My poor little angel was released in 1990 and quickly became one of the highest-grossing films of the decade, as well as a Christmas classic that remains relevant to this day. With its mix of comedy, pranks and an endearing family story, it managed to captivate audiences of all ages. He filmdirected by Chris Columbus and starring a young Macaulay Culkin, who played the famous Kevin McCallister, It became an absolute success and left a mark on popular culture. Now, more than three decades later, the surprising clause that he had one of his actors put in his contract, and that contributed to him earning millions after the sequel.
This is Daniel Stern, who played Marv Murchinsa member of the “Wet Bandits,” along with his partner in crime Harry Lyme, played by Joe Pesci. The duo was the engine of fun both in My poor little angel as in its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The charismatic duo of bumbling thieves became one of the most memorable aspects of the franchise, and now, A key clause was revealed in the contract of this remembered actor.
Stern, now 67, said he almost didn’t accept the role in the first film, which was released in 1990. This occurred after filming was extended from six to eight weeksbut the $300,000 he was offered remained unchanged. That is to say: they asked him for more time for the same money, something he did not accept. Thus, after rejecting the film, the producers called him again because they were not satisfied with his replacement, which finally allowed Stern to return to the project and participate in one of the largest successes box office of all time.
Following this, Stern described his (temporary) departure from the film as “one of the stupidest decisions of my life in show business”.
The detail in his contract that made him a millionaire
After the great success, came the sequel titled Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and, despite knowing that he had been lucky not to have rejected the initial film, Stern also knew that his value as an actor had increased considerably, especially after Home Alone will raise 500 million dollars in cinemas around the world. However, he was not happy with the $600,000 he was offered for the sequelespecially upon learning that Joe Pesci was earning up to $3 million.
This discrepancy led him to distance himself from his agent, who suggested he accept an improved offer of $800,000. Instead, Stern demanded $1.5 million along with 2% of the sequel’s gross profits.. “I knew they couldn’t make the movie without me, but also I felt insecure because I almost ruined it the first time.”he explained, adding: “I didn’t want to be too greedy when I loved the movie and the role so much.”
Finally, Stern got his $1.5 million, but the studio reached an agreement on the profit percentage, reducing it to 1% instead of 2%.. Despite this cut, the agreement was a triumph for him, who knew how to better negotiate his conditions thanks to his growing popularity and the success of the first film.
During its release, the sequel grossed $359 million worldwide, which allowed Stern to take an extra 3.59 million dollars thanks to 1% of the profits. In today’s money terms, that’s equivalent to about $8.07 million in 2024.
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