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December 7, 2016

Sophia Harvey
(/u/sophiaharvey)

Francis Ford Coppola's

'Godfather Notebook' is
the Development Bible of
Our Dreams

Here are ve things you can learn from the early

days of one of our greatest directors.
When Francis Ford Coppola (http://nolmschool.com/tags/francis-fordcoppola?type=articles) got the call to direct The Godfather
(http://nolmschool.com/tags/godfather), things hadn't been looking very
promising. Like many of his peers in the "New Hollywood" group, Coppola
went to UCLA and got his start working under Roger Corman
(http://nolmschool.com/2016/08/9-genius-lmmaking-tips-roger-cormanlocarno). He had just formed Zoetrope (http://nolmschool.com/2013/09/canlearn-coppolas-indie-studio-american-zoetrope) with George Lucas, and was a
young, broke, father of two with a third on the way. If it weren't for the
desperation that comes with providing for a young family, on an artist's

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budget, we might never have seen the brilliant classic that isThe Godfather.
The thing was, Coppola didn't like Mario Puzo's novel, from which the lm was
to be adapted. He thought it was "salacious and commercial." But when he got
the call, he took it for the money, like many young directors do.
All of this and more is outlined in the heartfelt introduction to Coppola's
recently published The Godfather Notebook
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/168245052X/nolmschool-20).
What happened next is every lmmaker's fantasy; Coppola sat in a cafe, for
months, carefully studying and breaking down every element of Puzo's book
and turning it into a screenplay.

"I always felt that I could know a bad performance

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from a good performance or fake a way to make

something look good, but if I were wrong in the

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script, then that'd be as wrong as I could be."

The Godfather Notebook Deluxe Box Set

Credit: Regan Arts

"I took my huge notebook, bought a big brown satchel I could lug it around in,
got my Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter and blank paper, went to the Cae Trieste
in North Beach in San Francisco, and set myself up in the afternoons to work
on this project." Coppola describes, "I loved it; I was living a dream. I was in a
caf where there was lots of noise and Italian being spoken, and cute girls
walking through, and that was my dream; it was La Bohme for me."
Every thought Coppola had in that caf, and throughout the entire adaptation
process, is there on the page, in his own handwriting. And now, it's been
published for the world to see.
We had the opportunity to read this intimate book, and it's even more glorious
than it sounds. You'd be hard-pressed to nd a more in-depth study of the
development of a script. And knowing how it turned out makes it even more
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valuable. Here are the biggest takeaways from The Godfather Notebook.

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Credit: Regan Arts

1. Be methodical
There is method and a certain meditative quality to the way that the physical
notebook was made. Inspired by his theater background, Coppola decided to
approach his adaptation in the way that many stage managers annotate
scripts. He took a blade to Puzo's novel, cutting out each individual page and
mounting it on loose leaf sized paper, with cut-outs in the center so the text
could be read from both sides. Coppola cut and glued and mounted every
page, lovingly and methodically, over the course of many hours.
He imprinted binder holes and reinforced the pages. He bound the volume
and labeled it with a REWARD FOR RETURN stamp. And then he went through
the text, time after time. Underlining, annotating, emoting onto the page.
This concept of the physical is often lost in our digital age. Hand-notated
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scripts are abandoned for the latest breakdown software. There are benets
and pitfalls to both, but what cannot be denied is the strong mental bonding
that forms through this kind of analog labor. Coppola was, in a sense, building
his creative space.

Credit: Regan Arts

2. Find your theme

Upon his second reading of the novel, Coppola's distaste for it fell away and
he began to direct. In his mind, he was able to distil the text to its most crucial,
cinematic moments and storylines. In the introduction, Coppola remarks how
the story became "a metaphor for American capitalism in the tale of a great
king with three sons: the oldest was given his passion and aggressiveness,
the second his sweet nature and childlike qualities, and the third his
intelligence, cunning, and coldness." Ultimately he came up with one abiding
theme: thesuccession of power. With those three words always on his mind,
Coppola made sure that every single decision spoke to them. What kind of
coat does Clemenza wear? How does Kay react in this scene? For Coppola,
the answers all come back to the theme of succession.
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This is not a foreign concept in script writing, but it is often too easily lost.
Staying true to a theme, in every instance, will create a steadfast core for your
lm and be a guiding tenet when making tough directorial decisions.

