If you ever wondered what it’d be like if Lee Daniels directed a “Wolverine” movie, congratulations, because you may be Hugh Jackman.
In a recent interview with Collider to promote his latest film, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” Daniels told of the time Jackman liked Daniel’s Oscar-winning film “Precious” so much, he got him a pitch meeting with Fox to discuss an X-Men movie. “A lot of actors call me. I remember after I did Precious, Hugh Jackman called and wanted me to do a Wolverine. And he sent me into the studio to Fox, I guess that’s where they do them at,” Daniels said. “And I had never done a studio film before and it was a disaster and I literally pulled over … Yeah, it was at Fox because I pulled over to the Kentucky Fried Chicken afterwards and ate a whole six-pack of wings. It was the worst meeting of my life. I don’t know how he gets ‘Wolverine’ from ‘Precious,’ but I love him and he’s a friend to this day.”
“I pitched. I pitched my way right out of the room,” he added.
If that doesn’t make you at least a bit curious about what exactly Daniels pitched to Fox, then I don’t know what to tell you. The timing places this meeting around the time “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” came out, and it’s hard to see Daniels pitching anything nearly as bad as that movie.
Though a Lee Daniels “Wolverine” film still sounds interesting, it’s safe to say things turned out ok for both parties. Shortly after the meeting, James Mangold was hired to deliver the one-two punch of “The Wolverine” and “Logan,” while Daniels went on to co-create “Empire.”