NEW YORK — Gianni Russo was in “The Godfather” but says he never assaulted Talia Shire, as depicted in the eighth episode of “The Offer,” the docuseries about the making of the movie classic.
Russo said he considered suing Paramount Pictures and “Godfather” producer Al Ruddy, but now he’s tired of the legal process, and just wants an apology.
“There is no amount of money that will make me happy. I just want my good name back!” Russo told me.
In “The Godfather,” Russo’s character, Carlo, is depicted beating up his pregnant wife Connie, played by Shire. The disputed portrayal of that scene came is in the eighth episode of “The Offer.”
The series — taglined “The Greatest Movie Almost Never Made”— is described as “Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy’s never-before-revealed experiences of making ‘The Godfather.’” There has been widespread debate in the media over whether parts of the series were more dramatizations based on reality than hard fact.
Initially, Russo didn’t pay any attention to the series — until his grandson called him and said, “Papi, you hit a woman?” Then Russo started to get stopped on the streets by people calling him an abuser.
“It’s about my reputation,” Russo said. “It’s a character assassination.”
Russo tried to reach Shire, and contacted her agent. “She wouldn’t talk,” he said. My calls to her agent were also not returned.
“Ultimately, it’s about an 80-year-old man — who has never hit a woman — who doesn’t want to go to his grave with his grandchildren thinking he was an abuser of women. I don’t want money. I want my legacy returned to me.”
“I don’t even want Paramount to pull the episode, I just want them to remove the untrue, derogatory material and publicly apologize for spreading lies about me,” he said.
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Prince Harry is planning to add new chapters to the paperback version of “Spare,” his best-selling memoir.
Publishing insiders say readers are clamoring for details about how the couple feels about the backlash to the book and their Netflix documentary and the ongoing negotiations of whether Meghan and Harry will accept King Charles’ invitation to attend his coronation on May 6.
Team Meghan feels this is the perfect time for the couple to nail down the titles they want for their two children, Archie and Lilibet. Meghan is said to feel these titles are part of their birthright and would like her children to be made a prince and princess.
These titles are not automatic and can only be conferred by the sovereign, something Queen Elizabeth did not do before she died.
King Charles has yet to make clear what his intentions are given his views about limiting the size of the royal family.
If you want to watch the coronation of King Charles in style, you can now buy a pair of Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Coronation Chairs for $39,850 from M.S. Rau.
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John Travolta’s “Gotti” co-star, William DeMeo, ordered the last two slices of pizza at the Bensonhurst institution, Lenny’s Pizza, when it closed down after 70 years on Feb. 17.
“I folded them just like Travolta did,” DeMeo told me, referring to the opening scene of “Saturday Night Fever.”
DeMeo, who stars, directs and wrote the Brooklyn mafia drama series, “Gravesend” on Amazon Prime, is waiting for the second season to air this spring.
The cast will include Chazz Palminteri, Chuck Zito, Fran Drescher, Mario Cantone and Andrew “Dice” Clay.
DeMeo said, “I started out in ‘A Bronx Tale’ working for Chaz Palminteri. Now he’s working for me.”
Lenny’s Pizza will be prominently featured.
And don’t miss former Hell’s Angel Chuck Zito. “We have a flashback where Chuck beats up five guys himself.”
Fans of “The Sopranos” will also be happy to hear that Vincent Pastore, Tony Darrow, Sofia Milos and Al Sapienza are also in what DeMeo’s calling the “Expendables of Organized Crime Cast.”
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Artist Marcus Jansen, whose studio is in the Bronx, is on a roll. His documentary “Examine and Report” just screened at the East Hampton Film Festival at Guild Hall.
The Bronx Museum of The Arts just acquired his painting, The Staircase.
Next month, his first solo exhibition opens in Shanghai, China.
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Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga, Naomi Watts, Sarah Jessica Parker and Brooke Shields are just a few of the stars captured in culture journalist Nadja Sayej’s new book, “Paparazzi Bitch.”
One of the tome’s most controversial photos is of Karl Lagerfeld flashing a toothless grin to Sayej in Paris just before his passing in 2019.
The designer famously never smiled in photos because he didn’t like his teeth, but couldn’t resist smiling at the glamorous writer who was dressed in head-to-toe Chanel.
The book also has pictures of Catherine Deneuve sifting through her purse for her lipstick at the Venice Film Festival, and Pierce Brosnan making a funny face during a flight from LAX to JFK.
The book is available on blurb.com.
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On Mother’s Day, May 14, Audrey Gruss’s Hope for Depression Research Foundation will release a series of photographs to mark the sixth anniversary of the Hope Fragrance company, where all profits go to fund research into depression.
The images of famous moms with their kids include Muffie Potter Aston, Amy Fine Collins, Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Serena Boardman and Susan Gutfreund.
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Queens comic Freddy G headlined Saturday night at Astoria’s Grove 34 and told the crowd:
“My parents got divorced when I was 13, then got back together right after I went to college. They were lying when they said it wasn’t my fault.”
Freddy, to be found at @orangefreddyg, also said, “I’m 39 with no kids which is younger than 26 with three kids!”
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