“The Offer” recounts the tumultuous and perilous filming of “The Godfather”

• The Offer

  is available this Thursday on the new Paramount + streaming platform. 

• This 10-episode miniseries looks back at the genesis and the incredible filming of Francis Ford Coppola's Oscar-winning film

  The Godfather

  .

• A tasty dive behind the scenes of New Hollywood.

Something to delight fans and make those who have not yet seen Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece want to watch it!

Created by Michael Tolkin (to whom we owe the screenplay for

by Robert Altman),

, available this Thursday on the new Paramount + streaming platform, recounts in 10 episodes the crazy story of the creation of one of the The most acclaimed classics of world cinema,

, released in 1972. A tasty dive behind the scenes of New Hollywood through the prism of a shoot as tumultuous as it is dangerous.

A producer ready to do anything to make his film

Told from the point of view of producer Al Ruddy (Miles Teller, seen in

and chosen as a replacement for Armie Hammer, who was fired because of the rape accusations he was the subject of),

shows how the latter has struggled to preserve the film's artistic integrity against all odds.

“Al Ruddy was an outsider, entrusted with what became the greatest film of all time.

What is unique is that he not only fought against the studio system, but also against the real mafia.

These issues of life and death can be grasped by the public, even if they have not seen

", rejoices Nikki Toscano, the producer of the miniseries, whom

met during a round table at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

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A lot of documentary research

“Michael Tolkin spent two weeks interviewing Al Ruddy and collected some 140 pages of anecdotes from the filming of The

 ,” says Nikki Toscano.

Nikki Toscano worked with Al Pacino on the

series  : “Our series is largely the result of anecdotes told in the first person by Al Pacino”, she relates, hailing a “wonderfully sincere storyteller”.

“As

is arguably the best movie ever made, there are different versions of who takes credit for what, who was involved… That was one of the challenges, because the truth is not the same for everyone”, explains the producer.

To disentangle the true from the false, the scriptwriters relied on interviews of the time or the documentary on Robert Evans,

.

"It is not a documentary, but a fiction", insists Nikki Toscano

A portrait of Los Angeles in the heart of New Hollywood

The miniseries captures the electric atmosphere that reigned within an industry at the time when New Hollywood pushed its thrust against the formatted cinema of the studios.

" 

tells the difficulty of doing something in Hollywood, and even more something good", summarizes the producer.

The Offer

recounts how legendary production manager Robert Evans (Matthew Goode seen in

) saved Paramount Studios from disaster by giving the green light to daring projects such as

, and

.

The series also gives insight into his hectic lifestyle, marked by excesses, cocaine and escapades such as his wife Ali McGraw's (Meredith Garretson) high-profile affair with Steve McQueen during the filming of

.

“It was incredibly meta to shoot on a Paramount set where

was filmed.

It was an incredible experience for everyone and honestly, it was a bit trippy,” laughs Nikki Toscano.

Two women in the shadows brought to light

The series also spotlights two women behind the scenes: Françoise Glazer, future wife of Al Ruddy (Nora Arnezeder seen in

) and secretary-turned-agent Bettye McCartt (Juno Temple seen in

).

A way of pointing out the misogyny of the film industry: “We felt incredibly responsible for Betty, because she was a woman, and she was navigating the sexual sphere of the time.

She was in direct contact with her boss, but also with Charles Bluhdorn.

What kind of woman could have such an influence on the boss of Gulf + Western by being a secretary?

We have decided not to compromise her relationship with Al Ruddy or any other protagonist of the series with a romantic relationship,” says the producer.

A particularly hectic shoot

The miniseries follows the purchase of the rights to the best-selling book by Mario Puzo (Patrick Gallo seen in

), the struggle of Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler seen in

) to impose his artistic vision and Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito seen in

) and Marlon Brando (Justin Chambers, Alex Karev of

, at the top of his game) on the cast.

“We had early discussions about casting actors to portray such iconic figures.

We decided to stay away from imitation and find actors who capture the essence of the character.

We saw a ton of people, especially for the roles of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, ”explains Nikki Toscano.

The series also shows how the dream factory almost turned into a nightmare.

Before filming began, the Italian Americans Civil Rights League, a pressure group, launched a campaign to obstruct the film's production.

Ironically, the president of this organization was Joseph Colombo, the godfather of the Colombo family, one of the five families of the New York underworld.

“Al Ruddy had plenty of anecdotes about various mob members from Vegas and New York.

His relationship with Joe Colombo [Giovanni Ribisi] was the basis of our intrigue on the mafia”, explains the producer, who recalls that the producer of The

“could have had a bullet between the two eyes at any time”.

This is why the words "mafia" and "cosa nostra" are never pronounced in

.

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