The Sicilian (film)

The Sicilian is a 1987 action film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo. It was directed by Michael Cimino and stars Christopher Lambert, Joss Ackland and Terence Stamp.

Due to the huge success of The Godfather, Mario Puzo was givenmillion for the movie rights to his novel The Sicilian. David Begelman, head of Gladden Entertainment at the time, hired Michael Cimino to direct. When producer Bruce McNall met with Cimino at a dinner in Los Angeles, he complained loudly about the script and Begelmans interference with casting. Cimino wanted Christopher Lambert for the lead role and Begelman was concerned about a French actor starring in a movie about an Italian hero in an Englishspeaking movie. To move forward, Begelman and McNall gave Cimino what he wanted with regards to the script and casting.Gore Vidal did some uncredited rewrite work on the film. Vidal sued both screenwriter Steve Shagan and the Writers Guild of America to receive screenplay credit. I was defrauded of my work. Vidal eventually won the suit against WGA. In the DVD commentary of Year of the Dragon, Cimino said he learned a lot from working with Vidal. ........

Source: Wikipedia