Samuel L. Jackson insisted on his famous Snakes on a Plane line

Samuel L. Jackson has had it with these motherf*ckin’ snakes on this motherf*ckin’ plane! It might be the single greatest movie line of the 21st century, but it almost didn’t happen. We all know how it came about: fans of Jackson’s had to hear him say “motherf*cker” at some point in Snakes on a Plane, but since it was a PG-13, that would be a no-go, lest it be bumped to an R. But it wasn’t just fans who demanded it: it was Jackson himself.

Samuel L. Jackson recently sat down with GQ to discuss some of his more iconic movies – and yes, Snakes on a Plane was featured in the same video as Pulp Fiction, Star Wars and his Marvel outings. On the topic of Snakes on a Plane, Jackson said he was strapped in and ready to defend the line. “They were trying to make a PG-13 movie, and you can only have one ‘f*ck’ or some sh*t like that…And I told them, ‘Look, I gotta say ‘motherf*cker’ in this movie. There’s motherf*cking snakes all over this plane.’ They’re like, ‘Aw Sam, we just…come on! No.’ I said, ‘OK, fine.’ We wrap. They test the movie, test the movie. All of a sudden, we gotta do a reshoot. It cost them a bunch of money to get that ‘motherf*cker.’”

Considering the term is Jackson’s trademark – hell, he said it three times in that pull quote alone! – it had to be in there. And with the urging from both fans and himself, we got an amazing line and proof that sometimes the internet can join together for the greater good. With that, Snakes on a Plane took off into immediate cult status. So, too, did the TV-friendly edit of its most famous line: “I have it with with these monkey-fightin’ snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!”

Samuel L. Jackson has been a champion of Snakes on a Plane for as long as the idea had been circling around Hollywood. While the concept does go back to the ‘90s, once it hit the trades, Jackson knew he had to be a part of it, a decision that nobody believed. As he also recalled on coming aboard, “I called Ronny [Yu, the film‘s original director] and I said, ‘So are you doing a movie called Snakes on a Plane? He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ I was like, ‘What is it?’ He was like, ‘Well, some poisonous snakes get loose on a plane.’ I said, ‘Oh sh*t! Can I be in it?’ He’s like, ‘Seriously?’ I was like, ‘Yes! I don’t give a fuck. You can bite me first. I just wanna be in it.’ And he called New Line and they’re like, ‘You wanna be in the movie?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, f*ck yeah.’” Yu would end up being replaced by David R. Ellis.

Are you a fan of Snakes on a Plane? What about it do you think made it a success with fans?