Ruddy’s Strategy Unveiled: Gaining Mafia Approval for The Godfather – Hot

Warning: SPOILERS for The Offer Episode 4 – “The Right Shade Of Yellow”

Paramount+’s The Offer depicted how producer Albert S. Ruddy (Miles Teller) got mob boss Joe Columbo (Giovanni Ribisi) to approve The Godfather filming in New York City – an event that really happened much like how it’s shown in the TV show. The Offer centers around Ruddy’s struggles as the producer of The Godfather, whether it’s headaches over the casting of Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito) or how slowly Mario Puzo (Patrick Gallo) and director Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) are writing the movie’s script. But Ruddy’s biggest challenge was the Mafia, which was opposed to The Godfather being made at all.

While several notable Mafia hoods are depicted in The Offer, Ruddy’s primary antagonist is Joe Columbo. The real-life Columbo was a powerful mob boss as the head of one of the New York Mafia’s Five Families. As it plays out in The Offer, Columbo formed the Italian-American Civil Rights League in 1970 to protest against the FBI’s harassment of his organization, which he equated to the demonization of all Italian-Americans. But Columbo had a special ire for Mario Puzo’s The Godfather novel and its depiction of the Mafia, which had enough verisimilitude to be embarrassing to real-life gangsters. In addition, Frank Sinatra especially hated The Godfather because the Johnny Fontaine character was based on him and his mob connections. So, Sinatra leaned on his mob friends like Columbo to make sure The Godfather movie wouldn’t get made in New York City, where the production intended to shoot.

In The Offer, Ruddy is summoned (against his will) to meet with Columbo, who wants The Godfather movie production whacked. But Ruddy defends his movie and offers to let Columbo read the screenplay, which he promised would alleviate the gangster’s issues. Surprisingly, Columbo agrees and he later shows up at Ruddy’s office to read the script. A compromise where Ruddy promised to cut out the lone mention of the word “mafia” in the script, as well as the words “cosa nostra,” which weren’t in the script, was enough to satisfy Columbo. The mob boss gave The Godfather movie his blessing. Amazingly, this was indeed how Ruddy got the mafia to back The Godfather.

Ruddy cutting the word “mafia” from The Godfather‘s script also placated Frank Sinatra. Therefore, the mob went all-in on The Godfather, allowing the production the use of New York City teamsters, unions, and acquiring the necessary location permits. Of course, the mafia embracing The Godfather led to other problems, like the cooperation between the movie and the mob making the front page of the newspapers. This was an embarrassment to Paramount Pictures’ corporate owners, Gulf + Western, and their CEO, Charlie Bludhorn (Burn Gorham). Ruddy was fired from The Godfather for a short time because of it, although he was brought back as producer.

Iconically, the blockbuster success of The Godfather meant that the mafia’s initial problems became a non-issue by the time the sequel, The Godfather Part II, was released in 1974. Ruddy didn’t produce the sequel, and the words “Mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” were uttered in The Godfather Part II during the scenes where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) faces a senate hearing, but this caused no problems with the real-life Mafia. As for Joe Columbo, he was gunned down at a rally in 1971 and thus, he never saw The Godfather. Columbo was paralyzed by the assassination attempt and he died seven years later. It remains to be seen if The Offer will adapt how Joe Columbo’s story played out in real life.

The Offer streams Thursdays on Paramount+.