“You f——d’ it up.” That’s what the late Harold Ramis, co-author of Animal House, said to the film’s director, John Landis. After seeing Landis’s “rough cut” of the movie, Ramis was convinced he would have a dud on his resume. Ramis wasn’t the only one close to or distant from the film who thought its prospects anything but impressive.
When asked to play a supporting role in Animal House, Donald Sutherland told his agent that he couldn’t accept the $20,000 offer. “I just want the money. I don’t want any points in the movie.” You see, Sutherland was offered 2 percent of the movie’s gross in addition to $20,000. He wasn’t having it. Ultimately his agent got him $35,000 and no gross points. Sutherland’s thinking was that he didn’t want 2 percent of nothing. He wasn’t the only skeptical actor.
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