鈥淎nd it sucks,鈥� joked DiCaprio with Tarantino and some of his co-stars at a Manhattan hotel news gathering. 鈥淚t was very uncomfortable for all of us.鈥�
That鈥檚 a thinly disguised put-on, but so is Django Unchained, which opens Dec. 25, though it is hardly festive.
The latest Tarantino post-modern vehicle for cheekiness is a violent spaghetti western about Django (Jamie Foxx), a former slave who is now a bounty hunter searching for his wife (Kerry Washington) to set her free.
Along for the pre-Civil War ride is German dentist Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), who mentors Django in the finer points of shooting bad guys and collecting wanted-poster rewards.
It鈥檚 DiCaprio鈥檚 vicious plantation-owner character who stands in the way of what Django wants, while Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson plays the evil house slave who assists his master in every way.
Besides lots of snappy patter, there are gunfights, smackdowns and an explosive conclusion executed to a soundtrack featuring blues, soul, pop and even a rap attack. All of this is presented as a quasi-historical package in the world according to Tarantino.
Foxx appreciated that Tarantino feeling immediately, and didn鈥檛 hesitate to take on the title role despite the slavery theme.
鈥淲e never get a chance to see a slave fight back,鈥� said Foxx of Django, who becomes an avenger. Washington, who plays the wife as a resilient partner, calls him an 鈥渁gent of his own power.鈥�
Some of the emoting in the film is subtle, but most of the performances are hyper-real, recalling Tarantino鈥檚 previous pseudo-historical entertainment Inglourious Basterds.
Don Johnson, who has a cameo as a slave owner-turned-incompetent-vigilante, understood the Tarantino tone almost immediately. 鈥淎s Tarantino said, 鈥�;You sing in my key.鈥� 鈥�
Of course, DiCaprio had to find that key as well as define the actions of his nasty patriarch as a dark prince. 鈥淗e鈥檚 reprehensible,鈥� said the Oscar-honoured actor. 鈥淗e鈥檚 everything that was wrong about the South 鈥� I hated him and I had to do it.鈥�
The good news for DiCaprio was that the cast and crew understood the object of the exercise, and gave him the appropriate environment to vent.
鈥淲hat was really great was the sense of community and the support mechanism,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 honestly felt like we were cheerleaders for each other.鈥�
By contrast, Jackson and Waltz knew what they were getting into. Jackson had earned an Oscar nod for his hitman portrayal in Tarantino鈥檚 Pulp Fiction, and they both won acclaim for their second collaboration on Jackie Brown. Waltz had his breakout in Tarantino鈥檚 Inglourious Basterds, winning a supporting actor Academy Award for his Nazi interrogator character.
Both actors kept close tabs on the Django Unchained script development. In fact, Jackson was thinking he might make a decent Django but was told he was 15 years too old. The writer-director had other ideas.
鈥淪o you want me to be the most despicable black man in cinematic history,鈥� Jackson remembered telling Tarantino.
Still, he said yes with an added incentive. 鈥淚 also get a chance to do something to the actor who got the role I should have had.鈥�
Waltz鈥檚 learning curve had more to do with riding a horse than mastering Tarantino鈥檚 involved dialogue. Unfortunately, the actor dislocated his pelvic bone when he fell off his steed during one sequence.
He recovered physically, although his ego is still a little bruised. 鈥淚 worked very hard, and seriously, at falling off that horse,鈥� he said.
Lucky for all concerned, Foxx is an expert rider. His horse Cheetah appears in a few scenes, but even Foxx said riding bareback for one stretch was a little tough to take. 鈥淥n the outside, I looked like Django, but on the inside I felt like Little Richard.鈥�
And while Foxx might have had the role Jackson coveted and rode the way Waltz couldn鈥檛, he had to learn what they had already perfected 鈥� the Tarantino approach.
Indeed, Tarantino praised Jackson and Waltz for their ability to bring his words to life in whatever role they take. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard not to write for these guys,鈥� Tarantino said. 鈥淚 always fancy my dialogue as poetry. And they make it poetry.鈥�
Looking back on developing the movie, the writer-director is relieved to say he resisted the temptation to make Django into two movies as he had with Kill Bill.
鈥淵ou need to follow Django鈥檚 journey to the end,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here are so many emotions, and there鈥檚 action-adventure, and there鈥檚 the gallows humour and there鈥檚 the suspense.鈥�
