Sean Connery turned down both Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and Morpheus in The Matrix because he didn’t understand the scripts. He turned down Dumbledore in Harry Potter because it was too fantastical. Then he tried a reverse approach where he accepted the next role he didn’t understand, because clearly that was where the money was at. So he accepted Allan Quartermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a movie which flopped hard. Then he ragequit the industry and retired.
The script is mysterious and important.
Submitted 2 weeks ago by setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/d5bf9b3f-73de-4e7f-a61d-2945ae60f660.jpeg
Comments
bus_factor@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
rockSlayer@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I love that movie, I thought he did great in it too
toynbee@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
And that car, though.
I mean, it had nothing to do with him, but still. Goddamn sexy car.
osanna@lemmy.vg 2 weeks ago
Honestly, Sean Connery as Gandalf would have been shit.
FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
But imagine him aaking harry calmly
Klear@quokk.au 2 weeks ago
He was interviewed by Czech TV during the premiere and was asked if the viewers should go see it. He said that he’s getting paid for every ticket sold and therefore yes! Everyone should see it!
PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
I remember liking LOEG
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
I recently rewatched it and it was a good romp for sure. I never read the comics but apparently it was super unlike the comics it was based on which was part of its problem. Generally pissing off your core audience of fans in an adaptation is bad for the outcome of the movie
1984@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Made me laugh. I dont know how true it is but its funny. :)
GalacticSushi@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
bus_factor@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Holy shit, I never even heard of that, and the poster gives me an idea why. Was this by request from his grandkids or something?
KuroiKaze@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’m so glad he skips movies he would have ruined
Landless2029@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Strongly agree. As an actor Will Smith always brings some sass to movies. I feel like he would’ve ruined a few scenes. Especially him teasing Agent Smith unnecessarily.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Will smiths thing is most similar to dwayne johnson, he wanted to be the LEAD or the most prominent actor and not the side character
Natanael@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
What do you mean, he played the genie, and, oh right…
ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 2 weeks ago
His acting as the genie was OK. But it was very clear that he was acting in the shadow of Robin Williams for that role. It is kinda hard to move away from that one however.
TheSeveralJourneysOfReemus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
A cool thing about being tone deaf is that I can’t tell who voices who.
A sad thing is I can’t tell hot water vs cold water being poured. Finding out people could do that seemed like a super power to me.
TheSeveralJourneysOfReemus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I usually just wait for a subtle hints of steam building up inside the boiler. To be clear, i think shark tale is really not bad, at all. But it’s weird. I have a dvd of this movie
sydd@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
How is this different from regular deafness?
CatalpaRed@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I have never even thought about this
ToTheGraveMyLove@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
He also turned down Django Unchained. Will Smith is just shit at picking roles.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Thank God. He would have ruined it.
Quill7513@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
he’s also extremely dedicated to maintaining his brand. turning down Django Unchained does feel like a HUGE wiff to me though. Django is basically Deadshot if Deadshot lived in the Antebellum South (presumably after the California gold rush since he spends some time in Colorado). maybe Tarantino films can’t ever fit the Will Smith toxic positivity brand?
Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Yea, but isn’t a kind of big part of his brand that he is technically family friendly? Like he didn’t use bad language in his music and stuff, right? Django Unchained but rated PG-13 would have been an entirely different movie…
VitoRobles@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Will can’t help but be himself in a movie. Instead of… You know… “Act”.
I don’t want the alternate Django Unchained where Will Smith starts rappin and getting jiggy with it.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I mean, he’s picked plenty of bangers.
Sometimes there’s scheduling conflicts. Sometimes a director casts a wide net, knowing he’s going to get a bunch of rejections. Sometimes you get roped into a project as a favor or a quid pro quo (Vin Disel coming back for a cameo in FF: Tokyo Drift to get Chronicles of Riddick made, only to end up making nine more movies and counting) and it changes your career.
ToTheGraveMyLove@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I honestly can’t think of the last will smith movie I enjoyed
joyjoy@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
buddascrayon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
He slapped a man on national television because he made a joke about his wife. That wasn’t even a mean joke, it was just in somewhat bad taste. (He was also laughing at the joke until he saw his wife roll her eyes at it)
He is quite dumb
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
She’s basically his boss tbh. It does not seem like a healthy relationship
curiousaur@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
She fucks other dudes and talks about it on TV. She’s his Dom, and an unhealthy one.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
He didn’t want to have to go home in the same limo with her screaming at him for not defending her in front of the whole world. So he destroyed his Oscar winning night, his reputation, and his career, because he was too afraid of her acting like a psychopath.
