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Why Will Smith Turned Down Django Unchained (SPOILERS)

posted 5 years ago by ecarle (14979)
23 replies | jump to latest

Will Smith said something very revealing about why he turned Django Unchained down:

"I don't get to kill the bad guy."

He was talking about Waltz killing Leo. To Smith, that was letting "the supporting actor" do the leading man's job.

But Smith got it wrong. In the pattern of Django:

The white good guy(Waltz) kills the white bad guy(Leo) and is killed himself which set up:

The black good guy(Foxx) kills the black bad guy(Jackson.)

The story HAD to play that way, but Will Smith as a (fading) superstar with an image to protect, refused to sign up for that structure.

[–] pepetoony (1744) 5 years ago

Thank God. Can't stand that guy. He's so up his own ass.

[–] kwestmo (4385) 5 years ago

He should have turned down the Wild Wild West instead. He could not have pulled this off.

[–] The LA Baker (971) 2 years ago

I believe he turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix to star in Wild Wild West. lol

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

I agree with Smith, the way Christoph Waltz is allowed to dominate the first half of them film is a serious weakness. It's obvious Tarantino adored Waltz and his character, and had him do all the talking and thinking and kill the #1 bad guy... while Jamie Fox sat there silently, watching the film get away from him. When Waltz is out of the story and Django steps up, the audience hardly knows him.

It must have been as frustrating as hell for whoever played Django, and I can believe that Will Smith wasn't up for it.

[–] JohnMcCock (136) 5 years ago

What the hell is wrong with that? Someone has a huge ego apparently, so he understands Will Smith.

[–] LiquidOcelot (2405) 5 years ago

And this is why Will Smith has been in so many bad movies. It's all about his own ego instead of just worrying about making a good movie.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

No, I agree with Smith on this one, the way the good white character is allowed to dominate the first 2/3 of the film is a huge weakness in the film itself, and makes the character of Django seem irrelevant to his own movie. For most of the film, he's just this guy standing there glowering while Christoph Waltz is allowed to steal scene after scene.

It's not a buddy film or "The Defiant Ones", it's a film about a slave becoming a badass hero. Except, the director isn't that interested in the slave himself, and doesn't allow him much screen time or any of the best lines. That makes for a film that could have been a hell of a lot better, and it must have been frustrating as hell for whoever played Django. IMHO Will Smith was smart enough to see that coming.

[–] LiquidOcelot (2405) 5 years ago

Yep, and then he made After Earth instead. One of the worst movies ever made.

Regardless of his opinion about the particulars of the character, it still would've been the best movie he's ever starred in.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Will Smith has made some genuinely good movies, like "Men in Black" and "Independence Day".

"Django Unchained" was neither a good movie nor a good vehicle for whoever played Django, although I'm willing accept that it's better than "After Earth", which I haven't seen. There's a hell of a lot of distance between being better than stuff like "After Earth", and actually being good.

[–] LiquidOcelot (2405) 5 years ago

Come on, Independence Day is an awful movie. It was entertaining when it first came out mostly due to the special effects, but watching it today is just a cringefest. Men in Black is one of the few decent Smith movies.

Django Unchained is definitely better than anything Smith has starred in. Most of his movies are cheesy blockbusters that aren't worth more than one watch.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Well, I'm glad someone likes "Django" that much, because I thought it was pretty weak overall. For me, it's one of the movies that led to be giving up on Tarantino, he is capable of moments of brilliance, but his films always fall apart in the last act, if not earlier.

[–] JlawsANormlHuman (847) 5 years ago

you are an idiot man. stick to transformers

[–] LiquidOcelot (2405) 5 years ago

Lmao, you've got some gall criticising Django with one breath and praising Will Smith movies like Independence Day with the other. He stars in absolute trash. This is the guy that turned down The Matrix and Django to star in Wild Wild West and After Earth. Literally two of the worst movies ever made.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7699) 4 years ago

I like Independence Day LiquidOcelot. I admit it's not as good as movies like this but it is a fun movie to watch. You really sound like a really picky person. I would never want to personally hang out with you.

[–] LiquidOcelot (2405) 4 years ago

Oh no, some random pleb from moviechat doesn't want to hang out with me, whatever will I do.

[–] ThrillerTalk (1118) 5 years ago

How was Django supposed to dominate the earlier parts of the film? the character was a Slave that absolutely needed the Schultz character to get him out of that situation. If Schultz never takes Django under his wing and helps him learn things, he'd never become the badass that he developed into later on.

Fact is the two characters needed each other 100% equally and I thought the writers did an amazing job putting it all together.I wouldn't change a thing.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

Great points, you are spot on with the story being about Waltz driving most of it for 2/3, including his own death and what comes after it.
Django steps up only in the final bit.

Bad structure for a film named "Django Unchained".

[–] abigolcwock (517) 5 years ago

Why should Will Smith even care? People are so caught up with the roles he missed out on but seem to forget that the guy has more money than he can spend and has already played a bunch of iconic characters throughout his career.

[–] LiquidOcelot (2405) 4 years ago

I wouldn't go so far as to call his characters iconic. He just plays a slight variation of himself.

[–] bobbydallas (8522) 4 years ago

I am actually glad Smith turned this down.. Foxx did an AMAZING job with the character!

[–] Cognoscente (2648) 4 years ago

It's just as well or there would be too many Wild Wild West memes.

[–] Ranb (9616) 4 years ago

It is an ongoing trope that Will Smith's character has to "save the world" in his films. That is partly how I, Robot was ruined. The script ruined the rest of the film.

[–] The LA Baker (971) 3 years ago

He also turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix.
And his wife is/was banging her son's friend.
Will makes bad decisions.