If you ask Francis Ford Coppola if he'd like to play one of the video games based on his classic "Godfather" movies, it's likely an offer the legendary filmmaker will refuse.

In an @ The Movies interview Tuesday, Coppola said he doesn't like the idea of the movie saga's premise being extended to the video game platform because he doesn't like the liberties it takes with the characters.

The writer-director was at a disadvantage with determining the game's content because the title wasn't his to license. A sequel to "The Godfather" video game was recently released by game company Electronic Arts.

"I personally wouldn't have licensed 'The Godfather' as an extremely violent game in which the characters are just used in a premise to go murder half the city,” said Coppola, who is readying his latest film, "Tetro," for release. "That is what the game is like."

Still, while he objects to "The Godfather" video game idea, Coppola said he's flattered that the 1972 film -- a sweeping epic about an organized crime family trying to go legitimate -- remains a vibrant part of pop culture. In addition to video games, Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone character has been produced by California company Sideshow Collectibles in the form of high-end action figures and busts.

"When you do a work of art and it goes out into the public and you don't know who it's going to affect or how it's going to inspire -- and it does -- that's a good thing," Coppola said. "I certainly was influenced by beautiful works that were done hundreds of years ago. They inspired me to do things, so that maybe I could do the same (for others)."

Coppola, 70, won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 1973 for his work on "The Godfather," and took three more -- for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and another as producer of the Best Picture winner -- for "The Godfather, Part II," in 1975. He was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture (as producer) of "The Godfather, Part III," in 1991.

His latest drama about the family dynamic, Coppola's "Tetro" is set for limited release on June 11.

Look for the entire Coppola @ The Movies interview next Tuesday.