Plenty of actors have requests that they make when signing on to take a part in a movie, and some of them might feel as though they get a bit out of control since between an actor’s salary and whatever other incentives they might desire, it can be a little costly to secure their services. There’s a couple of interesting things about the movie Airplane! that a lot of people might not know. One of them is that Pete Rose was apparently meant to star in the movie, but seeing as how it was being filmed at the same time that the MLB season was underway the choice was made to hire Kareem Abdul Jabbar instead in order to round out the cast. Given his popularity in the NBA, one might think that he would ask for just about anything when it came to starring in the movie, but the funny thing is that he asked for an added $5,000, as he was being paid $30K initially. In the grand scheme of things, this really isn’t a lot to pay an actor for a role, ut it was a strange request since Kareem wanted the extra five thousand in order to purchase a rug that he’d seen since the overall cost of it was $35K. When one factors into the equation the fact that he’d been paid so much by the NBA it’s not hard to figure that he would take his entire movie salary and spend it on one item. To a lot of us that sounds absolutely crazy, but when one has the money, oh well.
The type of rug he bought wasn’t the type that people would walk on obviously as it was hung and used as a piece of decor that could be viewed by those visiting Kareem’s home. The mere thought of treading on a rug that costs more than most people will spend for a car is enough to cause a hitch in anyone’s step. But it was what the NBA star wanted, and he got it. Expensive rugs are one of those things that happen to be a personal interest that a lot of people might not understand, but for one reason or another the beauty and effort that go into them manages to catch the eye of many individuals, and those with the means to purchase them often do so in order to display them in a manner that will impress others and make it clear that they have good taste in decor and the kind of money that allows them to buy whatever they want. Of course, some might simply appreciate the work that goes into such a rug and are willing to spend the money that is required to have the piece in their home so that they can admire it. Everyone has their thing after all, and it’s very easy to think that a rug of this type would be a desire of many individuals that had the money and the ability to appreciate such a thing.
To some of us, a rug is a rug. It can be used to save the flooring beneath a great deal of wear and tear, it can be used for decor purposes, and in truth, it can be used for a few purposes. But spending thousands on a rug is something that many of us would balk at in a big way since that kind of money could easily buy something else that we might need or want, especially if that something is able to serve a useful function or create a worthwhile memory. The feeling of ‘to each their own’ definitely applies here since saying that this was a screwball thing to do isn’t quite as accurate as some might think. In the opinion of those that wouldn’t ever plunk down that kind of money for a rug, sure, it’s a screwball move, but to those that have the money and the ability to appreciate such a thing, it might be just another day. When talking about requests made by an actor though, this was one of the most amusing and likely one of the most welcome simply because it wasn’t too demanding and it wasn’t something that the studio absolutely couldn’t do or would have to bend over backward to accomplish. If anything, those that hired him were probably grateful that this was all he wanted since they managed to get off pretty easily in order to bring him into one of the funniest movies ever made. The rest, as it’s said, is history, since Kareem would help to make Airplane! one of the most memorable movies of all time. One has to wonder if he still has that rug after all these years though since it’s bound to be an interesting memory in his repertoire.
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