9 Last-Minute Changes That Ruined Movies
8. The Godfather Part III - Replacing Winona Ryder With Sofia Coppola
The Godfather Part III is an unfairly hated sequel. It pales in comparison to the second chapter, sure, but what movie doesn't? With a few tweaks here and there, the threequel might even have been perceived as a worthy entry in the series.
One of those tweaks would have to be recasting the role of Mary Corleone as Sofia Coppola's infamously bad performance is widely considered the film's fatal flaw. Winona Ryder, who at the time was a more experienced actress than Coppola, was originally handed the part but dropped out late in the game.
It's unclear what kind of performance director Francis Ford Coppola would have drawn from Ryder and how much of a difference it would have made to the final product, but at the very least, a more seasoned star should have been cast as her replacement.
Sofia Coppola has gone on to become an accomplished director, helming the likes of The Virgin Suicides, Lost In Translation and most recently The Beguiled, but she was a big part of what was wrong with the third Godfather movie.