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Django Unchained


Mr K

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Nice words from Jamie..

Q: How important is it to do a film like this at this point in your career?

I'm the luckiest man in the world. When they were talking about Will Smith not doing it, I talked to Will and I was like, 'Thank you, (laughter) thank you for giving me this because you got it all!'

Q: But you've got it on your own.

Yeah but at the same time, it was the process. You never know with the movie process in Hollywood and this is something to be thankful for, because you drown in Hollywood in the box office or the fluff but when you get a chance to do real cinema, it never goes away. So, five, ten, twenty years from now, you will be able to turn this movie on and watch it. That's the one thing that I appreciate, and I appreciate the opportunity.

Q: Why did Will Smith turn it down?

I don't think that he turned it down, I just think that they were working on some different things. I think he was scheduled or something. But, he's a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, and like I said, sometimes things just work that way. And for me to have the dialogue with Will, and because of Will is the reason I have a career in movies, because when we were doing Ali, he told Michael Mann, “I've got to have that guy.” And Michael Mann was like, 'I don't know who that guy is,' he says, 'I've got to have that guy.' He stuck up for me. So this in a way is another way of him giving me an opportunity in a sense.


http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/news/jamie-foxx-im-luckiest-man-world-003000734.html
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  • 3 months later...

Interesting article..

Will Smith almost cast for ‘Django Unchained’

Quentin Tarantino has no hard feelings towards Will Smith after the movie star walked away from his western ‘Django Unchained’, insisting he had a fun weekend trying to persuade the ‘Men in Black’ star to sign on.

Tarantino eventually cast Jamie Foxx as Django in the upcoming movie, but he admits Smith was the initial frontrunner for the role – and the two movie buffs met up to discuss the film shortly after Tarantino had written it.

The director tells Playboy magazine, "We spent quite a few hours together over a weekend when he was in New York doing Men in Black 3. We went over the script and talked it out. I had a good time - he's a smart, cool guy."

And the moviemaker insists the film's controversial subject matter - slavery - was not what turned Smith off.

He explains, "He didn't walk away from it because he was scared of the material. It just wasn't 100 per cent right, and we didn't have time to try to make it that way.

"We left with me saying, 'Look, I'm going to see other people.' He said, 'Let me just see how I feel, and if you don't find anybody, let's talk again.' And then I found my guy."

Tarantino also tells the men's magazine that he met with Tyrese Gibson, Terrence Howard, Idris Elba, Chris Tucker and Michael K. Williams, but he cast Foxx because "he was the cowboy".

He adds, "Jamie understood the material... He's from Texas.

"We sat there talking, and I realised, 'Wow, if this were the 1960s and I was casting a Django western TV show...' and they had black guys as stars of those in the 1960s, I could see Jamie on one of those. And that's what I was looking for, a Clint Eastwood."

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/15/will-smith-almost-cast-for-django-unchained

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • Admin

I think what upsets people is that he passed on this flick to be a supporting character to his son in a Shyamalan flick.

That was your greatest call Radewart! What could have been.... Will should have just trusted Tarantino and been in a great movie. :sFun_banghead:

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What wasn't "100% right?" There's so much control in Hollywood. Everyone wants to dictate a story. Tarentino has a pretty damn good track record. Tons of actors would love to be in one of his films. Will should have jumped on this the second he got the call.

Exactly. :dito::thumbsup: Will always wants total control. Sometimes you just got to accept that Tarantino is one of the best filmmakers in the last 20 years and put your trust him. This film could have changed Will's career.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Movie getting great reviews so far.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/django_unchained_2012/#contentReviews

Christmas Report: Great Debuts for 'Les Mis,' 'Django'

by Ray Subers

lesmiserables2012_lesmis016.jpg Les Miserables

December 26, 2012

As expected, the 2012 Holiday movies audiences were really excited for came out on Christmas Day, not the weekend before: Les Miserables and Django Unchainedboth got off to fantastic starts on the holiday, whileParental Guidance had a very solid debut as well.

