Okay, we've seen the trailers (which are more or less the same), we've broken down the soundtrack and even though it has started to screen for critics, there is still much more to discover with "Django Unchained." And indeed, a first clip gives us a fresh new look at the movie, featuring an actor and character that has been a bit in the background thus far.
Don Johnson hit "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" to talk about the movie, which he calls a "love story" and an "event," and brought along with him a new clip. In the scene, we see Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) accompanied by his "valet" (played by Jamie Foxx), as they roll onto the property of Spencer "Big Daddy" Bennett (Johnson), a plantation owner who is reluctant at first to let them in, until some gentle persuasion changes his mind.
Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino stopped by to talk with Howard Stern and once again went over the potential casting of Will Smith in the lead. Stern said he thought Will Smith chickened out of the role, and even baited the director to dog on him, but Tarantino stuck to the story he's said thus far. "He really liked the script. we got together and talked for a couple of days, for hours actually," he said. Stern went back to the same well, asking QT if spending hours with him for days is what it took for Smith to summon up the "courage" to take the part.
"It's not negative of a thing [to meet]," Tarantino explained. "I had actually just finished the script, so if I'm going to cast you as the lead, I'm going to want to talk to you about it. And we don't really know each other that well so part of it is a getting to know you process as it were."
"That's kinda what happened," Tarantino said about realizing Smith wasn't exactly the right guy for the role. "Not in a negative way, I actually really enjoyed the time with him, but it… it just wasn't as right as rain. He really liked [the script] and everything, but it just wasn't a perfect fit."
"Django Unchained" opens on Christmas Day. The clip begins around the 4 minute mark. [via The Film Stage]
