In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock was under contract with Paramount Pictures and owed them one more film. He wanted that film to be Psycho, but Paramount found the script to be repulsive and refused to make the film. Sir Hitchcock was adamant that the film be made and made tons of concessions- he would make the film on a shoestring budget, use Paramount's facilities to save money, etc. Paramount was against producing the film at any cost and claimed that its sound stages were all booked. (They weren't) Determined, Alfred found cheap facilities available at Universal Studios and grabbed both Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins for a fraction of their normal fees. Paramount still balked, so Sir Hitchcock found the money himself, asking Paramount to merely distribute the film for 40% ownership, which they finally agreed to.
The film was a sensation, cementing Sir Alfred Hitchcock's place in film history and making him extremely wealthy. Fed up with Paramount, he moved over to Universal, where he made the remainder of his films. Hitchcock eventually sold his ownership in his films to Universal for millions, whereupon the studio bought out all other studios, including Paramount. Sir Alfred's films would find a permanent home at a studio that would appreciate them- Universal Pictures.
One strange fact- the first American film to depict a toilet flushing on screen was Psycho.
