Did You Know Al Pacino’s Hefty Fee Demand For The Devil’s Advocate Left Makers In Trouble Until Keanu Reeves Took A Massive Pay Cut Of $2 Million? “I Knew By Working With Could…” Said Latter
Keanu Reeves starrer The Devil’s Advocate almost ran into trouble thanks to Al Pacino's hefty salary demands. Here’s what Reeves did.
Al Pacino’s Hefty Fee Demand For The Devil’s Advocate Left Makers In Trouble Until Keanu Reeves Took A Massive Pay Cut (Picture Credit: IMDB & Wikimedia)
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Keanu Reeves is one of the most bankable stars today, with his franchise like John Wick easily crossing the $100 million mark at the box-office. The actor, however, had a different story in the 90s when was trying to do meaningful cinema without caring about money. Reeves starred in the 1997 film The Devil’s Advocate which had Hollywood legend Al Pacino in the lead. Reeves, interestingly, took a cut from his salary after Pacino demanded a hefty amount and the producers were facing issues affording him. Scroll down to read more.
Keanu Reeves, on the work front, was last seen in John Wick: Chapter 4. Although there are rumours for a prequel, the actor has not really confirmed it yet. On the personal front, Keanu was seen chilling on a yacht in Italy, soaking in the sun with his sister Kim Reeves.
Speaking of The Devil’s Advocate, according to The Things, Keanu Reeves took a pay cut of $2 million which at the time was rare. Though the actor never mentioned the amount, in a later interview, he said, “I’d rather people didn’t know that. It was a private transaction. It was something I could afford to do, a worthwhile thing to do.” The move came after it was reported that Al Pacino demanded a hefty amount as his fee for the movie, which left the producer’s budget of $57 million in trouble. However, thanks to the noble gesture by Keanu, the makers could finally steer ahead with the production.
The Matrix star, in a later interview, shared, “I knew by working with [Mr Pacino] I could only raise my game, so to speak. We work in totally different ways but our relationship was, for me anyway, fantastic. I had some of the best times of my life with him.”
A source spilled the beans on the same revealing, “Keanu is a sweet guy and may be a star, but he’s screwing up his lines right and left and the accent is so bad there’s been talk of dubbing it in. It’s driving Pacino nuts.” The insider added, “Everyone suspects Al is disgusted, wants out and that’s why he’s always late.”
Al Pacino apparently was hesitant to sign the film as he was not content with the script. “Right from the start, I could feel there was something on Taylor’s [Hackford] mind,” said the actor adding, “Something he feels he can go after. It’s a sense you just get from some people, and Taylor has it. But the very first time I saw the script, it wasn’t complete.”
After several script edits, Pacino finally signed the project later saying, “Then that thing Taylor was reaching for, it finally started manifesting itself in the script. Suddenly it became a challenge. [But] you want a challenge in this business, you want to see if you can reach what you’re going for.”
