How Al Pacino had to rethink his movie choices after losing all his money

“I was broke. I had $50 million, and then nothing.”

We can be Al Pacino and no longer have money in his account. In his memoirs, Sonny Boycurrently on newsstands, the living legend of American cinema says he was forced to adapt his career after losing all his money, deceived by a corrupt accountant who ultimately spent seven and a half years in prison for organizing a scam in the genre Ponzi scheme, which caused the Oscar-winning actor to lose all his savings, going from $50 million in the bank to… zero dollars.

Al Pacino says that at the time, in 2011, he was paying “a ridiculous amount to rent a large luxury house in Beverly Hills.”Then he took his whole family.”take a trip to Europe, via a private jet before renting an entire floor in a large London hotel“

When he returned home, he found that his bank accounts had not changed at all despite his regular large expenditures. “And I said to myself, it's simple. It's clear. I know it. Time has stopped. I'm screwed“. Al Pacino had understood that his accountant was rigging the accounts. “I was broke. I had $50 million, and then nothing. I had assets, but I had no money.“

The actor then explains how the money from fees in Hollywood is distributed, to explain his relative fortune:

“In this business, when you earn 10 million dollars for a film, it's not 10 million in your pocket. Because some of it goes to your lawyers, your agents, the publicist and the government. That's not 10 but 4.5 million dollars in your pocket. But you live above that because you're rich. And that's how you lose everything. It's very strange, the way it happens. The more money you make, the less you have. It's crazy how much I could spend. My landscaper made $400,000 a year and, I'm not exaggerating! It’s only increased.”

Except that the more money went out, the less money came in. Al Pacino could no longer play the hero as in the great era of Heat. The roles started to become rarer. “

I wasn't a young man anymore, so I knew I wasn't going to make as much money acting in films as I used to. The big salaries I was used to were no longer coming. I had made the switch and had more difficulty finding roles.”

Al Pacino recounts having adapted his acting career to this bankruptcy: “Before I made films in which I knew I could bring something to the role. This was the case with Ocean's 13, even if the film itself was a disaster in the end“, confides the actor. But when money ran out, he had to abandon all artistic ambitions and began to accept roles that offered him a lot of money. This is why he found himself in comedy heavy Jack and Julie (2012) signed Adam Sandler : “Jack and Julie was the first film I made after losing my money. To be honest, I did it because I had nothing else.”he writes, refusing to sugarcoat the feature film for all that. “Adam Sandler wanted me and they paid me a lot for it. So I went and did it and it helped me. I love Adam, he was wonderful to work with and has become a dear friend. He also happens to be a great actor and a great guy.”

Al Pacino finally lifted his veto against the ads, shortly after shooting a coffee ad with the director Barry Levinson.