Did you know that the mafia tried to stop the production of "The Godfather"?

"The Godfather" (originally "The Godfather") is a 1972 American film based on the eponymous book by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and the great cast. He was nominated for ten Oscars and won in the Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (Coppola and Puzo) and Best Actor (Marlon Brando) categories.

To this day, it is considered one of the best films of all time and is one of the feature films you have to watch before you die. However, this cinematic masterpiece almost stopped being shot, and for a close it was not unable to hit theaters. All because the mobster Joseph Colombo declared war on history and did his best to shut down production.

Who is Joseph Colombo?

Joseph Colombo was a mobster, leader of the Colombo crime family, one of New York's infamous five families. He considered himself a victim of racial harassment by the federal government and it was with the intention of retaliating that he created the Italian-American Civil Rights League in 1970. When he heard about Paramount Pictures' epic footage, he decided that no one would ever go. watch this movie.

And why did he want to cancel filming?

Tired of seeing Italians portrayed as cruel bandits, he summoned League members and organized rallies across New York City, collecting $ 500, 000 to shut down production. However, they did not have as much power as they seemed and it did not work. However, Don Colombo did not let himself down and went on to other attacks, such as leaving things crushed in producer Al Ruddy's sports car, for example.

In addition, Al Ruddy received League tickets warning him to stop the movie or something very bad would happen. Paramount executive producer Robert Evans also received threatening phone calls telling him to leave town or someone would beat him and seriously hurt his son.

In addition, MOB-controlled unions refused to let Coppola film in certain neighborhoods, and someone stole expensive camera equipment under the director's nose. Paramount's offices in New York had to be evacuated twice because someone called to warn of a bomb threat.

At that point, Paramount decided to hold a meeting with the bad guys, and Al Ruddy met Joseph Colombo face-to-face at the Sheraton Park Hotel, both deciding on the future of the film. Amazingly, they only had one request: that the word "mafia" be removed from the script. This was done and she only appeared once in the entire script.

And the movie was possible

After this meeting and with their requests fulfilled, Don Colombo and all the League members were thrilled with the idea of ​​a gangster movie. They began appearing on the movie set to visit the cast and crew, even exchanging experiences and using their influence to shape Marlon Brando's character.

A few blocks from where the director was filming the scene where Michael Corleone exterminated his enemies, Joseph Colombo was shot in the head. The mobster was taken from some scenes in the movie so as not to draw attention to the Five Families. All the rallies and protests backfired at that moment.

Today the movie is acclaimed by everyone. It shaped the way we think about the mafia. It even changed the way the mafia itself thinks about itself. There are actual recordings of mobsters citing the classic movie. Mafia Deputy Chief Gambino Salvatore Gravano once said, "I always tell people, just like in The Godfather: if you have an enemy, the enemy becomes my enemy."

Joseph Colombo spent the rest of his life paralyzed and passed away in 1978. The film premiered on June 28, 1971 and was a big bang in theaters. The mobster still had time to see the movie he had fought so hard to win the Best Picture Oscar and achieve cinematic immortality.