in august 1978, 15 unedited reels of the film were stolen at gunpoint. while the robbers demanded a $1 million ransom, the money was never paid because the robbers, showing a distinct lack of filmmaking knowledge, hijacked outtakes and dailies. positive prints of negatives were being held by technicolor in new york city, so the material was replaced with no significant delay. the robbers, however, made a ransom call, which triggered an investigation by the fbi. during the ransom call, friedkin told the robbers to "get a projector and enjoy the film; it was all theirs."