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The one movie Michael Caine staked his entire reputation on
Michael Caine was so confident in one of his movies that he gladly volunteered to help the studio bury it if the film turned out to be a bust.
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Film Âť Cutting Room Floor
Sat 8 February 2025 17:45, UK
With a career that spanned seven decades, over 150 films, and suffered several ups and downs along the way, Michael Caine has been around the block and back enough times to feel it in his bones when he knows a movie is going to work.
Conversely, he also knows when theyâre going to be crap, not that he minds. The two-time Academy Award winner has starred in his fair share of flops and critical pariahs, and heâs never even attempted to defend them. Instead, Caine always finds the positives, even in the worst moments of his professional life.
Slumming it as the villain in a Steven Seagal movie established a new set of cardinal rules, freezing his arse off in Russia in a pair of made-for-television sequels made him reassess his priorities, and contemplating retirement when the decent roles dried up only served to propel him towards a lengthy renaissance as a veteran character actor and reliable dispenser of exposition and gravitas.
Even though his involvement in the picture only extended to his status as the leading man, Caine was so confident in the literary adaptation The Quiet American that he staked his entire reputation on it. The film was originally placed on the shelf for an entire year after production had wrapped until the star waded into the waters of studio politics to bet big on himself and his collaborators.
The first screening of The Quiet American was held on September 10th, 2001, which couldnât have been more unfortunate timing-wise. In the aftermath of 9/11, the bigwigs behind the scenes were wary of releasing a movie that could be interpreted as being overly critical of the United Statesâ geopolitical standing, with the story finding a reporter framing an American for a series of bombings in Vietnam.
âItâs not all about that, 9/11 and the Americans,â Caine told Female. âItâs anti-the people who took America into the Vietnam War.â Still, it was all set to be swept under the rug and possibly locked away in a vault forever until the leading man went straight to the top and backed the film to the hilt.
âMy contribution to getting the picture shown was one phone call,â he explained of reaching out to disgraced Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein. âI told him that you have just got to give us a shot. Thereâs a director here; thereâs writers, a cameraman, you know, apart from me, all of whom should have a shot to try to get a nomination, you know, for an Oscar which should come out at Oscar time.â
âI said, âBring it out, and if itâs crap, Iâll bring the shovel and help you bury it in January,'â Caine continued. âSo he said, âAll right, Iâll call you back.'â The actorâs insistence led to a screening at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2002, a limited release in November, and a wider release in January 2003.
The Quiet American didnât earn its budget back at the box office and can be considered a bomb, but it was widely acclaimed by critics, landed Caine on the Oscars shortlist for the sixth and final time, and was singled out by the man himself as the single greatest performance of his career.
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Michael Caine
