However, Dragojević experienced major problems persuading the studios to fund his projects, and he also mostly didn't like the ideas being offered to him. The closest he got to finishing a movie was the heist-comedy on whose script he was co-credited with Alan Sereboff — "The Payback All-Star Revue" — that was agreed to be a co-production between Miramax and Mel Gibson's Icon Productions. The announcement was made in November 2000 with Dragojević upbeat about the project he envisioned as a "funny and commercial film containing a unique mix of genres, including Shakespearean subplots and unpredictable structures". The plot revolved around a band of lounge musicians playing in the Riviera casino in Las Vegas who decide to rob the place where they perform. Though they manage to pull off the heist successfully, they run into troubles during the getaway. Now trapped, they agree to give themselves up on the condition that they are granted an interview with a "Rolling Stone" reporter to tell their story. The planned plot featured a multitude of characters with many subplots. However, in the middle of pre-production the movie got canceled in 2001 due to an impending SAG strike threat and the Warner Bros.' announcement of putting "Ocean's 11" remake with an all-star cast into pre-production, which Miramax thought would jeopardize "Paybacks box-office appeal. Over the following years, by now known for his frank and colourful interviews, Dragojević talked openly about the experience: