Samuel L. Jackson Details Feud w/ Spike Lee For Turning Down Role In ‘Malcolm X’ Due To Salary Dispute

Samuel L. Jackson

Jackson continued,

“I used to call my agent every day to see if I had any auditions, callbacks, whatever. And my line to her every day was, ‘Hollywood call?’ She was like, ‘No, sir.’ So one day I called, she said, ‘As a matter of fact, yeah they did. You just won an award at the Cannes Film Festival.’ And I’m like, ‘What? For what?’ She said, ‘”Jungle Fever.”‘ I said, ‘They don’t give supporting actor awards at Cannes.’ She’s like, ‘They made up one for you.’ Get the f*ck out of here! ‘And consequently, these people in Hollywood want to see you for this movie ‘White Sands.’”

Jackson shared that he decided to star in “White Sands” instead of “Malcolm X” and that is when he and Spike Lee fell out.

Spike Lee

“White Sands“ is a 1992 crime thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson that stars Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mickey Rourke. The film is about a U.S. southwestern small-town sheriff who finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and $500,000. The sheriff impersonates the man and stumbles into an FBI investigation.

“Malcolm X” is an American biographical drama film about the African-American activist Malcolm X. Directed and co-written by Spike Lee, the film stars Denzel Washington in the title role, as well as Angela Bassett. The movie went on to be Oscar-nominated for Best Actor for Washington and Best Costume Design for Ruth E. Carter.

It took some years, but Lee and Jackson mended their relationship, partly because of their wives.

Samuel L. Jackson explained in a previous interview,

“[Our] wives would interact often, and we would all end up going to dinner together. Our relationship healed over those dinners and conversations. He told me at dinner he was going to remake ‘Oldboy’, and I was like, ‘Can I be in it?’”

Jackson said working with Lee was just like old times.

“It was just like we’d never stopped. He’s very efficient, knows what he wants and doesn’t get in my way artistically–whatever I come with, I come with, and it’s cool.”

Prior to their falling out, Jackson starred in several of Lee’s blockbuster hits including, “Jungle Fever,” “Do The Right Thing,” and “School Daze.”

What are your thoughts on Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson’s former feud? Let us know in the comments below! 

[Source: 1, 2 ]