Editing Caddyshack II (section)

==Pre-production==
The original ''Caddyshack'' was a box-office success, making $60 million worldwide on a budget of $4.8 million. [[Warner Brothers|Warner Bros.]] therefore set about to make a sequel. As originally planned, ''Caddyshack II'' would have reunited [[Rodney Dangerfield]] (one of the stars of the original ''Caddyshack'') with the director [[Alan Metter]], who had worked with Dangerfield in the comedy film ''[[Back to School]]'' (1986). Dangerfield, who made $35,000 for ''Caddyshack'', asked for $7 million – of which $5 million was to be paid in advance – to reprise his Al Czervic role in ''Caddyshack II.'' Needing a big comedy for the summer of 1988, Warner Bros. agreed to Dangerfield's demands and paid [[Chevy Chase]] a seven-figure sum to reprise his role of Ty Webb from the original ''Caddyshack'' (albeit via a glorified cameo).<ref name="SI">{{cite web |date=July 24, 2020 |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |title=The Inside Story of Caddyshack II |url=https://www.si.com/media/2020/07/24/caddyshack-2-worst-sequel-ever-inside-story |website=[[Sports Illustrated]] |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726104124/https://www.si.com/media/2020/07/24/caddyshack-2-worst-sequel-ever-inside-story |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Jon Peters]], executive producer of ''Caddyshack'', would produce the sequel with [[Peter Guber]] and [[Neil Canton]]. The studio invited ''Caddyshack'' director [[Harold Ramis]], who co-wrote that film with [[Brian Doyle-Murray]] and [[Douglas Kenney]], to write the sequel. (Neither Doyle-Murray nor Kenney were involved in the sequel; ''Caddyshack'' producer/co-writer Kenney died in August 1980, a month after that film's release.)

Ramis later described ''Caddyshack II'', which he co-wrote with his ''[[Second City Television]]'' colleague PJ Torokvei, as "terrible."<ref name="avclub">{{cite web |date= 1999-03-03 |author= Joshua Klein |url= https://www.avclub.com/harold-ramis-1798207996 |title= Harold Ramis Interview |work= [[The A.V. Club]] |access-date= 21 December 2010 |archive-date= August 21, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180821160357/https://www.avclub.com/harold-ramis-1798207996 |url-status= live }}</ref> In an interview with [[The A.V. Club]] in 1999, Ramis said that:

{{cquote|...with ''Caddyshack II'', the studio begged me. They said, "Hey, we've got a great idea: 'The Shack is Back!'" And I said "No, I don't think so." But they said that Rodney really wanted to do it, and we could build it around Rodney. Rodney said, "Come on, do it." Then the classic argument came up which says that if you don't do it, someone will, and it will be really bad. So I worked on a script with my partner Peter Torokvei, consulting with Rodney all the time. Then Rodney got into a fight with the studio and backed out. We had some success with ''Back to School'', which I produced and wrote, and we were working with the same director, Alan Metter. When Rodney pulled out, I pulled out, and then they fired Alan and got someone else. I got a call from [co-producer] [[Jon Peters]] saying, "Come with us to New York; we're going to see [[Jackie Mason]]!" I said, "Ooh, don't do this. Why don't we let it die?" And he said, "No, it'll be great." But I didn't go, and they got other writers to finish it. I tried to take my name off that one, but they said if I took my name off, it would come out in the trades and I would hurt the film."<ref name="avclub" />}}

Ramis was later quoted as saying that Dangerfield was the only one who expressed an interest in doing a sequel in the first place. [[Ted Knight]] had died two years earlier, [[Bill Murray]] was not interested in reprising his role as Carl the greenskeeper, and he said [[Chevy Chase]] had "already moved on", although Chase did eventually agree to appear.

Ramis worked on the first draft of ''Caddyshack II'' in the summer of 1987 with Torokvei. Rodney Dangerfield did not like the script and requested rewrites. Growing disillusioned with the project, Dangerfield reportedly tried to force Warner Bros. to release him from his contract by demanding additional royalties and final-cut rights. In October 1987, less than a month before ''Caddyshack II'' was scheduled to begin filming and with $2 million already spent by the studio on pre-production, Dangerfield dropped out of the project because he felt it would not be successful.<ref name="spt">{{cite news|title=Dangerfield is picky about scripts for his movies|last=Beck|first=Marilyn|date=September 27, 1988|work=St. Petersburg Times}}</ref> Warner Bros. sued Dangerfield for breach of contract.<ref name="ds">{{cite news|title=Dangerfield Sued|date=November 4, 1987|work=Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel}}</ref> Early in the hearings, the studio settled with Dangerfield for an undisclosed amount.<ref name="SI" />

The project was put on hold while Warner Bros. looked for a new director, eventually landing upon [[Allan Arkush]]. A former protégé of [[Roger Corman]] and collaborator with [[Joe Dante]], Arkush directed several motion pictures (including the 1979 cult hit ''[[Rock 'n' Roll High School]]'') before becoming a prolific director of episodic television, with credits including ''[[L.A. Law]]'', ''[[St. Elsewhere]]'', and ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]''. Arkush was keen to get back into directing films, later recalling, "I had a really successful run on television. ''Moonlighting'' was a big deal, I was doing ''L.A. Law'', working on pilots and I had a deal with Warner Bros. to direct and they said, “Well, there’s another ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' movie.” ''National Lampoon Goes to College'' and I thought, “That sounds like a good idea.” They couldn't get it bought. So they asked, “How would you like to make ''Caddyshack II''?”<ref name="BSM">{{cite web|url=https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2021/12/07/exclusive-interview-with-allan-arkush/|title=Exclusive interview with Allan Arkush|work=B&S About Movies|date=7 December 2021|access-date=February 17, 2022|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217083950/https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2021/12/07/exclusive-interview-with-allan-arkush/|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the offer was made, Arkush rented and watched the original ''Caddyshack'' and signed on to direct the sequel. He was not aware at the time of the litigation between the studio and Rodney Dangerfield.