The Godfather was released in 1972, just three years after the original, same-named novel by Mario Puzo was published. Although Puzo brought aboard to work on the movie’s screenplay, once Francis Ford Coppola was hired to direct, he worked on the screenplay separately, with the two men staying in contact with one another and sharing ideas. Originally the plan was for The Godfather movie to be set in contemporary Kansas City, but Coppola argued for the movie to be set in the 1940s and 1950s, just like in the novel, as well as to shoot in New York City, which made the production significantly more expensive.
