LOS ANGELES, Nov 24 — Quentin Tarantino had Will Smith in mind when he was working on “Django Unchained”, but why did Smith turn down the role than?
It’s common knowledge that Tarantino offered Smith the titular role in “Django Unchained”, only to have him turn it down for “Men in Black 3”.
Tarantino moved on to Jamie Foxx, who did a solid job in the role even if the “what could have been” of Smith’s casting still loomed large. Smith spoke rather candidly about his decision regarding “Django Unchained” in a recent roundtable interview with THR.
“It’s as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin [Tarantino] and I couldn’t see [eye to eye].
“I wanted to make the greatest love story that African-Americans had ever seen … We talked, we met, we sat for hours and hours about it. I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story.
“I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence… I just couldn’t connect to violence being the answer. Love had to be the answer.”
“Django Unchained” as a love story? Guess it’s easy to why Smith and Tarantino couldn’t get on the same page.
