Donald Sutherland's huge 'Animal House' negotiation mistake cost him millions
- Donald Sutherland was instrumental in getting "Animal House" made when he signed on.
- He did it as a favor to director John Landis but wanted more money instead of points.
"National Lampoon's Animal House" is one of the greatest comedies ever. Yet, when it was being made, not even one of its stars believed in the potential of a small comedy about toga parties.
That is why when it came down to Donald Sutherland taking a fee of either 2% of the film's gross profits or $35,000, he took the latter. He later recalled it as a mistake that cost him a lot of money.
Despite the movie's now classic status, studio execs didn't have much faith in "Animal House" at the time.
According to Matty Simmons' "Fat, Drunk, and Stupid: The Inside Story Behind the Making of Animal House," these were the words of Universal Studios boss Ned Tanen after he read the first outline for the movie: "Everybody is drunk, or high, or getting laid. I'd never make this movie."
It wasn't until the production promised Tanen that they could make the film for $3 million that Universal signed on. However, the studio still wanted a star to sell the movie to audiences.
For Universal, "Saturday Night Live" stand-out John Belushi wasn't enough, so director John Landis went to his friend, Donald Sutherland (a huge star by 1978), and asked him for a favor. A hesitant Sutherland ultimately agreed to be in the film, but only after Landis told him that all his scenes could be done in a day.
The studio and the comedy now had its "star." Yet, there was still the important matter of just how much Sutherland would get paid for the one day on set.
Sutherland wanted more cash upfront rather than a stake in the profits
Simmons said the studio wanted a star but "wouldn't pay for a star." This led to a negotiation that Sutherland would regret for years.
"[Sutherland] first asked for $250,000 and, in Landis's words, 'The studio said, 'Get the f--- outta here!'" Simmons wrote.
Universal then countered Sutherland's offer with a simple $20,000 for a day's work plus points (a percentage of the profits) on the film.
Universal eventually offered a fee of $35,000 with no points for a day plus one — in Hollywood speak, meaning technically two days of work because you can't hire an actor for just one day in case they go over time. Sutherland happily accepted that offer and went on to play the film's pot-smoking professor, Dave Jennings.
Then, on July 28, 1978, Sutherland and the rest of the world saw the finished product when "Animal House" hit theaters, and comedy would never be the same.
'Animal House' was an animal at the box office.
"Animal House" would become one of the most successful comedies ever, pulling in over $141 million at the box office on the $3 million production budget Universal was initially promised. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $674 million in today's dollars.
Even in 2024, it still ranks as the 62nd highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time in terms of domestic gross.
In a 2012 interview on the "Opie and Anthony" radio show, Sutherland said that the number of points he was offered was 2%.
When asked, "Do you know what would 2% roughly have translated into?" Sutherland smirked and responded, "I don't want to know."