Trivia / Paycheck

• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $60 million. Box office, $53,790,451 (domestic), $96,269,812 (worldwide).
• Creator Backlash: While hosting Saturday Night Live, Ben Affleck joked that he would have walked out of the premiere and asked for his money back until he realized he was in the movie.
• Creator Killer: The film killed John Woo's Hollywood career, due to a chilly reception by critics and audiences. Many critics felt the film was little more than a checklist of Woo's stylistic touches that had become tired and forced, and there were whispers that many of Woo's Hollywood films (including this one) had been victims of Executive Meddling, leaving him frustrated with the failure of this film being the last straw. It would be five years before he would direct again, and 19 years before he would make his comeback to Hollywood with the upcoming action thriller Silent Night.
• Money, Dear Boy: When Conan O'Brien asked Ben Affleck why he did this film, his response was "the answer lies in the title."
• Wag the Director:
  • Jennings was supposed to be a New York Mets fan (or Yankees, sources differ), but Ben Affleck, a Boston Red Sox fan, persuaded John Woo to change the team to the Red Sox.
  • Woo originally did not want to do his trademark Mexican Standoff in this film, but Affleck begged Woo to include the scene, having been a big fan of Woo's films.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Brett Ratner was in talks to direct.
  • Matt Damon was originally considered for the part of Michael Jennings, but turned it down, because it was too similar to The Bourne Identity.
  • During her very first visit to Los Angeles at age 21, Sienna Miller screen-tested with Ben Affleck for the part of Rachel.

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