The Getaway (1972 Film) - Production

Production

Steve McQueen had been encouraging his publicist David Foster to become a film producer. His first attempt was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with McQueen starring alongside Paul Newman but 20th Century Fox did not want Foster as part of the deal. The project fell apart and while McQueen was making Le Mans Foster acquired the rights to Jim Thompson's crime novel The Getaway. Foster sent McQueen a copy of the book and urged him to do it. The actor was looking for a good/bad guy role and saw these qualities in the novel's protagonist.

Foster began to look for a director and Peter Bogdanovich was brought to his attention. He and McQueen screened Bogdanovich's soon-to-be released The Last Picture Show and loved it. They met with the director and a deal was made. However, Warner Brothers approached Bogdanovich with an offer to direct What's Up, Doc? starring Barbra Streisand but with the stipulation that he would have to start right away. The director wanted to do both but the studio refused. When McQueen found out, he was very upset and told Bogdanovich that he was going to get someone else to direct The Getaway. McQueen had just worked with Peckinpah on Junior Bonner and enjoyed the experience. He recommended the director to Foster who then approached Peckinpah. Like McQueen, Peckinpah was in need of a box office hit and immediately accepted. The filmmaker had read the novel when it was originally published and had even talked to Thompson about making it into a film when he was starting out as a director. At the time, Peckinpah had also wanted to make Emperor of the North Pole, a story set during the Depression about a brakeman obsessed with keeping hobos off his train. The film's producer made a deal with Paramount Pictures' production chief Robert Evans who allowed Peckinpah to do his personal project if he would first direct The Getaway. Soon after, the director was dismissed from Emperor and told that Paramount was not making The Getaway. A conflict arose between Paramount and the film's budget. Foster had 30 days to set up a deal with another studio or Paramount would own the rights. He was inundated with offers and went with First Artists Group because McQueen would receive no upfront salary, just 10% of the gross for the first dollar taken in on the film. This would be very profitable if the film was a box-office hit.