If I was Anthony Puzo, son of The Godfather author Mario Puzo, I’d thank the great Meatball in the Sky that Paramount Studios are a bit more scrupulous than his father’s literary creation, Don Corleone. Were they not, I’m sure that he’d need to start brushing up on his equine necrophilia knowledge.
According to the Guardian, the studio has initiated legal action to prevent the Puzo estate, of which Anthony is the executor, from publishing The Family Corleone, a prequel novel written by American author Ed Falco.
This novel, which is scheduled for release in July, will be set in 1933 and document Vito Corleone’s early rise to power to eventual head of the crime family, and according to Anthony Puzo it would be true to his father’s legacy.
However Paramount purchased the full rights to The Godfather from the Puzo Estate in 1969, a deal which allowed just a single additional novel to be written. That novel, The Godfather’s Return was published in 2004, but in 2006 another unauthorized novel, Godfather’s Revenge, was released to mediocre reviews and weak sales. According to Paramount, that story “tarnished” the Godfather legacy, and they do not want history to repeat itself with this new novel.
Puzo’s lawyer issued this statement in response to the lawsuit:
“For Paramount to do this to Mario Puzo’s children after the tens of millions of dollars he made for the studio is outrageous. Paramount and its executives should be ashamed.”
Personally, I’m on the side of Paramount here. This just smacks far too much of somebody trying to cash in on his father’s work, and Paramount need to protect their investment.
Last Updated: February 23, 2012