Oscar Isaac Tapped To Play Francis Ford Coppola in ‘Francis And The Godfather’ Alongside Jake Gyllenhaal

Oscar Isaac has been announced to play director Francis Ford Coppola, while Jake Gyllenhaal will play former Paramount studio head Robert Evans in a movie about the making of Coppola’s seminal feature The Godfather.

Barry Levinson who reached critical acclaim for features like Rain Man will be directing Francis and The Godfather. The film is based on a Black List script by Andrew Farotte, which was redeveloped with Levinson.

The feature will chronicle the battles between Coppola, who was 31 at the time, and the Paramount Studios executive Evans. Their battles included taking a gamble on casting Marlon Brando, who hadn’t scored a hit in years, and another stand off over casting a then-little-known Al Pacino.

“Out of the madness of production, and against all odds, a classic film happened,” said Levinson.

Francis Ford Coppola himself has said of the film: “Any movie that Barry Levinson makes about anything, will be interesting and worthwhile!”