Monday, March 24, 2008

 

Spotlight: Mario Puzo had only written a 20-page outline of his novel The Godfather when Paramount Studios exec Peter Bart decided to buy the film rights. The book was released in 1969 to rave reviews and, on this date in 1972, the film version made it to theater screens. Director Francis Ford Coppola and Puzo wrote a screenplay that was so faithful to the novel, that Coppola insisted on calling the movie Mario Puzo's The Godfather.

Quote: "Friendship and money: oil and water." — Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather III

Question of the Day: Was Al Pacino the studio's first choice to play Michael Corleone in The Godfather?
Far from it! Although director Francis Ford Coppola was in favor of Pacino in the role from the beginning, the producers at Paramount Studios had a number of other more famous stars they would have preferred to cast in the part. Robert Evans, the head of production at Paramount, suggested Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal, Alain Delon and even Robert Redford as potential Michael Corleones. Coppola had his heart set on Pacino, and threatened to quit if the part went to someone else. More

Word of the day: effloresce (ĕf'lə-rĕs')
v., -resced, -resc·ing, -resc·es.

1. To blossom; bloom.
2. To become a powder by losing water of crystallization, as when a hydrated crystal is exposed to air.

ef'flo·res'cence n. (© Houghton Mifflin Company)

Today's History:

Playwright Tennessee Williams

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: play by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway (1955)
• Dark Side of the Moon: Pink Floyd released one of the best-selling albums of all time (1973)
• Exxon Valdez oil spill: tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, causing the worst maritime environmental disaster in history (1989)
• Yugoslavia: NATO began air strikes in response to ethnic cleansing by Serbs of Albanians in Kosovo (1999)

Today's Birthdays:

Steve McQueen

• Georgius Agricola (1494-1555): father of mineralogy
• Harry Houdini (1874-1926): magician/escape artist
• Steve McQueen (1930-1980): super-cool actor, The Great Escape, Bullitt; other actors born today include Robert Carradine (54), Lara Flynn Boyle (38), Alyson Hannigan (34) and Keisha Castle-Hughes (18)
• Tommy Hilfiger (57): fashion designer; designers William Morris (1834-1896) and Bob Mackie (68) were also born on this date
• Star Jones Reynolds (46): lawyer, host of The View
• Peyton Manning (32): star quarterback for Indianapolis Colts and 2007 NFL Super Bowl's MVP