Al Pacino donated his Cruising Movie salary for THIS reason: “At least the money made a difference…”

Almost 45 years ago, Al Pacino expected that his film Cruising would not receive a positive response in the years to come. At that time he donated his salary to charity.

In his memoir Sonny Boy, Pacino revealed that his main concern was to ensure at least a positive return for the film, which was “exploitative” of the LGBT+ community. This convinced him so much that he donated all the proceeds from the film to various charities.

The memoir explained how the Oscar winner began viewing Cruising (1980) as an attempt to portray the LGBT community in a negative light. Instead of withholding his compensation, he set up a trust that he used for humanitarian purposes to support the community.

He realized that while this may not have resulted in a satisfactory implementation of his ethical principles, it did provide him with some relief as the funds were being used for a good cause.

Pacino wrote: “I took the money, and it was a lot, and I put it in an irrevocable trust fund. I gave it to charities and with the interest it was able to last a few decades.”

From the beginning, Pacino took on the role because he had a motive to push the boundaries. Nevertheless, the film caused outrage, especially at the filming location. Controversy erupted almost immediately, with concerns surrounding attitudes toward the LGBTQ community, leading to daily protests locally.

He added: “I don’t know if it eased my conscience, but at least the money did some good.”

Cruising by William Friedkin is loosely based on Gerald Walker’s 1970 novel of the same name. The film’s official description reads: “A police officer goes undercover into New York City’s S&M gay subculture to catch a serial killer who targets gay men has.” .”

Al Pacino plays Detective Steve Burns, who goes undercover in the S&M world of New York City in search of an elusive serial killer who is killing gay men. It depicts murders of gay men that occurred in New York City between 1962 and 1979.

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