Francis Ford Coppola director's worst work yet." In 1990, he released the third and final chapter of "The Godfather" series: "The Godfather Part III". While not as critically acclaimed as the first two films, it was still a box office success, earning $136 million against a budget of $54 million. Some reviewers criticized the casting of Coppola's daughter Sofia, who had stepped into the leading role of Mary Corleone which had been abandoned by Winona Ryder just as filming began. Despite this, "The Godfather Part III" went on to gather 7 Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. The film failed
Francis Ford Coppola Lucas, who became his lifelong friend as well as production assistant in his next film "The Rain People" in 1969. It was written, directed and initially produced by Coppola himself, though as the movie advanced, he exceeded his budget and the studio had to underwrite the remainder of the movie. The film won the Golden Shell at the 1969 San Sebastian Film Festival. In 1969, Coppola took it upon himself to subvert the studio system which he felt had stifled his visions, intending to produce mainstream pictures to finance off-beat projects and give first-time directors their chance to direct. He