{"id":844712,"date":"2026-08-03T16:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/844712\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:26:12","slug":"the-1997-movie-that-john-cusack-only-made-for-the-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/844712\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1997 movie that John Cusack only made for the money"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ YouTube Still<\/p>\n

Mon 3 August 2026 14:30, UK <\/p>\n

The age-old dilemma of what success looks like in the creative world rages on, and whether we\u2019re talking about movie<\/a> stars or rock stars, there doesn\u2019t seem to be a definitive answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ideology that surrounds different creatives is fascinating. I suppose it all comes down to the adage of \u2018If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?\u2019; that is, if no one witnesses your art, does it still exist, and while the answer is, of course, yes, such a stipulation strikes fear into the hearts of many. <\/p>\n

Consider someone like Frank Zappa, who was never bothered about album sales or success, but simply wanted to make music that felt authentic to who he was as a person, and so, a lot of that time, that led to quite scattered and chaotic-sounding music that was never going to find mainstream success.\u00a0 Alternatively, artists like Madonna, who originally started off in a punk band, then wanted to move over to pop to try to make more commercial music. <\/p>\n

The same applies to the world of movies; Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet once revealed that when he met Leonardo DiCaprio, the esteemed actor \u201csaid to me, \u2018No superhero movies, no hard drugs\u2019,\u201d Chalamet recalled, \u201cWhich I thought was very good\u201d Chalamet seems to have stuck to that rule<\/a> (so long as you don\u2019t consider Willy Wonka a superhero), as both he and DiCaprio are no doubt two of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood, and yet they haven\u2019t always starred in the highest-grossing films.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, everyone needs to get paid, so most actors will make at least one movie solely for the money. This was a dilemma that once faced John Cusack, who had opportunities to do big blockbuster movies but wasn\u2019t sure whether it made sense to take them on.<\/p>\n

And then, when it came to the idea of success, he appreciated that the term\u2019s meaning changed depending on who you ask. Overall, he tends to take on movies that he wants to be a part of, rather than those that will make him money\u2026except for one. You have to let people have one off every now and then, and for Cusack, that exception came in the form of Con Air<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are always telling me, \u2018You should do more of this, more of that. Why aren\u2019t you more of a star? You could be more successful\u2019. But it\u2019s all relative,\u201d he said, \u201cIt all depends on your definition of success. Is High Fidelity or Being John Malkovich a success? Both films will probably make money for the people who made them. But neither of them, in total, will make what Con Air made in its opening weekend, $200million.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further reading: Cutting Room Floor<\/p>\n

It\u2019s admirable for any performer to put the financial gains to one side and focus on art over commerce, but the longer Cusack has remained in the business, the harder it is to believe that the 1997 blockbuster remains the only paycheque gig he\u2019s ever taken.<\/p>\n

Since his own self-admitted exile from mainstream Hollywood<\/a>, he\u2019s turned into a lesser version of his Con Air co-star, Nicolas Cage, appearing in countless action and thriller movies that are released straight to video, and it\u2019s difficult to believe he\u2019s doing those for the love of the game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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