soon after "grease", stigwood made one of the biggest miscalculations of his career with the musical film extravaganza "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band" (also 1978). on paper, the all-star project – with an estimated budget of $18 million – looked like a surefire hit. a fantasy adventure showcasing the songs of the beatles, it starred two of the hottest rock acts of the period, peter frampton and the bee gees, plus a long list of rock and film greats in cameos. unfortunately, problems surfaced early in the schedule and grew steadily worse – stigwood sacked original director chris bearde before shooting began and the bee gees were soon begging to be removed from the project, to no avail. under new director michael schultz ("car wash") the film turned out to be a disastrous flop.