Did you know Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lindsay Lohan at one time were considered for The Hangover? In honour of the third installment of the hotter-than-hot franchise, The Hollywood Reporter sits down with the “Wolfpack’ and their fearless leader/director Todd Phillips. What follows is an oral history of the comedy, which includes some fascinating secrets about the film, including who made $70 million off the first film, how Bradley Cooper secured the gig and which big actors missed the boat.

While Jack and Paul both passed on the initial script, that wasn’t the case with Lilo, “I did meet with Lindsay Lohan a little bit [before casting Heather Graham],”; Todd reveals.  “Honestly, it felt like she ended up being too young for what we were talking about. People love to attack her for everything, like: “Ha, she didn’t see how great The Hangover was going to be. She turned it down.’ She didn’t turn it down. She loved the script, actually. It really was an age thing,”; he says.

Bradley Cooper’s involvement was a different story. Back then he was still a struggling actor who thought he was going to lose out on the part because he wasn’t cool enough for Todd: “Actually [I] thought there’s no way in hell I’d get this role because he’s sort of the alpha, really cool guy. But we both love movies. There Will Be Blood was coming out soon, so we exchanged e-mails and went to see There Will Be Blood together at Paramount. And then that was it.”;

Bradley secured the gig with his love of film, but it would be awhile before they actually got the go ahead. “I’m doing a play in Williamstown [Mass.], trying to figure out what the f— I’m going to do with my life,”; he says. “I’m sitting there in the apartment in between matinees, and I get a text [from Phillips]: “Are we going to f—ing do this?’ I was like: “I haven’t heard from you in f—ing four months! Are you serious?'”;

While the raunchy comedy shot Bradley, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis to fame, it was Todd who really won out. To get the film off the ground, he forewent his director’s fee for what THR“s sources say was a 16 percent stake in the project – and off this first deal alone, he made almost $70 million.

Check out more of from The Hangover III stars in the behind-the-scenes video below!