Fifty Years Ago, “The Godfather” Was Made. Its Legacy Lives On
First helmed as a populist novel by Mario Puzo of the same name in 1969, The Godfather had no aspirations of becoming a cinematic classic. Puzo was a notorious drinker, gambler and smoker with a mountain of debts. His goal was to write a best-selling pulp novel that eased his financial burden. He succeeded. Paramount […]
What Makes Gangster Stories So Endlessly Fascinating?
With The Irishman, Martin Scorsese has once again made a gangster movie that’s earning big box office bucks and capturing a ton of Oscar buzz. Cinema fans love the genre, going back to the early 1930s when stars like James Cagney (The Public Enemy) and Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar) made films about the underworld […]
Robert Towne Interview: Legendary Screenwriting Lessons from “Chinatown” to “The Godfather” & “Mission Impossible”
Robert Towne discusses the rules of writing action melodramas, building character from action, and how writing never gets any easier.
Exclusive: Iconic screenwriter Robert Towne discusses his legendary work on Chinatown and The Godfather. Get rare screenwriting tips from a Hollywood master.
