“Never hate your enemies.“
Al Pacino doesn’t hold a grudge against “The Godfather” costar Marlon Brando, who scored the best actor Oscar award, despite having more lines than him in the 1972 drama.
The “Gucci” star, 82, sat down for a rare chat on Wednesday with David Rubenstein as part of New York City’s 92nd Street Y’s “People Who Inspire Us” series, where he looked back on his legendary career.
Pacino was asked if he was mad about Brando’s Academy Award, 50 years later. The New York native did receive a nod for best supporting actor at the 1973 ceremony.
“How does a story like that get out? I wasn’t upset, are you kidding me?” Pacino noted, via the Hollywood Reporter.
“Let’s clear the air on that one. I’d been hearing about that up the grapevine,” said the actor, who played Michael, the son of mob boss Don Corleone (Brando).
The “Serpico” icon further spoke about Francis Ford Coppola’s revered mob flick, disagreeing with legions of fans who have said that its 1974 sequel, “The Godfather Part II,” is even better than its predecessor.
The second movie in the mafia family trilogy, starring Robert De Niro as the younger version of the Corleone patriarch, is regarded by film historians as superior to the first feature.
Said Pacino, “I really think it’s more — what would you call it — artistic or something, I don’t know. I don’t mean to play it down and be overly modest because I star in it with Bob de Niro, but at the same time, it’s a different film.”
Adding that it’s still a “great movie,” Pacino thinks that the parent flick “is more entertaining.”
“‘Godfather II’ is this study, this personal thing for Francis [Ford Coppola],” he went on. “’Godfather I,’ I saw it recently, it’s always got two or three things going on in a scene.”
He elaborated, “You’re always in the story, you’re going. You don’t know what’s going to happen next, it’s storytelling, it’s really storytelling at its best. ‘Godfather II’ sort of linearizes, and [it’s] kind of different, somber, moves slowly.”
Paramount’s adaptation of Mario Puzo’s crime novel celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, which also saw the network’s premiere of “The Offer,” a fictional miniseries based on the making of the movie.
The Paramount+ show starred Miles Teller and Matthew Goode, as producers Al Ruddy and Robert Evans, respectively, as they embark on a quest to create one of the greatest films ever made.
The “Scent of a Woman” actor revealed during the 92NY interview that he’s screened the limited series and joked that “about half of it was true.”
“Really, that’s a shock,” he added.
Considering the title’s historic success, Pacino laughed as he recalled a funny memory of himself and co-star Diane Keaton on the set of “The Godfather,” in which the lifelong friends got drunk and quipped that their careers were “over” and “a mess.”
Now, a half-century of acting later, Pacino is also dipping his toes into the literary world, divulging that he’s currently penning a memoir after decades in the entertainment industry.
“You get to that age, you start to do things like that. I stayed away from it, but I think I’ve got to sort of talk about certain things,” Pacino said. “It’s fine, I have kids and all, it’d be a good idea, and I’m working on it.”
As for stepping back from Tinseltown, Pacino joked that he’s long been ready to hang up his hat. “I’m always retired. I was retired when I was 25. I mean, who cares? Please don’t call it retired, I just don’t want to work anymore.”
“I don’t know, sometimes I just don’t want to do it as much.”