The first official images from Quentin Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED have appeared online and feature the three main stars of the film; Jamie Foxx as Django, Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz (who Waltz describes as “Richard Roundtree meets Clint Eastwood), and Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie, the film’s plantation-owning villain.
In the film, Waltz’s German Bounty Hunter, Dr. Schultz, frees Foxx’s Django in order to help exact some revenge on a group of men called the Brittle Brothers, who also happen to be Django’s former owners. In exchange, Schultz agrees to assist in Django in his quest to free his wife, played by Kerry Washington.
“Christoph’s character is a little aloof to what slavery actually is. He’s not familiar with everything, and when he sees atrocities, it’s Greek to him,” Foxx says. “But Django lets him know this is the way the world is and we got to get used to it. He teaches Django certain things he needs to become a whole man, and [Django] also teaches Christoph that when life deals you these cards, here’s what you’ve got to do.”
DiCaprio’s Calvin Candie sounds very similar to Daniel Day Lewis’ Bill the Butcher in GANGS OF NEW YORK. Candie is a business man and plantation owner who makes his toughest slaves fight to the death in gladiatorial combat on his plantation, called Candieland. Django and Schultz have to get in good with Candie in order to find a way to free Django’s wife.
The issue of slavery plays heavily into the film, but Foxx says that Tarantino has a good handle on how he’s approaching it. “There’s a beautiful way [Tarantino] found for the characters to talk to each other. It’s mindblowing. You’ve never heard it this way,” says Foxx. “You’ve seen movies deal with slavery — or westerns that never dealt with slavery – do it the safe way. This way is like … wow.”
However, the motives of Django have nothing to do with changing the world, merely his own world.
“All Django wants to do is get his wife,” Foxx says. “He’s not trying to cure or solve slavery. He just wants to get his life back.”
I’m looking forward to this for all the obvious reasons. Interestingly, I’m more stoked to see DiCaprio gnaw some scenery to the bone as this is his first true villain role. We’ve seen so many sides of DiCaprio already and the bad guy part is ripe for exploration from the actor.
DJANGO UNCHAINED opens on December 25, 2012.