Does Richard Roundtree hate/regret being apart of this movie?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Shaft
TMC-4 — 11 years ago(March 25, 2015 09:35 PM)
I don't know who else saw TV One's
Unsung Hollywood
about him, but that was the vibe that I immediately got afterwards.
Basically, when he was first told by John Singleton, the director, about the project a year prior to the start of production, it was to be about him in the leading role and his son. After the studio couldn't find what they considered to be a bankable young black actor to play John Shaft's son, it was retooled into being about Shaft's nephew, played by Samuel L. Jackson.
Roundtree seemed to be awfully perturbed that not only was he relegated to a supporting role (after initially being led to believe that he was going to be the lead), but he was playing Samuel L. Jackson's uncle even though in real life, they aren't that far apart age-wise.
http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/851409-Unsung-Hollywood-Richard-Roundtree -
spookyrat1 — 10 years ago(February 26, 2016 04:41 AM)
The only films Roundtree ever headlined were those involving Shaft. I could never imagine him drawing the crowds to a sequel made nearly 30 years after the original film. All films go through changes in development and pre-production. I really liked Jackson in the role, though apparently he fought with the director. I also thought Roundtree ended up receiving a pretty generous (and welcome) support role, compared to many other "original stars" working in the same sort of tribute situation.