20 Things You Didn't Know About Psycho

19. Hitchcock Deferred His Salary In Order To Get The Movie Made

Psycho Janet Leigh
Paramount Pictures

Produced for a budget of just $806,947, Psycho was bestowed with a far lower price tag than most of Hitchcock's prior movies, largely as a result of Paramount believing the film would be a box office bomb due to straying from the director's "classy" filmmaking style.

In an attempt to appease the studio, Hitch actually agreed to defer his planned $250,000 salary and instead accept 60% of the movie's box office profits.

Sniffing a dud, Paramount agreed, only for the film to become a colossal box office hit, resulting in Hitch netting an incredible $15 million for his gamble. In 2020 dollars, that'd be around $130 million.

Beyond James Cameron similarly surrendering his Titanic directing fee to calm the studio in exchange for a bite of the box office back-end, it's tough to think of a smarter financial move by an embattled filmmaker.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.