Paramount executives disliked Coppola's tough stand on casting Brando and then disliked Brando's quiet delivery in the scenes they saw early on. In addition, the film went over budget, and Coppola often argued often with various production team members including his cinematographer, Gordon Willis. At one point, he was in a stall in one of the bathrooms when crew members came in, talking about how terrible a director they thought he was. He says that he lifted his feet because he was afraid they would see his shoes and recognize them.
