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Message: [QUOTE="CL82, post: 4867378, member: 44"] Cool. I'd never heard this. Wikipedia version: [I]The filming of [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather']The Godfather[/URL] faced strong opposition from the [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian-American_Civil_Rights_League']Italian-American Civil Rights League[/URL], with disputes headed by [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Colombo']Joe Colombo[/URL] and [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra']Frank Sinatra[/URL] threatening its whole production. Producer [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Ruddy']Al Ruddy[/URL] eventually made a deal with the league and Joe Colombo to cut the word Mafia (which was only used once in the script) and the League would back the production of the film. This meant mobsters would be present on the set of The Godfather. In 1971, when Montana was acting as a bodyguard for a senior Colombo family member, he met [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Ford_Coppola']Francis Ford Coppola[/URL] and Al Ruddy. After being introduced to the 6'6" 320-pound Montana, they quickly cast him for the role of [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luca_Brasi']Luca Brasi[/URL]. When Bettye McCartt, Al Ruddy's assistant, broke her watch, Montana offered to get her a new one. A week later, Montana returned with a "gift from the boys" – an antique diamond watch. [B]He was picked for the part after the original actor playing the character died of a [URL='https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke']stroke[/URL].[/B] This was his first credited film appearance. Montana was very nervous about appearing opposite Brando. Director Coppola incorporated this real-life tension into several scenes, showing Brasi repeatedly practicing (and later fumbling) his congratulations to Corleone. Montana had little screen time in the film (although his final scene is one of the most suspenseful in the film), but his notable height and physique caught the eye of producers, and he appeared in several movies and television programs after appearing in The Godfather.[/I] [/QUOTE]

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