Michael Caine justifies the worst movies of his career: “It’s that simple”
No matter how much we pretend it isn’t, the film industry is just that, an industry. The reason most industries exist is to make money. We might dream of our favourite actors and directors doing their jobs for free, but the truth is, every performer needs to be paid. This is no exception for Michael Caine, who shared two films in his career that exist purely for this reason.
At the end of the day, working in the arts is still a job, despite the common assumption that because you do something you’re passionate about, then it no longer counts as work. Because of this, any questionable project taken on by a filmmaker or actor has to be taken with a large grain of salt. Noah Baumbach famously wrote the third Madagascar movie to pay for his divorce. Jim Carrey openly admitted to starring in the Sonic the Hedgehog adaptation because he needed the money. Barry Jenkins is directing the live-action Lion King sequel, and god knows why, but I hope it’s purely for financial reasons (Disney does not deserve such a talent). Caine was, at one point in time, just as in need of a few pennies in his pocket.
Caine is the definitive Essex boy of the film industry, known for his cheeky charm and womanising characters in films like The Italian Job and Alfie, as well as playing a host of secret agents and detectives in films like Sleuth and The Icpress Files. Since the beginning of his career, he was journeyed across all corners of cinema, playing a host of villains and heroes in the world of Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen, Paolo Sorrentino and Joseph Mankiewicz.
However, in all his years on the screen in over 150 films, Caine has been very open about the parts he has welcomed with open arms and those that he has been less enthusiastic about. When discussing two roles in particular, he highlighted the financial incentive to star in the films despite not being his best work.
The Swarm, directed by Irwin Allen in 1978, follows a scientist who joins forces with an army general to fight a swarm of killer bees that has invaded America. Now ,there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. Caine stars in the film with Katharine Ross, and it’s safe to say that it was not received well, and it is one of the lowest-rated projects in his filmography. In addition to this, the actor also starred in the fourth Jaws sequel, Jaws: The Revenge, directed by Joseph Sargent in 1987.
When discussing both projects, the actor said, “I just said what I’ve always said – I made it because they paid me a lot of money! It’s like when people ask me why I made The Swarm – I made The Swarm because my mother needed a house to live in. Then I made Jaws 4 because she was lonely and I needed to buy her a bigger house which she could live in with all of her friends. It’s that simple”.
But while Caine can admit that they weren’t his greatest hits, not every project needs to be a masterpiece, many actors accept strange parts because they either need the money or think that it will be an entertaining experience. I’m assuming that this is why Olivia Coleman agreed to be in the disastrous Paddington 3 film… I hope she enjoyed herself.
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