Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “Malcolm X”

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Financial Woes

The film cost $34 million to make. Spike Lee requested only $33 million to make a film of its scale. The studio calculated Lee’s previous films made less than $100 million in domestic box office combined. Therefore, they only offered $20 million and then another $8 million for foreign distribution to Largo Entertainment. The film went $5 million over budget. Lee sacrificed most of his salary, but the production was still shut down.

Eventually, Lee asked other celebrities to pitch in and help. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and Michael Jordan are among the celebrity friends that did so. After a rough cut of the film received such a positive response, Warner Bros. coughed up more money.

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