 According to Al Pacino in _Godfather Family: A Look Inside, The  (1990) (TV)_ , he says that he nearly got fired midway through  filming. At the time, the Paramount execs only saw the early scenes  of Michael at the wedding and were supposedly exclaiming "When is he  going to do something?" When they finally saw the scene where  Michael shoots Sollozzo and McCluskey in the restaurant, they  changed their minds and Pacino got to keep his job.