Episodes
👥 In this episode of “Take the Cannoli: The Godfather Podcast,” host Lou Bortone interviews Hunter Gatewood, a leadership expert and keynote speaker.💼 Hunter Gatewood discusses the importance of building trust and connection within teams, especially in the context of remote work environments.🔗 Hunter emphasizes the value of small interactions and shared interests in developing trust and loyalty.💡 He also highlights the significance of embracing imperfection and creating psychological safety...
Published 08/19/23
www.TheGodfatherPodcast.com presents... The Unseen Magic: A Hollywood Insider's Journey Beyond the Camera Lens In this special interview, movie industry veteran Liz Scully shares her journey and experiences working in the visual effects industry in Hollywood. She discusses her role in post-production, where she added visual effects to films after they were shot. She also talks about the challenges of working with green screens and fiberglass models, as well as the evolution of technology...
Published 04/11/23
http://www.TheGodfatherPodcast.com presents.. Succession Vs. The Godfather! Take the Cannoli - The Godfather Podcast Welcome to Take the Cannoli: The Godfather Podcast… We’ve returned from our involuntary hiatus just in time for the premiere of the fourth and final season of the HBO drama, “Succession.” Obviously, the transition of power is the central theme of both The Godfather and HBO’s Succession, and while the legendary film and the modern day drama are five decades apart, both are...
Published 03/25/23
The Mythology of The Godfather:  In this episode of The Godfather Podcast, we're looking at the historic and record-breaking opening of The Godfather, including what it meant to a struggling movie business, the unexpected and lasting impact on our culture, and why the film still resonates 50 years later. This episode features some very rare, behind-the-scenes "home movie" footage from the making of The Godfather, as well as highlights from an interview with Godfather producers Al Ruddy and...
Published 02/19/23
The Godfather Podcast: Episode 9 - “A runt will not play Michael.” While Francis Ford Coppola had won the hard fought battle to cast Marlon Brando as Don Corleone, the casting of Michael would prove to be an all-out slugfest - nearly resulting in the firing of Coppola. Francis knew he wanted Al Pacino to play Michael from day one, but at the timePacino was a relatively unknown actor with little experience and even less name recognition. The Paramount studio execs, and studio head Robert...
Published 01/31/23
Vivendi recently reported that a whopping 77% of brands could disappear tomorrow and no one would care. Customer disloyalty is the new normal. How can you and your business gain and retain new clients, customers, and even employees in this uncertain, post-pandemic world? (Without using fear and intimidation like the Mafia?) The answer is loyalty. And the proof comes from an unlikely source: The Godfather. In this episode of The Godfather Podcast, we look at the theme of "loyalty," and...
Published 01/17/23
“I had hoped we could all come here and reason together.” - Don Corleone One of my favorite scenes in The Godfather also contains some of the best leadership lessons of the Corleone’s… Part of the Corleone Family’s incredible power and influence comes from Vito Corleone’s ability to be “reasonable.” The Don believes strongly in reason, collaboration and, when possible, cooperation. He is an eminently practical and patient man. The Italian’s have a saying: “Patience for a moment, comfort...
Published 01/10/23
How a Hollywood Has-Been Landed the Role of a Lifetime By the late sixties, the legendary star once considered the greatest actor in the world was an overweight, out of work, washed up has-been. Worse yet, after a string of bad movies and a reputation for being difficult to work with, he was considered "box office poison." No studio in Hollywood would touch him…  So when Godfather author Mario Puzo and director Francis Ford Coppola told the studio execs at Paramount that they wanted the...
Published 01/03/23
Who was Don Corleone based on?  Was it a specific, real-life Mafia boss?  And, how did Mario Puzo create a Mafia universe so accurate that even mobsters were convinced he had to have been connected?  In this episode, we'll tackle these and other Godfather mysteries, while exploring the life of Mario Puzo and the backstory of how the Godfather novel came to life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/godfather1/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/godfather1/support
Published 12/20/22
The Godfather’s most famous line - which has become a cultural touchstone and perhaps the most famous quote in movie history, is uttered twice in the first few minutes of the movie… First, Michael tells Kay that his father helped his Godson, Johnny Fontaine, early in his career by making a band leader “an offer he couldn’t refuse” to get Johnny out of the bandleader’s contract. Then, of course, as Johnny bemoans the fact that movie studio head Jack Woltz won’t give Johnny the part in the...
Published 12/13/22
In this episode, we're looking at the second scene of the original Godfather movie, the wedding reception scene. This particular scene has been called a masterclass in cinematography, and it's an amazing few minutes of movie-making. Here director Francis Ford Coppola is not only able to introduce all the main characters of the movie in one sweeping scene, but also set up the foundation and the theme of the movie. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/godfather1/message Support...
Published 12/05/22
In this new episode of The Godfather Podcast, we take a look at the opening scene of the original Godfather movie, as we meet Don Corleone for the first time.   We take a deeper dive and scene analysis to explore how the film introduces The Godfather, including how Amerigo Bonasera's request of the Don echoes the formation of the Mafia itself.   We also look at the opening scene from the director's standpoint, and why they shot the scene the way they did.  We'll even reveal how Marlon...
Published 11/30/22
The Godfather, often cited as one of the greatest films (and novels) ever created, celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year. And despite its vintage, like a fine wine, The Godfather only seems to get better with age. The continuing influence of the trilogy can be seen not only in other classics it spawned, such as The Sopranos, but in more recent popular culture. Try streaming an episode of “Billions,” for example, without hearing a subtle or not-so-subtle reference to The...
Published 11/20/22
Sample Video Clip from Lou Bortone's Keynote: Loyalty is the New Currency-Leadership Lessons of The Godfather.   Here’s what Loyalty is the New Currency is about, and how it relates to business: Vivendi recently reported that a whopping 77% of brands could disappear tomorrow and no one would care. Customer disloyalty is the new normal. How can you and your business gain and retain new clients, customers, and even employees in this uncertain, post-pandemic world? (Without using fear and...
Published 11/19/22