10 Fascinating Backstories Behind Famous Movies
9. Every Major Studio Turned Down Raiders Of The Lost Ark Before Paramount Agreed
Snakes! Ancient temples! Melting Nazi heads!
Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most iconic films of all time and arguably the best action/adventure picture ever made. It also happens to be the work of both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, two of the biggest filmmakers of their era, at the height of their fame. On that basis alone, it's crazy to think that even a single studio turned down the movie when the duo first pitched it, but it's true.
In fact, it's said that pretty much every major studio turned down Raiders, which - in retrospect - feels like the dumbest of dumb decisions.
There's (sort of) a good reason, though: Spielberg had just made what is arguably his worst ever film, 1941, which also happened to be set during World War II. The film didn't do very well at the box office and - naturally - the studios were dubious about putting another WWII-era Spielberg film into production.
Eventually, it was Paramount who agreed to front the cash for the project, but they only gave the filmmaker $18 million to realise Indy's first adventure. Somehow, Spielberg managed to turn a tiny budget into the greatest action spectacle ever.