Pasta From 'The Godfather'

"The Godfather" is about to be released on DVD, but that is not the only reason Francis Ford Coppola is making headlines.

The Oscar winning filmmaker's love of food is bringing attention to a pasta factory in Brooklyn, N. Y., reports Alexis Christoforous of CBS MarketWatch.

Paramount Pictures made Coppla an offer he couldn't refuse and as a result, the Godfather of all Mafia films goes digital this fall. The triology's release on DVD also features behind-the-scenes footage and director commentary. The collector set will retail, beginning Oct. 9, for about $75.

To celebrate, Coppola recently threw a block party - Italian style - in Brooklyn, the home to his number two love, pasta.

Two years ago this consiglieri of Hollywood who likes to mix it up in the kitchen invested in the Morisi pasta factory, a family-run business that began in 1940.

"We heard that perhaps the little pasta factory in Brooklyn which I had never seen was falling on little bit tough times financially and we wanted to insure that we could have it," the director explains.

The factory makes pasta the Old World way, with more than 65 shapes and dozens of flavors. The Morisi family uses old-style methods to produce just 15,000 pounds of pasta a week, a fraction of the output of other commercial factories.

"In fact, it is Old World because we're still using the old equipment," says John Morisi of Morisi-Coppola Pasta, pointing out that the machinery is of 1913 vintage.

The Coppola pasta line goes national this week. There's Coppola pasta, sauce, even olive oil, affectionately called Mammarella - ”dear little Mama” in Italian, which is a nickname for Coppola’s mother.

The pasta goes great with a glass of Coppola Cabernet, from the director's successful winery in the Napa Valley. That's the perfect meal to have when you cozy up to your DVD player this fall to watch "The Godfather."

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