And she probably did it anyway.
postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Cataphract@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I don’t get people sometimes. Here’s a hollywood elite who thinks they have the ability to physically assault another person (and so fucking brazenly in front of the whole world) and never be held responsible. Fuck Will Smith and anything he profits from including recognition of past performances. Comments in here are acting like a bunch of wannabe-nostalgia-cucks who don’t care as long as the individual did a silly little dance and entertained them some. Dude needs serious rehabilitation and a reality check which will never come to him because people would rather talk about his performances instead of the actual person.
Earthman_Jim@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Also, yes. He dumb.
Smeagol666@crazypeople.online 2 weeks ago
All the way, my brother! Fuck Will Smith and his whole fucking family.
reksas@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
maybe he just didnt get the point of the story or something. I dont think you can act well if you cant get into the character
TheSeveralJourneysOfReemus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In general, will smith has always been an action type of guy in his roles, but to do that he always needed to have clear motivations. I guess a nested dream in a dream isn’t functional for this type of actor.
Well, and the fact that back then these movies were almost a gamble you know, like now we treat them as cult classics, but than they were absolutely new and nobody know what they were about.
rumba@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I’m sure Keano was the right choice there. I could see him handling the Matrix if he walked into it in bewilderment like the original Men in Black movie. He’d be fine up until somewhere around the Oracle. I think when things started coming together, and he needed to start commanding his own destiny, the suspension of disbelief would have dropped.
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
I suppose I could see Inception as being a very risky film based on the script
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I dunno if I would call Inception a gamble, it’s Christopher Nolan
someguy3@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
From the interview I heard they pitched the matrix terribly.
BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Back in the late 90s, I have no idea how you’d pitch that any other way. It’s a miracle that movie got made.
someguy3@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I believe even the Wachowski’s said they pitched it terribly. Apparently they focused on bullet time and did a terrible job explaining it. So nothing made sense. Then you realize it was a new age Film Noire, and that wasn’t exactly going to entice funding. Other than Keanu Reeves I don’t think any of the cast was well known, and I’m not even sure how big Keanu Reeves was. Other than Speed it was an odd assortment of movies for him.
Here’s will smith youtu.be/hm2szuXKgL8&t=70
FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
Nah sure, giant mecha-spider in the Wild West is a more straightforward I guess.
(Speaking of which Kevin Smith did a ride of a story about a superman movie that never got made, which ties into that very same Mecha-spider)
inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I enjoy Kevin Smith story time far more than his movies.
Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I think you mean the Thanagarian Snare-beast.
Superman hides behind a rock
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Wild West was a fantastic movie and I’m sad they never mad a sequel.
FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
Oh I’m not knocking it, I thought it was a good movie. Hell I should watch it again sometime.
Will Smith has that particular balance between a huge blockbuster story but bringing it with his particular comedy factor. I don’t like him as much in serious tone stuff. In that regard he probably made the right choice with the Matrix.
hOrni@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ever heard about his wife?
JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Treczoks@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Some people are not set up for science fiction or fantasy at all. Will Smith is a borderline case, though.
radiouser@crazypeople.online 2 weeks ago
Django Unchained too.
Daft_ish@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
The wild wild west guy dumb?
Yes
Sunforged@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Alot of Scientologists I see as using it as a way to grift and enrich themselves. Smith I can see being dumb enough to fall for it.
BilSabab@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Maybe Will Smith actually tried to read Baudrillard to get a grip on some basic concepts behind the movie. However, english translations of Baudrillard are fucking awful and borderline unreadable (common issue with scary french philosophers for some reason) so he gave up. Also - fuck Will Smith. Denzel should’ve starred in The Enemy of the State.
Ranulph@thelemmy.club 2 weeks ago
Independence Day is my favourite movie with Will Smith, my second favourite is the one where he is fighting Zombies can’t recall the name. He was for a good long while the most bankable actor of colour in Hollywood ahead of Danzel and Morgan Freeman. TENET would have been a different movie with him alongside Robert Pattinson. The sad thing is how he raised his children to become part of the publicity machine instead of seeking out academic excellence. He fed them directly into the maw of the media machine where the last name and nepotism rule the roost. Sad really I am sure some of that can be laid at the feet of his practice of scientology.
rumba@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I honestly think he’s kind of a child or childish. I had always suspected it from some odd bits and pieces in lyrics gushing over the Cuban cigar in Jiggy, then feeling the need to point out that he won’t light it, it’s just for the look. I love that the rumor mill thought Nas wrote the lyrics in whole. The slap kinda sinched it, It looked like a grade schooler defending their girlfriend.
