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“I fell in love in love with Andy the moment I met him, because for once I’d met a Hungarian in Hollywood who was not only more successful than I was, but also crazier.”

Joe Eszterhas

“Andy Vajna was a dear friend and a revolutionary force in Hollywood. He proved that you don’t need studios to make huge movies like Terminator 2 or Total Recall. He had a huge heart, and he was one of the most generous guys around. I’ll miss him.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

“When Andy gives you his word, you know it’s good. And no matter how tough the going gets, you can count on him. He’s got nerves of steel.”

Joe Roth, chairman, Walt Disney Motion Picture Group

“When you work with Andy, the buck stops with him. I don’t deal with anybody else. It becomes very much Andy’s movie, one singer, one song.”

Danny Cannon, director of Judge Dread

“Andy doesn’t compare to anybody else in this business. Andy is unique, he’s independent; he’s a rare blend of entrepreneur and film maker. He puts his money on the line time and time again, and he’s won as big as anyone in this town. You’ve got to admire somebody like that.”

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dream Works SKG Partner

“We’re glad to be a part of your lifetime.”

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore to Andy when he received NATO/ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995

“Vajna defined what would become known as the ‘big action picture’. He really has a wide range of talent and ability.”

Tim Warner, general chairman of film company NATO / ShoWest

“I decided to learn something that I could do no matter where I lived – I became a hairdresser. I chose hairdressing because it is a useful skill and one that I could always go back to. Knowing this gave me great security and the freedom to explore other avenues.”

Andrew G. Vajna

“The profession is never boring. I have found the interesting things in everything I have ever done. So none of my occupations ever seemed like work.”

Andrew G. Vajna

“Working with Andy was the best experience of my career and he makes the world’s greatest bouillabaisse.”

Steven de Souza, screenwriter Judge Dredd

“Andy Vajna was a great friend and collaborator. He believed in me on one of my toughest shoots, Terminator 2. I will miss him, his humor, class and style, but especially the motorcycle rides.”

James Cameron

“A very very sad day ... Producer ANDY VAJNA, the man that Made Rambo happened, died today… LOVED this man’s courage - a pioneer. Believed In making FIRST BLOOD when no one else did.…This truly breaks my heart. Rip”

Sylvester Stallone

“You can’t make an actor act. You have got to create an atmosphere he wants to perform. It can be hell.”

Andrew G. Vajna

“He’s one of the few people around with the balls to play with his own money. His word carries a lot of weight. He’s personally out on the line. It’s always given me a lot of respect for him. Andy is always involved. He’s your partner or your boss, but he offers guidance as opposed to instructions… He approaches business in a sort of family style. He keeps the same friends for 30 years, and that’s kind of remarkable.”

John McTiernan, director of Medicine Man and Die Hard With a Vengeance

“He’s got great respect for the director and courage to do projects that aren’t so easy… He won’t let you down; you can trust him.”

Paul Verhoeven, director of Total Recall

Die Hard: An Oral History

Did you know that for the first 1988 Die Hard movie, Bruce Willis was paid $5,000,000? Then it was getting increased for Die Hard 2 for $7,500,000, $15,000,000 for Die Hard: With a Vengeance and $25,000,000 for Live Free or Die Hard… It is an incredibly huge amount, but that’s a fact.

However it is not widely known that at that time Vajna and Kassar (Carolco Pictures) was blamed for inflating actors’ salaries. It is said that they were the ones who set the bar on overpaying actors, and they did it because they had foreign markets they had to presell to get the money. In a way, it changed the way movies were made because suddenly actors were getting five, 10, 20 million dollars.

As Andy commented in an excerpt from Brian Abrams’s ‘Die Hard: An Oral History,’.
“For Rambo II, I remember Stallone got $7 million. The reason for our being able to do that was the stars were all supposed to get a percentage of the studios’ foreign and domestic box offices, but Carolco wasn’t able to make gross deals. Our distribution method was totally different. We did what we figured the picture might do, and we bought out their rights to the gross… They blamed us for a lot. They said we screwed up the whole market, but the point is that, say we made a deal with Arnold and paid him $14 million for Terminator 3—actually, he got an airplane because he didn’t want the cash—but there was no back end, it didn’t matter if you paid in cash or if you paid in kind, you know?”

However Vajna did not have any part in Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2. (1990) he definitely added to Bruce Willis finally ending up being John McClane, as many of the then ‘overpaid stars’ thought the script for 'Die Hard' was just another forgettable shoot-em-up and refused the role.

In 1995 with Vajna being the executive producer, Cinergi productions released, 'Die Hard With A Vengeance' which is the third instalment of the 'Die Hard' series. To date, the film has grossed over $365 million worldwide.

For more interesting facts read Brian Abram’s Die Hard: An Oral History you can order the e-book on Amazon.

If you have no time but want to have a gist about 'the greatest action movie of all time', just read the top 5 interesting facts on Maxim.

December 2016

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