- Title: USA: FILM PREMIERE OF NEW VERSION OF "SHAFT" STARRING SAMUEL L JACKSON
- Date: 2nd June 2000
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 2) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) VANESSA WILLIAMS SAYING I think the casting worked great. I think Samuel has the charisma and the strength to make it his own and it's not a parody. He's not doing Richard again, but he's his own man and making Shaft his own.
- Embargoed: 17th June 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, AND NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAABUF2636FV7YGC57I7RE4VACX
- Story Text: Almost 30 years after actor Richard Roundtree broke racial stereotypes by playing an African-American action hero in 1971's "Shaft," Oscar nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson is back on the big screen as his nephew in the new version, also titled "Shaft."
Take a few crooked cops on the take and then add a few small time drug lords and you have what many would believe to be a typical Hollywood cops and bad guy film.
But this no ordinary movie, this is "Shaft," a movie based on the popular 1971 film by the same name.
The original "Shaft" was released in 1971 and Isaac Hayes won an Academy award for his theme song to the film. The song has been immensely popular ever since and Hayes says that he has never been able to separate himself from the song, "When you say Shaft you say Isaac Hayes and when you say Shaft you say Isaac Hayes, so it's a good thing it added a lot of fuel to my career it really did and then winning all the honors and everything it's just a wonderful thing."
Samuel L. Jackson stars in the title role with Vanessa Williams as his colleague on the police force and Busta Rhymes as his street wise confidant. Rhymes says that he clearly remembers seeing the original film,
"The first time I seen it it I was seven years old, it was the first movie where I had seen a black hero."
The new version of "Shaft" has a very new plot. A spoiled rich kid kills a young black student and after Shaft makes the arrest the kid jumps bail. When Shaft hauls the kid in once again he is able to get away and this time he is trying to kill Shaft with the help of a few corrupt cops. Drug lords are also after Shaft to add to the excitement and action of the film.
The original "Shaft" was portrayed by Richard Roundtree. He is also featured in the new film as Shaft's uncle. Roundtree says that he was never able to lose the stigma of having been Shaft in the 1971 hit film, "Twenty-four - seven I've been so associated with that character which has been a good thing and on some levels a bad thing, so it was wonderful for me at this time to pass it on to someone like Samuel L. Jackson to carry that mantle."
The director of the new "Shaft," John Singleton was not on hand for the premiere but the director of the original film, Gordon Parks was able to make it.
Among the celebrities able to attend the premiere were Wesley Snipes, Puff Daddy and supermodel, Roshomba, cast members Jackson, Roundtree, Vanessa Williams, Christian Bale, Toni Collette and rap star Busta Rhymes.
Many of the elements that turned the 1971 "Shaft" into a cult hit are retained in this new version, including the familiar music, the gritty setting of the Harlem neighborhood of New York City and John Shaft's stylish Armani fashions.
Of course, the plotline has changed. Instead of following the exploits of super-suave New York City police detective John Shaft, played again in this version by Richard Roundtree, the film focuses on his nephew, also a tough-as-nails cop named John Shaft, played by Samuel L.
Jackson.
For Roundtree, it was a relief after 30 years to hand off the mantle of John Shaft to a younger generation.
Roundtree has been associated with the role ever since its release in 1971. To this day, when he walks down the street, people call him "Shaft."
Jackson says that the original "Shaft" was a milestone in Hollywood history because it was the first time an African American played the heroic lead in a big screen studio film.
It also made its director, Gordon Parks a hero of sorts to young black filmmakers, John Singleton included.
In fact, Singleton, who was the first African-American ever nominated for a Best Director Oscar for his film "Boyz N the Hood," says that he has modeled his life and career on that of Parks.
There are some changes in the new version. Jackson feels that his "Shaft" is more violent than the original, reflecting the more violent times we live in.
But the sexuality has been toned way down, reportedly at the request of studio executives at Paramount Pictures.
In fact, recent reports have cited conflicts between Singleton and the studio over their desire to minimize Shaft's womanizing, which was one of the central elements of the original 1971 character.
"Shaft" opens in theaters throughout the United States on Friday, June 16. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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