Al Pacino Says He Was On 'Jack & Jill' Because He Was 'Broke' And 'F*cked'
Finally, it looks like we have an explanation as to why Al Pacino starred in Adam Sandler's “Jack and Jill.”
Ever since the infamous film came out in 2011, Al Dancachino's rap has lived rent-free in the minds of many cinephiles. Now, Pacino is claiming that he only took the role because he lost all his money as part of a Ponzi scheme.
“I was broke. I had $50 million, and then I had nothing,” Pacino wrote in his memoir “Sonny Boy,” noting that he “started to get warnings that my accountant at the time, a guy who had a lot of celebrity clients. , he will not be faithful” circa 2011.
Pacino said he had “property, but I didn't have any money” because of his extravagant spending. Maybe he shouldn't have turned down “Star Wars”…
“In this business, when you make $10 million for a movie, it's not $10 million. Because after lawyers, and agents, and publicists, and the government, it's not $10 million, it's $4.5 million in your pocket,” Pacino said. “But you're living on top of it because you're on the hog. And that's how you lose. It's very strange, the way it happens. The more money you make, the less you have.”
He added, “It was just a crazy montage of losses with the kind of money I was spending and where it was going. […] And I thought, it's easy. It is clear. I just know this. Time stopped. I'm having sex.”
Enter: Adam Sandler offers Pacino a cameo in “Jack & Jill.”
“'Jack and Jill' was the first film I made after I lost my money. To be honest, I did it because I had nothing else,” Pacino wrote. “Adam Sandler wanted me, and they paid me a lot for it. So I went out and did it and it helped. I love Adam, he was great to work with and has become a dear friend. He's just a great actor and a hell of a guy.”
Although all's well that ends well, Pacino struggled to find roles after “Jack and Jill.”
“I wasn't young, and I wasn't going to make the kind of money I was in the movies I was in before,” said Pacino, the iconic actor. “I'm just used to those big paydays not coming around anymore. The pendulum was swinging, and it was harder to find parts for myself.”
Pacino previously told The New York Times that he thought “Jack and Jill” was a “funny” movie.
“It came at a time in my life that I needed it, because I found out I didn't have any more money,” he said. “My accountant was in jail and I needed something fast. So I took it. This is the thing I do in that film: They make me do a Dunkin' Donuts commercial. How many people do you know who think I actually did this commercial?”
Pacino's “Hit” and “Godfather: Part II” co-star (and recent baby daddy) Robert De Niro was rumored to have made similar comments to his now-wife Grace Hightower in 2017. Page Six reported at the time that De Niro said that “if you don't spend all my money, he doesn't have to make crappy movies.” He starred in the film “Bad Grandpa” in 2016. Hightower and De Niro divorced in 2018 after 20 years of marriage.