy is off. Coppola was just a worker, he did an excellent job and deserves a hell of a lot of credit for that, but that's it.

  20. Re:Mod Parent Up by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

    Coppola wasn't an "actor" as far as these films were concerned.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  21. artist rights by chronovoreprime · · Score: 1

    The situations caused by artist rights and license holders are strange. On one hand we get the delay of the home edition of the animated Heavy Metal movie, where the license for the songs used weren't covered for home video distribution. On the other, we get the studio being able to create an entirely different creation based on the work of a director without his permission, even though the likenesses of any of the actors would have to be individually secured.