Francis and the Godfather will map Coppola's struggle at the age of 31 to convince studios to make the film. He wanted to transpose the film to New York despite the original script by Mario Puzo being set in Kansas City.
Another topic in the film will be the decision to cast Marlon Brando, who was regarded as something of a risk at the time. There were also a number of discussions with real-life mobsters regarding the film's depiction of such communities.
There is no word yet on any actors playing the cast members of The Godfather (which included Robert Duvall, James Caan, Diane Keaton and John Cazale) or other characters.
Mike Markus, who will produce the film, added: `Here was a young man who lived outside the system and every step of the way the system was telling him, 'You can't do that.' But Francis never gave up on his vision and the result speaks for itself.`