Mary Corleone

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Mary Corleone
Mary Corleone GF3.jpeg
Sofia Coppola portraying Mary Corleone
First appearance The Godfather Part II
Last appearance The Godfather Part III
Created by Mario Puzo
Portrayed by Sofia Coppola
In-universe information
GenderFemale
Family Corleone family
Relatives Michael Corleone (father)
Kay Adams-Corleone (mother)
Vito Corleone (paternal grandfather; deceased)
Anthony Corleone (brother)
Sonny Corleone (paternal uncle; deceased)
Fredo Corleone (paternal uncle; deceased)
Vincent Mancini-Corleone (paternal cousin and lover)
Connie Corleone (paternal aunt)
Carmela Corleone (paternal grandmother; deceased)
Carlo Rizzi (uncle; deceased)

Mary Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III , portrayed by Sofia Coppola. [1] She is the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams and sister of Anthony Vito Corleone.

Contents

The Godfather Part II

Mary first appears in The Godfather Part II as the younger child of Michael and Kay. She is a young child (aged about 4 or 5) in the late 1950s. Like her brother Anthony, Mary does not have a significant role or story arc in the film.

The Godfather Part III

Mary is sheltered from the violent world of the Corleone crime family. She falls in love with her cousin, Vincent Mancini, Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son. While the family is traveling in Sicily, Michael tells Mary he disapproves of the romance, believing that Vincent's growing involvement in the "family business" puts her life in danger. He fears that Mary could suffer the same fate as his first wife, Apollonia, who was killed by a car bomb intended for him 30 years earlier.

Toward the end of the film, Michael names Vincent as his successor, on condition that he break off his relationship with Mary. After her brother's debut concert, the assassin Mosca tries to kill Michael. One bullet grazes Michael's shoulder, but the other accidentally hits Mary in the chest, fatally wounding her. Michael is devastated by Mary's death, and screams in torment while cradling her dead body.

Casting

Sofia Coppola, the daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, was cast in the role of Mary Corleone after several choices dropped out: Winona Ryder discontinued her involvement with the film due to nervous exhaustion, [2] [3] [4] [5] Julia Roberts due to scheduling conflicts, [2] and Madonna was deemed too old for the part by some. [6] Rebecca Schaeffer had earlier pursued the role but had been murdered by a deranged fan. [7] [8] It has been suggested that the situation further damaged Francis Ford Coppola's career and ruined Sofia's before it had even begun. [9] Coppola has said that she never really wanted to act, and only appeared in the film as a favor to her father. [10]

After filming, Sofia Coppola confirmed that she did not want to enter acting. [10] It has also been suggested that Sofia's role in the film may have contributed to its box office performance, which started strongly and then went into decline. [9] Coppola has said that her father based a lot of her character on her while writing the script, before she was even cast into the role. [9] Sofia had herself worried that she had only been given the role because she was the director's daughter, and the role placed a strain on her during the time of shooting that her mother observed in a series of diaries she wrote for Vogue during the filming. [9]

After she was critically panned for her performance in The Godfather Part III, for which she won Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star at the 1990 Golden Raspberry Awards, Coppola ended her acting career, although she appeared in the independent film Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992), as well as in the backgrounds of films by her friends and family: for example, she appeared as Saché, one of Queen Padmé Amidala's five handmaidens in George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). [4] Coppola has since been quoted as saying that she was not hurt by the criticism from her role in The Godfather Part III, because she never especially wanted an acting career. [11]

Sequel novels

Mary appears as a minor character in Mark Winegardner's sequel novels The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge , although in the original novel, Michael's second child is a boy.

Family

Related Research Articles

<i>The Godfather</i> (novel) 1969 novel by Mario Puzo

The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City, headed by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.

<i>The Godfather Part II</i> 1974 epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American epic crime film. The film is produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. It is both a sequel and a prequel to the 1972 film The Godfather, presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone, the new Don of the Corleone family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the prequel covers the journey of his father, Vito Corleone, from his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family enterprise in New York City. The ensemble cast also features Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Morgana King, John Cazale, Mariana Hill, and Lee Strasberg.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vito Corleone</span> Fictional character from The Godfather

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Corleone</span> Fictional character from The Godfather series

Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Corleone</span> Fictional character from The Godfather series

Vincent SantinoCorleone is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.

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<i>The Godfather</i> 1972 American crime film by Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte and Diane Keaton. It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy, chronicling the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando) from 1945 to 1955. It focuses on the transformation of his youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmela Corleone</span> Fictional character from The Godfather series

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Anthony Vito "Tony" Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He is the son of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams, and the older brother of Mary Corleone. While Tony was not a major character in the first two films, major events in his life were the backdrop of key parts of the second film, and his relationship with his father is a plot point in the third film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Neri</span> Fictional character from The Godfather series

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Corleone</span> Fictional character from The Godfather series

Constanzia "Connie" Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather, a 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, and the 1972 film The Godfather. In the film, Connie is portrayed by Talia Shire, the sister of the director Francis Ford Coppola. Shire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Connie Corleone in The Godfather Part II.

References

  1. ↑ "The Godfather, Part III (1990)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Death in the family". The Guardian . 15 April 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Teenage Heartbreak of Sofia Coppola's Mary Corleone". TIFF. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 Gilbey, Ryan (4 July 2013). "Sofia Coppola on The Bling Ring: 'What these kids did really took ingenuity'". The Guardian . London, England. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sofia Coppola Biography". Tribute. Tribute Entertainment Media Group. 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Nick Browne, ed. (2000). Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Trilogy. Cambridge University Press. p. 48. ISBN   9780521559508.
  7. ↑ Ojumu, Akin (16 February 2003). "Brad Silbering: The family that grieves together..." The Observer . Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Death on Main Street". The Age. 8 March 2003.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Gerosa, Melina (25 January 1991). "Storm over Sofia Coppola". Entertainment Weekly . New York City: Time, Inc. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Revisited: Sofia Coppola". Interview . 26 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Out of the Godfather's shadow". The Independent . London, England: Independent Print Ltd. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
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