Paramount sues Mario Puzo estate over “Godfather” prequel

PanARMENIAN.Net - The infamous Corleone crime family has found itself in a legal jam - but it has nothing to do with whacking anybody or leaving a horse's head in somebody's bed, The Wrap reported.

Paramount Pictures filed a lawsuit against Anthony Puzo, the executor of the estate of "The Godfather" author Mario Puzo last week, seeking to block the estate from publishing a "Godfather" sequel, "The Family Corleone," later this year.

In the papers, filed in federal court in Manhattan, Paramount claims that it purchased the copyright to Puzo's classic in mobster literature in 1969, and is trying to "protect the integrity and reputation of The Godfather trilogy" by blocking the book's publication.

The studio claims in the suit that it authorized one "Godfather" sequel book, "The Godfather Returns," to be published by Random House in 2004, following Puzo's 1999 death. A second novel, "The Godfather's Revenge," was published in 2006 without Paramount's authorization, the lawsuit claims.

Paramount's lawsuit claims that "The Godfather's Revenge" "tarnished" the legacy of "The Godfather" and "in the process, also misled consumers into believing that “The Godfather’s Revenge” was authorized by Paramount.

Paramount is seeking damages from "The Godfather's Revenge," as well as temporary restraining order against publication of "The Family Corleone."

The studio claims that the Puzo estate is also planning to make unauthorized use of Paramount's "Godfather"-related trademarks to promote "The Family Corleone."

The Huffington Post reports that "The Family Corleone," which is expected to be released through Grand Central Publishing, will chronicle Vito Corleone's rise to power in the New York mob scene of the 1920s and '30s. Puzo reportedly outlined the story in a screenplay, which author Ed Falco - author of the mob book "Saint John of the Five Boroughs" and, interestingly, the uncle of former "Sopranos" star Edie Falco - is adapting for the book.