6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Here's why Will Smith rejected Christopher Nolan's 'Inception'?
If you think Will Smith's biggest regrets include turning down The Matrix and Django Unchained, then here's another shocker. The actor was offered Christopher Nolan's Inception first, reported Variety.
In a recent interview with radio station Kiss Xtra, Smith turned down the movie because he didn't understand its plot.
After Smith's rejection, Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio headlined the film and ended up with one of his biggest hits.
"I don't think I've ever said it publicly, but I am going to say it because we're opening up to one another. Chris Nolan brought me Inception first, and I didn't get it. I've never said that out loud. Now that I think about it, it's those movies that go into those alternate realities... they don't pitch well. But I am hurt by those, too," Smith said.
Smith also rejected The Matrix because he didn't connect to the Wachowski siblings movie pitch, which he said was more about their intended directing style than the actual story.
Smith posted a YouTube video in 2019 in which the actor retold the pitch that was narrated to him by the Matrix makers.
"We're thinking like... imagine you're in a fight. You, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump. But then, people could see around you 360 degrees while you stop jumping. We're going to invent these cameras, and then people can see the whole jump when you stop in the middle of the jump," Smith was quoted as saying by Variety.
As for Django Unchained, which is another painful addition to the actor's rejected movie list, Smith said that he turned down the movie because he didn't want to "make a slavery film about vengeance".
"It was about the creative direction of the story. To me, 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 and I couldn't see [eye to eye]," Smith was quoted as saying by The Hollywood Reporter. "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."
The Men in Black and Wild Wild West actor recently released his first full-length solo music project in 20 years, titled Based on a True Story.