Credit: Regan Arts

3. Challenge your preconceptions

In addition to the theme, there were other crucial elements that informed
every moment of Coppola's script.
The way the notebook worked was this: Coppola rst broke down the book
into 50 natural sections, or scenes, and then broke down every section from
there. He dissected the sections in both liner notes and in summary. At the
start of every scene, he explored ve criteria: 1. Synopsis, 2. The Times, 3.
Imagery and Tone, 4. The Core, and 5. Pitfalls.
These explorations make up pages and pages of in-depth thought
surrounding each scene. Coppola was hyper-aware of the need for a fully
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realized worldone that works within the lm and within the greater fabric of
its historical context.

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"In truth, I think that I made the notebook out of

profound fear."

No matter what kind of script you're writing, following this breakdown

methodology in your development will keep you on track for a consistent and
textured story.
The Synopsis is self-serving. This is an easily scannable reference and helps
when building the nal script. The Times refers to a question of historical
context. What are the laws and customs in this time period? Imagery and Tone
is a simple reminder to think visually. How are my images serving my story?
The Core refers to a similar idea as the theme. The core of the scene is an
easily distillable feeling or goal, and it should ultimately speak to the
overarching theme. How does this wedding party scene speak to the theme

of succession? And nally, Pitfalls. This keeps you self-aware. Throughout the
text, Coppola is constantly questioning himself and the story. Will this be
cliche? Parodic? How can I avoid these things?
In the end, the idea is to challenge your preconceptions in the name of better
storytelling.

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Credit: Regan Arts

4. Fight for your instincts

It's clear, going through Coppola's notes, that he had a strong vision from the
beginning. He ghts in the margins, as he did in reality with the studios, for
what he thinks is best for the story. Paramount never wanted to work with
Brando, but Coppola wanted him from the beginning. They wanted the lm to
be set in the 70s, with hippies, to be current, cheap, and attractive to
audiences. Coppola fought for a period piece. These are just two of the major
ghts fought and won over the course of The Godfather's journey. Your ght
may not be for Brando, and you may not even be right every time, but having
faith in your gut is as important as any learned skill. If you're writing an original

screenplay, as opposed to an adaptation, compromises may pop up in other

places, like in terms of budget or marketability. Of course, lms are
collaborative and exibility is necessary, but when you truly believe a decision
is right for your lm, don't back down.

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Credit: Regan Arts

5. Don't be afraid to be afraid

In a particularly poignant line of the introduction, Coppola admits, "In truth, I
think that I made the notebook out of profound fear." He was terried. And
that's okay. He continues, "I always felt that I could know a bad performance
from a good performance or fake a way to make something look good, but if I
were wrong in the script, then that'd be as wrong as I could be."
That sense of fear motivated an in-depth study of his world, and that's exactly
the kind of motivation every writer needs. Be afraid. Let that fear of not
understanding your script motivate research, breakdowns, character

descriptions, and maybe even your own notebook. And when it's all said and
done, you won't be afraid anymore. You'll be steeped in your project. An
expert. In fact, you'll be just the kind of person who should be directing it.
Coppola built his notebook out of instinct. He felt that it was the only way for
him to navigate such an impossibly huge project. Do you have your own
processes for getting through development? Tell us in the comments below.

Featured image courtesy Paramount Pictures/Regan Arts

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Your Comment
Shareyourthoughtandinsights.

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(/2013/08/coppola-interviews-johnmilius-apocalypse-now)

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POST

3 Comments
This is wonderful! I love the two pages that describe the murder of Sollozzo and McCluskey... the spiderweb of notes approaches the insane. Just
goes to show what a powerful image Coppola had in his head. I bet his script of "Apocalypse Now" must have been like the scribblings of a
madman.

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se

r /8

39

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December 7, 2016 at 6:49PM

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Paul B (/user/8394)
395

Great reading, inspiring.

Although methodes have change over time, there is a lot to be learned from this inside information.
December 8, 2016 at 3:14AM

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Richard Lizier (/user/525)

469

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Great article. One of the few that keeps me around here

December 8, 2016 at 3:49AM

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