Will Smith to star in Tarantinos next "Django Unchained" ?

[Deberg_1990]

Wow, at first glance sounds like oil and water....but im down with this in a weird way. QT hasnt let me down yet.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...trunner-186250


Will Smith has emerged as the frontrunner to star in Quentin Tarantino’s next film, Django Unchained, a spaghetti Western about a slave in the Old South who teams with a German bounty hunter to search for his wife.

Tarantino stalwarts Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz also are circling key parts.

The film, Tarantino’s follow-up to his worldwide blockbuster Inglourious Basterds, will be distributed domestically by the Weinstein Co., but Tarantino is in the process of selecting a studio partner to release the film internationally. Sources say he was meeting with Universal executives Friday, and similar meetings with Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros. and possibly others have been scheduled.

Sources prepped for those meetings say Tarantino would like Smith to star in the film, the script for which has been making the rounds in recent days to wide acclaim. No official offer has been made to Smith, and any deal would of course be subject to working out financials, which might be difficult given Smith's status as one of Hollywood's few sure-thing stars.


Indeed, though Smith has been out of multiplexes since 2008’s Seven Pounds, he is still considered among the top two or three box-office draws worldwide.

Smith is being teed up for the title role of Django, a freed slave who seeks to reunite with his slave wife, a journey that will see him team with a German bounty hunter to take down an evil plantation owner.

Tarantino wrote the bounty hunter part with Waltz in mind, according to insiders. The German ends up training Django and helping him seek his wife.

Jackson would play the house slave to the bad guy, Monsieur Calvin Candie. The slave is an expert manipulator and will face off with Django.

Smith and his reps have received the screenplay, which could be a hot potato due to the themes of racism and the liberal use of the N-word. It's unclear whether Smith has read the script yet. The actor manages his image very carefully, but the part is heroic and could be iconic. And let’s not forget that Denzel Washington won his two Oscars playing characters who used the N-word.


Tarantino is aiming for a fall shoot in the South, possibly in Louisiana, but the exact locale has not been determined.

[BigRedChief]

Fox is a much better actor.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Brock

He has the chops, he just prefers not to risk anything. If it's not a summer blockbuster, don't even bother calling.

This..

[ThaVirus]

WTF are you whores talking about? Will Smith is not only one of the highest grossing actors in the biz today, he's also one of the best. An A-lister in my book. He definitely runs the summer blockbuster ring, there's no doubting that, but to say he can't do much more is just bogus. He's probably the most versatile actor out right now as well. You want action? He does it, and does it well. You want comedy? He does it, and does it well. You want romance? He does it, and does it well. You want drama? He does it, and does it well. You want some not-so-serious fun? He does that, and does it better than anyone.

I'm telling you guys, Will Smith hasn't quite broken the stigma of being a goofy, rapper-turned-actor to everyone yet, but he's been a pretty damn good actor for a while now.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

WTF are you whores talking about? Will Smith is not only one of the highest grossing actors in the biz today, he's also one of the best. An A-lister in my book. He definitely runs the summer blockbuster ring, there's no doubting that, but to say he can't do much more is just bogus. He's probably the most versatile actor out right now as well. You want action? He does it, and does it well. You want comedy? He does it, and does it well. You want romance? He does it, and does it well. You want drama? He does it, and does it well. You want some not-so-serious fun? He does that, and does it better than anyone.

I'm telling you guys, Will Smith hasn't quite broken the stigma of being a goofy, rapper-turned-actor to everyone yet, but he's been a pretty damn good actor for a while now.

Who said he's not a good actor? What I said was, he doesn't take risks.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by Brock

Who said he's not a good actor? What I said was, he doesn't take risks.

Well you said he doesn't bother with anything other than summer blockbusters, but two of his most recent films Seven Pounds and Pursuit of Happyness could hardly be qualified as summer blockbusters. Then durtyrute said he "couldn't pull it off". So I had to disagree.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Well you said he doesn't bother with anything other than summer blockbusters, but two of his most recent films Seven Pounds and Pursuit of Happyness could hardly be qualified as summer blockbusters. Then durtyrute said he "couldn't pull it off". So I had to disagree.

There was absolutely nothing risky about either of those roles, other than risking boring everybody to death.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by Brock

There was absolutely nothing risky about either of those roles, other than risking boring everybody to death.

Can you give me some examples of risky roles, please?

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Apparently, hes cast Jamie Foxx as DJango...

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/50125

Lots of actors circled the title role for Quentin Tarantino's DJANGO UNCHAINED - Will Smith, Idris Elba - but one actor has apparently signed on the line that is dotted - Jamie Foxx, who will join Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Christoph Waltz in Tarantino's "Southern", his slave drama film, to be released in 2012,

Foxx is no stranger to dramatic roles, having won the Oscar for RAY, and I think he's a good choice. My personal favorite was Elba, but Foxx is no slouch and will work well with the cast. I just want to see this thing - I haven't read the script. I read INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and regretted it - it was such a rich script that I wish I'd held out and experienced it first on the big screen. Won't be making that mistake this time. DJANGO UNCHAINED is being produced by the Weinstein Company

I read about 20 pages of it, then decided that I'd rather wait until the movie came out. Script was great up to the point I stopped reading.

[-King-]

By the way... I wish Will would have done it. He and Leonardo are my favorite actors so the two of them being in the same movie.... epic.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by -King-

By the way... I wish Will would have done it. He and Leonardo are my favorite actors so the two of them being in the same movie.... epic.

Good tadte in actors.

[blaise]

I think most of Will Smith's movies are unwatchable garbage. Not that it's his fault, it's just that they're cornball crap.

[blaise]

I wonder if the deal breaker was because Tarantino wouldn't give a role to Will's kids.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by -King-

By the way... I wish Will would have done it. He and Leonardo are my favorite actors so the two of them being in the same movie.... epic.

yea, i wish he would have done it as well....in fairness, we have no idea what happened...if he turned it down, if the money couldnt be worked out....or maybe QT didnt think he was right for the part?

[Brock]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Can you give me some examples of risky roles, please?

Sure. Read the post at the very top of this page.

[soopamanluva]

Originally Posted by SportsRacer

Meh. Shoulda gone with Stringer.

Or Omar, that scar would have been a great for the story.