Francis Ford Coppola to Publish Massive ‘Godfather’ Notebook

The notebook Francis Ford Coppola kept while making The Godfather will be published as a 720-page book November 15th via Regan Arts.

The Godfather Notebook will detail Coppola’s creative process and feature his personal annotations and directions written on the pages of Mario Puzo’s original Godfather novel (scans are available to preview on the Regan Arts website). The book will also boast casting notes, never-before-published photos and a new introduction by Coppola.

“This notebook was my private work reference to The Godfather film, and after many years, I’m excited to share it with those who may be interested,” Coppola said. “It is the key to understanding what went into making the film from Mario Puzo’s novel.”

The Godfather Notebook will be priced at $50, while a limited number of signed copies will also be available from Regan Arts for $250.

The Godfather was released in 1971 and spawned two sequels that arrived in 1974 and 1990. The film established Coppola as one of the top directors in Hollywood and earned him the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, which he shared with Puzo.

Artifacts from Puzo and Coppola’s collaboration recently appeared in the author’s 45-box archive, which sold at auction for $625,000 in February. Among the items were nine partial copies of the first Godfather script, Puzo’s copy of Coppola’s “Bible” for the film, and a letter from Puzo to Coppola, producer Al Ruddy and Paramount’s Peter Bart, in which the author noted important corrections, like, “Michael’s fall from grace (Good guy to Murderer) should be more meaningful. After this (and I assume Francis will be re-writing this now) I feel it’s ready.”