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“Every time Catherine would turn on the microwave, I’d piss my pants and forget who I was for about half an hour.”
Last week, Randy Quaid - known best as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies - filed suit against the makers of Brokeback Mountain, alleging he was suckered into taking a reduced rate because Brokeback was expected to be marketed as an art-house film, instead of blockbuster gay western. In the film, Quaid has a bit part as a homophobic rancher who hires the characters played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal; and though the budget for the film was a meager $14 million, the marketing budget was more than double that.
According to the New York Times, the complaint alleges that the defendants, “in this case Focus [Features] and its recent co-presidents David Linde and James Schamus, ‘have enriched themselves to the tune of approximately $160 million in worldwide gross box office receipts on the back of actors who were convinced to cut their fees purportedly to ensure that the film reached the screen.’”
I don’t know how much Quaid was actually paid, but seriously: How much is this guy possibly worth? The last decent flick he appeared in was Kingpin - nine years ago - and it’s not like Cousin Eddie has a cult following, either. Quaid should just be bloody thankful that he was even offered a part in a film that actually got noticed, instead of another television movie about a natural disaster or a bit part in a Hollywood dud. Indeed, there’s enough sour grapes in his complaint to start a damn vinyard.
Comments
Hey don't you speak about my father that way--he saved all of your asses when he destroyed the alien invaders' ship in "Independence Day." He's a true American hero
Posted by Miguel Casse | September 24, 2006 1:31 AM