'It's strictly business.' Paramount Pictures tells Doughfather to change logo
But after years of using a similar logo, Paramount Pictures sent him a letter this week with an offer he can’t refuse, literally, or else face a lawsuit.
A Middlesex County man combined his love of making pizza with his favorite movie, "The Godfather."
But after years of using a similar logo, Paramount Pictures sent him a letter this week with an offer he can’t refuse, literally, or else face a lawsuit.
This is the story of The Doughfather.
“It’s my favorite movie, I mean, that’s why I did it,” said The Doughfather Pizzeria and Ristorante owner Max D’Amico.
Then came one small problem.
“We just got hit with this in an email and we thought it was a joke. It’s not a joke, it’s for real,” he said.
Paramount Pictures sent them an email, pointing out some obvious similarities, like the puppet strings, the font type, and the black-and-white silhouette of D’Amico that looks just like Marlon Brando’s.
“I didn’t mean no harm to anybody, but we’re going to correct that," he said.
D’Amico’s wife, Dina, came up with the name Doughfather, after watching the movie at least 100 times with him.
“He knows every line, every part,” said Dina Shafran, D’Amico's wife.
The homage never intended to attract the Hollywood brass.
“I understand they have their rights. I apologize. It’s not our intent. It’s really because he’s the master of the dough and a movie he loved, and I thought they went hand in hand and that’s how I came up with it,” Shafran added.
For now, D’Amico is working to change things around. Instead of puppet strings, the redesigned logo shows a hand throwing a pinch of salt or a thumbs up. The name, he says, stays.
“Doughfather is the Doughfather. Nothing is going to change, just the picture image is going to change,” said D’Amico.
D’Amico hasn’t shown Paramount his new logo and font redesigns just yet, but he hopes it will be enough to satisfy them because after all, it’s not personal. It’s strictly business.