I mean, props that he did something about it, but he should have at least tried to act like he was a badass. He’s a fucking actor for god sakes.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 2 weeks ago
So what? He’s still doing fine. Was he supposed to be in every blockbuster ever made?
He also won an Oscar. Keanu didn’t. I don’t think that doing Matrix or Inception would have a big impact on his career.
AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
For a moment I got him and Matt Smith confused and wondered why he would have has anything to do with Inception.
kandoh@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
If they’d casted Smith as Neo than they wouldn’t have casted Fishbourne as Morpheous
I think he would’ve been great in Inception though
melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Once Matrix got super popular Will slapped himself.
saigot@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
IDK he might be, he certainly is a dick. but also you don’t usually get to read the whole script (definitely not the final script) before choosing to accept a role, they may only get a scene, maybe just an elevator pitch etc.
aeronmelon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
But he took Wild Wild West, Hancock, and I Am Legend. Okay.
tomiant@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Challenging ideas
really?
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Well, hindsight is 20/20, but he also doesn’t have the best history of choosing hits. Maybe it’s his manager? Maybe he’s dumb.
He’s definitely an asshole, though.
qualia@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hupf@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
He was fine with the script up to following the white rabbit.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Will Smith would have been disastrous in The Matrix and now I want to see it
starik@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I was thinking, thank god he turned it down
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If memory serves me right the protagonist in Inception was confused a lot and Wil can pull off confused.
aeronmelon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Most likely Leo DeCaprio’s role.
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Imagine the tie-in music video he would have done.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
With the squid machines doing hip hop dances in the background
ramble81@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Given that he turned it down for Wild Wild West, use that as a basis.
rozodru@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
uh-huh yeah ha ha woo uh huh am I dreaming or is this real, sleep all day, gotta get that feel ha ha yeah oh uh the city is spinning, but ya see ha ha I ain’t dipping. gotta get the reception, ha ha yeah woo it’s an inception!
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I get what you mean/agree, but to play devil’s advocate, his character in Enemy of the State could’ve sorta worked as Neo.
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It is crazy how I always think of that movie as “early career Will Smith before he became famous quippy superstar” but it released between Men In Black and Wild Wild West.
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
There would be too many wisecracks. Did keanu even smile as Neo?
1984@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
There are Ai clips now on YouTube where they replace actors in famous movies, like putting Tom Cruise in the matrix or whatever.
I dont watch them because I dont want my nice memories of these movies to be overwritten, but it shows how easy it is today to do.
WizardofFrobozz@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Agreed, but I also firmly believe there is another universe in which we could believably type “Keanu Reeves would have been disastrous in The Matrix”
merc@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
It would have been a very different movie. So, maybe people couldn’t picture Keanu in that forgettable action comedy called The Matrix. But, Keanu did show he could do comedy. His first big movie was Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. He’d also done Parenthood. In addition, he’d shown he could do action movies / thrillers with a bit of comedy when he did Speed, and fairly serious action movies with Point Break.
Will Smith has done plenty of action movies, but all of them are at least somewhat comedic. He’s shown he can do serious roles too, like Happyness, 7 Pounds, etc. But, I don’t think you’d hire him for a science fiction action movie without having him do some comedy. I’m sure Will Smith could do a straight dramatic science fiction action movie with no comedy, but AFAIK he’s never done it.
IMO Keanu is a much more limited actor than Will Smith. But, The Matrix played to his strengths.
Thunder_Caulk@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
well , excuse me for the AI haters out there. But we gotta do this.
Seedance, c’mon boy, DO IT!!!
Will Smith as NEO in the Matrix.
echodot@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
You get that we want to dialogue right? We can all imagine Will Smith in a leather jacket with slow motion bullets moving around him.
Every time someone who is pro AI tries to advocate for it it always comes off as their brain having turned to porridge. You get we can see that image in our minds, we don’t need it visualised for us at the expense of half an olympic swimming pool worth of water and at least six trees.
JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
AI BROS, DO YOUR THING!
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s just an infinite number of Will Smith’s eating an infinite amount of spaghetti.
Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I just want to see the whole “AI Will Smith chewing” video posted into some Matrix parts now. Someone make it happen. I believe in you.