At two hours and forty five minutes, you know that Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” is sprawling and long. So long that Harvey Weinstein suggested cutting the films in two ala “Kill Bill” in the editing room (the idea was nixed obviously). And with a script that was 166 pages (roughly 3 hours), you know that not everything was going to make the cut.
We already know that one big subplot was cut out — that of Broomhilda's (Kerry Washington) slave ownership history and how she got into the hands of plantation owner and Mandingo fight enthusiast Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). It turns out, she lost a bet to a boy she had fallen in love with and whose parents owned her, with the character first to be played by Jonah Hill, and then Sacha Baron Cohen until the entire flashback subplot was dropped entirely (and thank god, cause that would have added some 20 minutes to the movie at least). And yes, Hill is still in the film, but in a cameo role as a different character.
Several scenes have been excised or drastically trimmed for time (Samuel L. Jackson torturing Django and burning off his nipples for one). But Jamie Foxx’s favorite scene on the cutting room floor is something different — a tete-a-tete between his Django character and his rival, Jackson’s house slave Stephen, who serves under DiCaprio’s character at the Candie plantation. **Spoilers for those who haven't seen the film or haven't already read the screenplay.** The scene takes place immediately after Django and Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) arrive at Candie's mansion and Stephen is livid to see Django walking on as a free man with a sassy tongue.
The deleted scene, according to Foxx, was shot, and it’s Django antagonizing Stephen as the house butler gets his room together. When we recently chatted with Foxx, the actor even acted out and rattled off his favorite part of the scene which is below (serious fans take note, the scene begins on page 106 and runs through to page 108). Essentially, they face off and Django slaps Stephen to the ground and berates him.
“I still look at Quentin and go like, 'You should have kept it in the movie,’” Foxx told The Playlist in an interview this week. “Because me and Sam have this moment of black men – the house servant, the field servant. And how are they going to get along? The house servant who is a manipulative person, and me, the field servant, who just wants to kick ass and kill everybody. That was the thing that happened first before I [surrendered and was strung up by Candie's men]. There was this connective tissue that makes me being [strung up] even sweeter.”
Foxx said he hopes Tarantino puts the scene on the DVD and praised his co-star’s skills. “Whether her puts it on the DVD or whatever – the performance Samuel L. Jackson gives in that? Shit.”
And for good measure, Foxx discussed another scene where he said Jackson brought it once again. “I'll just take it a step further,” he added. “There was another scene cut out where Sam approaches Broomhilda. Broomhilda is singing after she's gotten out of the hot box and he appears out of the darkness. [Doing a spot-on Samuel L. Jackson impression] ‘What you singin' about? Naw. You just got out the hot box. You've been in the hot box all these hours!’.”
Well, we know Quentin is already considering an extended cut of “Django Unchained” so it sounds like he’s got lots of material to work with. “Django Unchained” hits theaters Christmas Day, and below you'll find part of the scene in question and note, The Weinstein Company has made the script entirely available for download if you haven't already read it. More from this interview soon. — Reporting by Drew Taylor
