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What's the story?
Ready To Rumble was a 2000 film that wasn't a blockbuster, to say the least. But this pro wrestling-themed comedy which was a huge advertisement for WCW was panned by fans and critics alike.
But some still hold it close to their hearts as a piece of wrestling nostalgia. Tony Schiavone had a very small part in the film and he recently revealed on his podcast What Happened When how he still gets yearly royalty payments from the Screen Actors Guild for his work on the film.
In case you didn't know...
Tony Schiavone was the voice of WCW, so it was a natural fit to have him film for this movie.
Schiavone dedicated an entire episode of his podcast to the typically lambasted film and revealed many things from his distaste for director Brian Robbins, to the fact DDP had a stuntman for the film.
The heart of the matter
It might be hard to forget a movie like Ready To Rumble, but Tony Schiavone is reminded of it every year when he gets a check in the mail for his work on the film.
"If you rent the movie or download it, I do have to say that SAG really comes through. I get a check every year still from this movie. Every first of the year I get a check and the checks have been for the last five to ten years have been about 2 to $300 a year. But that's 2 to $300 a year that you don't expect. So they do a great job at taking care of the people at SAG."
Co-host Conrad Thompson made a point that it's $300 more a year than he'll ever get from the WWE Network and Schiavone agreed with that assessment. The former voice of WCW went on to say his statement even comes from an itemised list with a breakdown of where his money is coming, whether it be airings on HBO to iTunes downloads.
What's next?
Tony Schiavone isn't an active member of SAG but there's nothing stopping him from dusting off his union card and jumping on another movie set.
All it would take is a project about pro wrestling realising they need an authentic voice to call the wrestling scenes. After all, you can't get much more authentic than Tony Schiavone.
Author's take
It's been a while since I saw Ready To Rumble so I got the bright idea to watch it. It's still not the greatest wrestling movie ever made by a long-shot, but it's not the worst either. But at least Tony Schiavone is getting a payday on the movie.
Knowing he makes a few hundred dollars a year on his bit-part in Ready To Rumble makes me wonder how much David Arquette is cashing in every year for a film Roger Ebert eloquently said: "earnestly was I not ready to rumble that I wanted the camera to follow [Michael Buffer] out of the arena instead of staying for a three-cage fight to the death."
