“It was a big deal for me”: the 1999 cult classic Danny DeVito quit directing over a soundtrack
Even though he’s been around for over 50 years, Danny DeVito has never been one of Hollywood’s highest earners. He is a man of principle, though, and that saw him walk away from what would have been the single biggest paycheque of his career.
Not that the diminutive legend is living on the breadline, with DeVito having been well compensated for his efforts on screens big and small over the last half-century, not to mention his producing and directing credits, which have made him a very wealthy man.
With the greatest of respect, there was no chance he’d be troubling the Jack Nicholsons, Robert De Niros, and Al Pacinos of his era for the most prestigious leading roles and eight-figure salaries they grew accustomed to, but when that opportunity did come his way, he turned it down and walked away.
DeVito is a shrewd businessman, and in addition to his Jersey Films banner backing the likes of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich and Out of Sight, Zach Braff’s Garden State, and more, the company signed a lucrative distribution deal with MCA Records for film soundtracks.
The Pulp Fiction soundtrack alone sold over three million copies, making those accompanying albums a nice little earner for DeVito and his business partners. When he entered negotiations with Universal to direct and star in the superhero comedy Mystery Men, he was hoping for the same kind of deal.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get it, and after failing to reach an agreement over who would produce the soundtrack, Jersey Films and MCA or Interscope Records, he quit. “It was a big deal for me,” DeVito shared in late 1997. “I really wanted it, so I walked away from the project.”
Scrambling to find a replacement, the studio offered Ben Stiller the gig as writer and director, but he turned it down, too, although he was eventually convinced to play the leading role. Kinka Usher ultimately helmed Mystery Men, which would be the one and only feature-length credit of his career.
If anything, DeVito dodged a bullet. Mystery Men tanked at the box office, so he avoided the ignominy of adding a certified flop to his behind-the-camera resume. The soundtrack didn’t sell too well, either, but it did feature Smash Mouth’s ‘All Star’, with the film’s cast appearing in the music video.
In the years since, the off-kilter costumed caper has become a firm cult favourite that continues to win over new converts with each passing generation, and if it wasn’t for a disagreement over the soundtrack, the movie would have been directed by and starred Danny DeVito.
