I just ran across an article about Duvall's upcoming appearance on 60 Minutes II.
Here are a couple of links:
Associated Press

CBS News

He was sorely missed in Godfather 3. Whatever he wanted he should have gotten. They could have saved money on Duvall's hair styling expenses rather than what they spent on hairspray for George Hamilton.

yeah, i saw this on yahoo... but didn't we know this already?? i thought this was well known.

That is so funny!!!!

"Sorely missed"--oh, how sorely. Then again, the Melanoma Poster Boy got a few days' work in his place.

Yeah - we all knew this already, but I thought it was interesting to see that Duvall has no problem laying it out like that. I'll watch the 60 Minutes II airing just to hear his tone of voice. I wonder if he's angry or just jokes about it.

he should be ashamed by this-he basically said it was all about money and prestige/ranking-what happened to working for the art of acting. it isnt as if he doesnt have enough money. so he has to go on TV, 15 years later mind you, to air dirty laundry out for everyone to see. you know what though, i don't even like him as an actor, never have, and i still think that putting his money towards Bridget Fonda and George Hamilton was a smart marketing move. Get a life Duvall, no one cares about your selfish ways.

Using that argument, can't you say the same thing about Coppola? Why didn't he just make the movie for the sake of art?

Duvall, IMO, is one of the best actors of the generation; he has tons of great performances.

Bridget Fonda and George Hamilton did absolutely nothing for the movie, except perhaps to make it worse than it already was.

Smart marketing move...and we can see the impact it made on the film and how they made us completely forget about Duvall and his character, Tom Hagen!

Let's remember also that by the time GFIII was made, Duvall had become an Academy Award winner, had starred in an acclaimed miniseries Lonesome Dove...and was now a major star in his own right, far beyond the supporting status he held in The Godfather and GFII. In terms of salary he deserved a little more respect from FFC, and not settling for what was offered was the smartest thing he could've done. Ultimately Duvall didn't need GFIII...but it sure needed him and didn't get him because $$$ won out over the "art of acting". It's common concensus that the film suffered due to his absence and GOOD for him for airing it out and getting the last laugh.

Incidentally Robert Duvall has consistently been one of the FINEST and most versatile character actors around for over 40 years. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year was well deserved and a couple of years late in my opinion.

Regards,
AppleOnYa

Duval is a fine actor, and if he chose not to be in GFIII that was his choice. Personally, I think it was "the smart move.."

i consider it a smart marketing move because like it or not, much of GF III's marketing potential was surrounded by controversy-Sofia in particular. At the time Fonda was a hot up and comer and Hamilton was a decent sized name-you must remember that at this time i'm sure they were still trying to lay groundwork for a Fourth film and they needed to establish possible characters. Not to be disrespectful, but Duvall is getting up there in age, and besides the character, no matter how it was rewritten for Hamilton, didn't warrant that much money. Whether people percieved this movie to be good or not was subjective to the person, but good or bad, Paramount had people talking incessantly about this picture. I would also like to note that if a Part IV is ever made, expect Fonda and Hamilton to have large parts.

You're obviously thinking in PRE-GFIII terms and not those of today, looking back at the quality and success of the film. At the time, Duvall was 12 years younger than he is now and his character would have aged in the same way everyone's did. Time has proven that the inclusion of Tom Hagen in the story WOULD have warranted that much money.
As re-written for Hamilton, they probably spent more than the should've.

The Godfather Part III was so long awaited and eagerly anticipated that Paramount would have had to do very little to have fans of the first two talking incessantly about it. And had they thought a little more about the artistic side and NOT the marketing then a better picture may have resulted. [/QB][/QUOTE]



If you say so...let them! Because anyone associated with the REAL classics will have the brains to stay far away from have any part of it.

(Incidentally, Hamilton has proven durable & pleasant as a celebrity and pops up every few years just for laughs...but talented as she is and despite a promising early career, I haven't seen much of interest from Ms. Fonda over the past 10 years.)

Yep...REAL smart marketing move on Paramount's part.


AppleOnYa