Kevin James looks back on the film that nearly ended his career and the friend who saved him.
Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show to promote his latest romantic comedy, Solo MioJames revealed that the first cut of his 2009 comedy Paul Blart: mall cop left him terrified.
“We shot it and edited it. And you know what it’s like to see the first cut of a movie. It’s horrible,” he admitted. “I thought my career was over. And we were so freaked out.”
That’s when Adam Sandler, who produced the film, stepped in.
“He saved me. He made my movie Mall Cop. I never would have made it,” James said.
“Adam says, ‘Relax, buddy. Let me check.’ He looked at it. He let the areas breathe and he knew what to do with them. And he made the film that was. It was simply incredible.
The comedy, which James also co-wrote and co-produced, grossed $183 million worldwide on a budget of $26 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Its success spawned a sequel in 2015 and cemented James as a comedy star.
James has since reunited with Sandler on several projects, including Adults And Here comes the boom.
He told Barrymore that he considered Sandler “the greatest.”
“Everything he does, I listen to it,” James said. “I just followed him.”
