A tome you can’t refuse: Francis Ford Coppola to publish ‘Godfather Notebook’

The new print-only publication will be called The Godfather Notebook, and will share in detail the creative process that went into the filmmaker’s genre-defining work. Featuring casting notes, never-before seen photos, and a personal introduction written by Coppola himself, The Godfather Notebook will be an essential addition to every film nerd’s hardback collection.

The book will sell for $50 when it lands on shelves November 15, with a limited number of signed copies available for $250 from publisher Regan Arts.

“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 to Rolling Stone. “It is the key to understanding what went into making the film from Mario Puzo’s novel.”

The annotated pages of Mario Puzo’s original Godfather book, which Coppola used extensively in his direction of his screenplay, are perhaps the most significant aspect of the new written work.

For his efforts, Coppola earned Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Director after the film first hit screens in 1972. The Godfather immediately made him one of the most in-demand creators in Hollywood.

The famed director’s legacy has been cemented in the work of his two surviving children: Both his son, Roman, and daughter, Sophia, have been nominated for Oscars for Best Original Screenplay, with Sofia Coppola winning for Lost In Translation (she was also nominated for Best Director for the same film).

Given the amazing success of both Coppola and his family in the world of cinema, the ability to read personal annotations and scripts, as well as other handwritten notes in the new book, should prove especially interesting to filmmakers themselves. In fact, we’d be surprised if most of those signed copies don’t end up on famed artists’ coffee tables in Hollywood.