In 1980, famed star Al Pacino scored a role in the film ‘Cruising’; however, at the time, the theme of the film was not entirely welcomed by the audience. While Pacino had taken up the role because of its challenging nature, there were a lot of concerns raised about how the movie portrayed the LGBTQ+ community in New York City. For years, ‘Cruising’ was considered one of his questionable roles.However, in 2024, while sharing his experience working on the film in the 1980s, Pacino made a revelation that left everyone in a state of shock.
Al Pacino faced a lot of challenges with ‘Cruising’
In ‘Sonny Boy,’ a memoir by Al Pacino that was published in August 2024, the veteran actor recalled what it was like to work in a film like ‘Cruising’ in the 1980s. According to the memoir, he described the role as something akin to “pushing the envelope” and something that challenged him.However, what he was not expecting was the kind of controversy the film would create at the time. In his memoir, he recalled that he would come across protests almost every day, and it “became very controversial during its production.” The issue became so big at the time that there were also requests and public calls for a mass boycott amongst the LGBTQ+ people at the time. He admitted in the book that he believed that the final cut of the film was “exploitative” of queer people; however, he admitted that he stayed quiet. “After all, they had paid me a lot of money, and I wasn’t going to just abandon them,” he added for context.
Al Pacino never accepted the paycheck for ‘Cruising’
Al Pacino took the role because of its challenging nature, however, he slowly understood that the film was problematic. (YouTube)
The film’s controversy grew so much, and with it, so did the actor’s understanding of the entire issue. He admitted that once the film was released and he was issued his earnings from the film, he never officially accepted the money. He shared in his book, “I never accepted the paycheck for Cruising. I took the money, and it was a lot, and I put it in an irrevocable trust fund, meaning once I gave it, there was no taking it back. I don’t know if it eased my conscience, but at least the money did some good.”“I just wanted one positive thing to come out of that whole experience,” he wrote. The actor also admitted that he did all of this quietly to ensure that it did not escalate and become a huge PR stunt.
The writer and director of ‘Cruising’ also admitted his wrongdoings with the film
William Friedkin, who wrote and directed the film, alscentredo later admitted that there were a lot of issues with the story. In an old interview with The Wrap, the filmmaker admitted that the movie “was not the best foot forward for the gay rights movement, but I never intended the film to be critical.”
Plot of ‘Cruising’
The plot of the film centered on Steve Burns (played by Al Pacino), a cop who decides to go undercover in New York City’s underground queer bar scene to catch a serial killer who has been targeting gay men. The movie was loosely adapted from Gerald Walker’s 1970 novel of the same name. Other than Pacino, it starred names like Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox, Jay Acovone, Joe Spinell, and many others.
