How Winona Ryder doomed ‘The Godfather Part III’ by dropping out
It might seem unfair to blame Winona Ryder solely for The Godfather Part III‘s failure to live up to expectations, but on the other hand, there’s no denying that she played a massive part despite not even being part of the cast.
Having followed up one of the greatest movies ever made with another one of the greatest movies ever made, The Godfather and its sequel were an untouchable duology. Returning to the saga of the Corleone crime family almost two decades later was viewed as a huge risk that could tarnish the legacy of its predecessors, but it wasn’t as if Coppola hadn’t lived up to a near-impossible billing before.
However, the filmmaker’s heart wasn’t in it to anywhere near the same level as it was before. In fact, the director admitted the only reason he agreed to make the movie in the first place was because he’d twice declared bankruptcy and was in dire need of the cash, and it’s an obvious truth of Hollywood that signing on with eyes fixed nowhere else but the paycheque rarely yields the best results.
What often tends to be forgotten is that The Godfather Part III was a hit, both critically and commercially. The threequel recouped its production budget almost three times over at the box office and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’. Unfortunately, it didn’t hold a candle to the first or second chapters, and that measuring stick was promptly used to beat the film over the head and into submission.
It’s a much better picture than a lot of people remember, and Coppola’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is vastly superior and more reflective of the director’s vision, but ask 100 people to name the first thing that comes to mind when they think of the film, and at least 99 of them will respond with Sofia Coppola’s atrocious performance.
The latest generation of the industry dynasty had dabbled in acting before, but only through bit-parts in her father’s work. As history would eventually show, Coppola was a lot more interested in a career behind the camera, but a combination of bad luck and desperation saw her drafted in at short notice to play Mary Corleone, which would win her a pair of Golden Raspberry Awards for ‘Worst Supporting Actress’ and ‘Worst New Star’.
Julia Roberts was initially sought but ruled herself out due to scheduling conflicts, Madonna wanted it but was deemed too old by Coppola, and Rebecca Shaeffer was planning to audition before being murdered by a fan in July 1989. Ryder, already marked out as one of the fastest-rising young stars in the business, signed on and promptly dropped out right before she was due to shoot her first scenes.
Although Ryder had her reasons for abandoning ship, it placed the father-daughter Coppola duo, and by extension, The Godfather Part III, into an unwinnable situation. The filmmaker was accused of rampant nepotism for hiring an untrained actor who also happened to be his child for a key part, while the newcomer was thrown to the wolves and savaged for her stilted turn.
The Godfather Part III might be better than it regularly gets credit for, but a key part of its lasting legacy is just how awful Coppola was as Mary. It swore her off acting altogether, and Hollywood got an excellent and Oscar-winning auteur out of the deal, but it’s never a good sign for any movie when the biggest talking point to emerge in the aftermath of a trilogy-closing epic is one solitary – and excruciatingly bad – acting performance.
