The Sicilian (film) of his backer, Mafia Don Masino Croce. The Don, in turn, sets out to kill the upstart by convincing his cousin and closest adviser Gaspare to assassinate him. Due to the huge success of "The Godfather", Mario Puzo was given $1 million for the film 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 Begelman's interference with casting. Cimino wanted Christopher Lambert for the lead role and Begelman was
Don Pendleton with the publisher, Pinnacle Books, over ownership of the series. Pinnacle had the next entry, "The Executioner #16: Sicilian Slaughter," written by William Crawford under the pseudonym "Jim Peterson." Pendleton ignored "Sicilian Slaughter" and wrote The Executioner #17: "Jersey Guns," as a sequel to #15, "Panic in Philly," under a new contract with New American Library, which was ultimately voided by the terms of his settlement with Pinnacle, and he returned to the Bolan character for 21 more novels. Since 1980, "The Executioner, Mack Bolan" books and spinoffs - Able Team, Phoenix Force, Stony Man, and Mack Bolan - have