Al Pacino Says He Agreed to Make the Widely PannedGodfather: Part IIIBecause 'I Was Broke'

Mar. 15, 2025

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone inThe Godfather: Part III(1990).Photo:Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Al Pacinois getting candid about his financial reason for signing up to star inThe Godfather: Part III.

In his new memoirSonny Boy, Pacino, 84, opens up about his initial decision to reprise his role of Michael Corleone in 1974’s more-well-receivedThe Godfather: Part II, writing, “I struggled with the decision and second-­guessed myself constantly.”

“Not so forPart III,” he continued of the next film, which wasn’t released until 16 years later. “The choice could not have been easier. I was broke. Francis was broke. We both needed the bread.”

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Al Pacino as Michael Corleone inThe Godfather(L); Al Pacino in New York City on April 19, 2023.Everett ; Dominik Bindl/Getty

Made on a budget of $54 million,The Godfather: Part IIIgrossed $136.9 million in theaters worldwide, according toBox Office Mojo. PerAFI Catalog, Pacino himself was paid $8 million for the film, plus $50,000 per day for almost a week of reshoots.

Aside from the money, though, Pacino also wrote in his book that he “thought it would be an interesting challenge to try to find Michael some 20 years after the story of the previous film and almost as much time since I had last played him.”

TheAcademy Awardwinner praised what he felt “was a very good [initial] script” from Francis, 85, andMario Puzo. “Phenomenal ending,” Pacino wrote. “A brilliant callback to the firstGodfather, as Michael ends his life with one last lie to Kay (Keaton, 78).”

According to the actor, “The problems started soon after,” including cast shake-ups and issues that includedRobert Duvallunexpectedly not wanting to do the movie.

“His absence fromPart IIIwas a big miss,” Pacino wrote. “With so much of the film depending on his character, none of us knew what to do without him. Francis and Mario had to reconstruct the story, but they were brilliant writers and changed the whole script around.”

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Cover of Al Pacino’s memoirSonny Boy(2024).Penguin Press

Penguin Press

Winona Ryder, whom Pacino said was supposed to play Mary, was “exhausted and falling apart,” according to the actor, leading to Sofia, now 53, to step in.

“[Sofia] was young, just 19; she was not an experienced actress, though we have since found out she’s a very talented director,” Pacino wrote. “But the rest of the cast was trying to navigate this at the same time we were absorbing a whole new script for the film.”

According to Pacino, “the big criticism ofPart IIIhad to do with Michael’s pursuit of redemption,” as opposed to continuing to be the character fans knewfrom the previous films.

“I don’t think the audience wanted to have Michael spend the film seeking forgiveness for his sins. They wanted Michael to continue to be Michael,” he wrote. “They wanted the Godfather. That’s what we love about him, right? The guy we saw at the end ofPart IIwas encased in stone.”

But from his point of view, “I sawPart IIIas his effort to break free of that encasement, searching for a way out of his almost traumatized state of numbness,” Pacino added.

Sonny Boy, from Penguin Press, is available now wherever books are sold.

source: people.com