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- Samuel L. Jackson remembers being screwed by the latest cut of the hit movie, “Keeps Me From Getting An Oscar” -TGN
Samuel L. Jackson remembers being screwed by the latest cut of the hit movie, “Keeps Me From Getting An Oscar” -TGN
Samuel L. Jackson remembers feeling screwed A time to kill, which he claimed took away the strongest aspects of his performance. Released in 1996, from director Joel Schumacher A time to kill stars Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey, a Mississippi man on trial for killing the two white men who raped his daughter. Matthew McConaughey plays Jake, Carl’s attorney, with Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Kiefer Sutherland, and Donald Sutherland as supporting cast.
In a recent interview with VultureJackson recalls being frustrated by A time to kill, expressing that the final cut of the film was not at all what he expected. In addition to removing important nuances from his character, the actor explains that the end result also rules out aspects of his performance that he felt were commendable in favor of serving McConaughey’s protagonist. Check out Jackson’s full comment on A time to kill below:
“Of course. Those were early movies. In A time to kill, if i kill those guys i kill them because my daughter needs to know that those guys are no longer on the planet and they will never hurt her again – that i will do anything to protect her. That’s how I played that character all along.
“And there were specific things that we included, things that I did to make sure she understood that, but in the editing process they were taken out. And it looked like I killed those guys and then planned every move to make sure I got away with it. When I saw it, I sat there like, ‘What does it matter?’
“But also the things they took out kept me from getting an Oscar. Really, assholes? Did you just take that shit from me? My first day working on that movie, I gave a speech in a room with an actor and the whole f-king set was in tears when I finished. I was like, Okay. I’m on the right page. That’s not in the movie!
And I know why it isn’t. Because it wasn’t my movie and they weren’t trying to make me a star. That was one of the first times I saw that happen. There are things I’ve done in other movies where I said, ‘Wait a minute. Why did you cut that moment out of the movie?’ Because the moment in that movie is bigger than the movie.
How Did Samuel L. Jackson Not Win an Oscar?
Jackson is one of the most instantly recognizable actors working today, often playing supporting characters who end up stealing the show from whatever movie they’re starring in. Despite this, apart from his 2021 Honorary Academy Award, Jackson has never actually won an Oscar for any of his performances. The closest he’s come so far is with Pulp Fiction in 1994, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as assassin Jules.
Jackson’s collaborations with Tarantino remain arguably the most Oscar-worthy performances of his career to date, with the actor playing particularly memorable characters in Jackie Brown, Django unleashedAnd The Hateful Eight. However, outside of these roles and a handful of others, Jackson mostly appears in movies that just aren’t traditional Oscar material.
Related: Tarantino almost worked with Samuel L. Jackson before Pulp Fiction
By Die hard with vengeance into franchise roles Star Wars and the MCU, Jackson regularly steals the show in major blockbuster projects that typically go unacclaimed. The actor also brings a unique brand of comedy to many of his performances, which he shows off in the likes of Kingsman: The Secret Service And The assassin’s bodyguard. Even A time to kill may have left out the strongest parts of his performance, the actor’s range and charisma are still on full display, and still are to this day. Maybe he’ll win an Oscar.
Source: Vulture