Les Miserables led all movies with $18.1 million, which is the top opening day ever for a musical ahead of High School Musical 3: Senior Year ($17 million). It also ranks as the second-highest Christmas Day launch behindSherlock Holmes ($24.6 million), and fourth among all Christmas Day grosses behind Sherlock, Avatar ($23.1 million) and Meet the Fockers ($19.5 million). All three of those movies ultimately went on to earn over $200 million at the domestic box office. Les Miserables's audience skewed a bit female (56 percent), and gave it a great "A" CinemaScore.

In second place, Django Unchained debuted to just over $15 million. That's fifth all-time for Christmas Day (third among debuts), and is also writer-director Quentin Tarantino's highest start ever ahead of Inglourious Basterds ($14.4 million). This opening is particularly impressive considering the challenges of selling violent R-rated material around this time of year: for example, it took The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo four days to get past $15 million last year.

With good word-of-mouth on Les Miserables and Django Unchained, and considering how well movies usually hold at this time of year, it's practically a foregone conclusion that both titles wind up with well over $100 million by the end of their runs.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had to settle for third place on Christmas Day with an estimated $11.3 million. Through 12 days, the first part of a prequel trilogy has netted $168.3 million.

Billy Crystal-Bette Midler family comedy Parental Guidance wasn't nearly as strong as Les Mis or Django, but it still tallied a very nice $6.4 million on opening day. That's almost double what Fox's Gulliver's Travels made on Christmas Day two years ago; more importantly, it's only a bit off from Cheaper by the Dozen's $7.8 million Christmas opening in 2003. Parental Guidance's release is clearly modeled off Cheaper, and if it holds as well (which is possible, but highly unlikely) it will wind up with over $110 million.



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The more I hear about this film the more pissed off I get at Will for turning it down.

Not like he chose another A list production over this but he chose AE. Nepotism, money over quality it's his business but it is a shame to not utilize ones own qualities in a certain field (music, movies) especially given Wills status. He is a terrific actor and he pretty much has the power no other actor has and yet no one will talk about how good of an actor is when his time comes. Instead they'll talk about how mediocre he is (which he isn't) because he spent most of his time either pimping his kids or taking blockbuster money or be in mediocre safe films just because he has total control over it. When it comes to music I went another way (because Will stopped a long time ago) and now I'm slowly becoming less interested in his film career. I'll probably avoid AE and Annie or whatever comes next. I remember how excited I was for him during the 90's early 00's and these past few years are .... very disappointing to say the least.

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Excellent film-- it'll go into the long list of "what ifs" in Will's career (i.e., Matrix, etc.) but this type of stuff happens everyday in Hollywood..

FYI- one of the producers on the film is Reggie Hudlin-- a director in his own right (House Party, Boomerang, the Great White Hype, and more); decades ago, Will and Jeff were on the shortlist to be the stars of House Party.. but that didn't work out, and Kid & Play got the nod..

Edited by Hypestyle
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The more I hear about this film the more pissed off I get at Will for turning it down.

Not like he chose another A list production over this but he chose AE. Nepotism, money over quality it's his business but it is a shame to not utilize ones own qualities in a certain field (music, movies) especially given Wills status. He is a terrific actor and he pretty much has the power no other actor has and yet no one will talk about how good of an actor is when his time comes. Instead they'll talk about how mediocre he is (which he isn't) because he spent most of his time either pimping his kids or taking blockbuster money or be in mediocre safe films just because he has total control over it. When it comes to music I went another way (because Will stopped a long time ago) and now I'm slowly becoming less interested in his film career. I'll probably avoid AE and Annie or whatever comes next. I remember how excited I was for him during the 90's early 00's and these past few years are .... very disappointing to say the least.

tumblr_m2nmviBsiF1rna86e.gif

Edited by gosia
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