<P> In March 1967, Paramount announced that they backed Puzo's upcoming work in the hopes of making a film . In 1969, Paramount confirmed their intentions to make a film out of the novel for the price of $80,000, with aims to have the film released on Christmas Day in 1971 . On March 23, 1970, Albert S. Ruddy was officially announced as the film's producer, in part because studio executives were impressed with his interview and because he was known for bringing his films in under budget . </P> <P> Evans wanted the picture to be directed by an Italian American to make the film "ethnic to the core". Paramount's latest mafia based movie, The Brotherhood, had been a box office bomb; Evans believed that the reason for its failure was its almost complete lack of cast members or creative personnel of Italian descent (the director Martin Ritt and star Kirk Douglas were both Jewish). Sergio Leone was Paramount's first choice to direct the film . Leone turned down the option to work on his own gangster film Once Upon a Time in America . Peter Bogdanovich was then approached but he also declined the offer because he was not interested in the mafia . In addition, Peter Yates, Richard Brooks, Arthur Penn, Costa - Gavras, and Otto Preminger were all offered the position and declined . Evans' chief assistant Peter Bart suggested Francis Ford Coppola, as a director of Italian ancestry who would work for a low sum and budget after the poor reception of his latest film The Rain People . Coppola initially turned down the job because he found Puzo's novel sleazy and sensationalist, describing it as "pretty cheap stuff". At the time Coppola's studio, American Zoetrope, owed over $400,000 to Warner Bros. for budget overruns with the film THX 1138 and when coupled with his poor financial standing, along with advice from friends and family, Coppola reversed his initial decision and took the job . Coppola was officially announced as director of the film on September 28, 1970 . Paramount had offered twelve other directors the job with The Godfather before Coppola agreed . Coppola agreed to receive $125,000 and six percent of the gross rentals . </P> <P> Before The Godfather was in production, Paramount had been going through an unsuccessful period . In addition to the failure of The Brotherhood, the studio had usurped their budget for their recent films: Darling Lili, Paint Your Wagon, and Waterloo . The budget for the film was originally $2.5 million but as the book grew in popularity Coppola argued for and ultimately received a larger budget . Paramount executives wanted the movie to be set in then modern - day Kansas City and shot in the studio backlot in order to cut down on costs . Coppola objected and wanted to set the movie in the same time period as its eponymous novel, the 1940s and 1950s; Coppola's reasons included: Michael Corleone's Marine Corps stint, the emergence of corporate America, and America in the years after World War II . The executives eventually agreed to Coppola's wish as the novel became increasingly successful . The studio heads subsequently let Coppola film on location in New York City and Sicily . </P> <P> Gulf & Western executive Charles Bluhdorn was frustrated with Coppola over the number of screen tests he had performed without finding a person to play the various roles . Production quickly fell behind because of Coppola's indecisiveness and conflicts with Paramount, which led to costs being around $40,000 per day . With the rising costs, Paramount had then Vice President Jack Ballard keep a close eye on production costs . While filming, Coppola stated that he felt he could be fired at any point as he knew Paramount executives were not happy with many of the decisions he had made . Coppola was aware that Evans had asked Elia Kazan to take over directing the film, because he feared that Coppola was too inexperienced to cope with the increased size of the production . Coppola was also convinced that the film editor, Aram Avakian, and the assistant director, Steve Kestner, were conspiring to get him fired . Avakian complained to Evans that he could not edit the scenes correctly because Coppola was not shooting enough footage . Evans however was satisfied with the footage being sent to the west coast, and authorized Coppola to fire them both . Coppola later explained: "Like the godfather, I fired people as a preemptory strike . The people who were angling the most to have me fired, I had fired ." Brando threatened that he would quit if Coppola were fired . </P>

When was the godfather supposed to take place
find me the text answering this question