Kevin James remembered the movie that almost ended his career and the friend who saved her.
appearing in The Drew Barrymore Show to promote his latest romantic comedy, only mineJames revealed that the first cut of his 2009 comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop It left him terrified.
“We filmed it and edited it. And you know what it’s like to see the first cut of a movie. It’s horrendous,” he admitted. “I thought my career was over. And we were very panicked.”
That’s when Adam Sandler, who produced the film, intervened.
“He saved me. He made my movie Mall Cop. I never would have made it,” James said.
“Adam says, ‘Relax, buddy. Let me check it out.’ He looked at it. He let the areas breathe and knew what to do with them. And he made the movie that it was. It was just incredible.”
The comedy, which James also co-wrote and co-produced, grossed $183 million worldwide on a $26 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
Its success spawned a sequel in 2015 and established James as a comedy star.
James has since reunited with Sandler on multiple projects, including grown ups and Here comes the boom.
He told Barrymore that he considers Sandler “the greatest.”
“Everything he does, I listen to it,” James said. “I just follow it.”
