While the Weinstein Company are handling the US release of Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western movie; Django Unchained; news has emerged that the international distribution rights have fallen to Sony, despite the attempts of former Tarantino partners Universal (who successfully released his last movie; Inglorious Basterds; internationally) to grab the picture.
Despite the success of his last outing with Universal, and their attempts at secure the new project (which included handing Quentin a bag of handmade scalps; referencing the 100 Nazi scalps from Inglorious Basterds), Tarantino has gone with Sony in the hopes that working with the studio will increase the chances of Men in Black’s Will Smith signing on to star.
It was reported only a few days ago that Tarantino is keen for Will Smith to lead the cast of Django Unchained; a film we now hear will be a riff on Sergio Leone’s Man With No Name films (having a similar character and stylized violence), with an original story, and not a Spaghetti Western remake; and while we knew then that Smith had a script in his possession, we now know that he is giving serious thought to both the role, and how starring in the, likely violent and sweary, movie will affect his carefully guarded, family-friendly, image.
Production on the movie; which follows a freed slave teaming up with a German bounty hunter to find his slave wife, and take down an evil plantation owner; is due to bgin this coming fall, in the Southern US, with an eye to releasing either next year, or certainly by 2013, preferably with Smith involved; as an insider recently told Deadline “having Will involved is the key.”
Matt Wheeldon.
Source: Deadline.
