How did Samuel L. Jackson's shocking and best scene in "Deep Blue Sea" come about? *Note! Contains spoilers.

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2021.08.30Atsunobu Ushizu

What was the influence of the 70's masterpiece "Alien"?

Furthermore, the character structure of the members who engage in a deadly battle with sharks at the maritime research institute is said to be based on the character settings of ` `Alien ' ' (1979), a legendary work from the 1970s that rivals ``Jaws.''

Now that you mention it, the crew of the spaceship Nostromo was also made up of actors who could not be called famous, with the most well-known actor being Tom Skerritt, who played the role of the captain (Sigourney Weaver). (He was still a newcomer). The character of the captain, who is experienced and can be relied upon in times of crisis, is certainly similar to the character played by Samuel in this film. It is clear that the popularity of the other members other than him is almost the same, which has created a thrilling situation where it is completely unpredictable who will survive.

If you think about it, there are few actors who can play similar types of roles for as long as Samuel L. Jackson and continue to captivate audiences. What's more, it's great that he can readily accept an idea like this one, which can be called a self-parody, and say, "That's interesting! I'm on board with it!" He can be said to be an actor who is good at accurately assessing situations and striking a balance between what the audience wants and what he himself wants to achieve.

By the way, during the filming of this movie, when he learned that he would not be appearing in the movie, he would often go to a nearby golf course (this was also a condition of his appearance). He also appears in the DVD's audio commentary to tell behind-the-scenes stories, but when his turn is over, he simply leaves the scene and says, ``This is the end of my turn.'' I don't really like waste, or rather, even when I'm not there, my presence stands out.

In the end, no matter what you do, everything ends up being taken away. This is why Samuel is Samuel. After all, there is no other Hollywood actor as unique and special as him.

*1) Samuel's big speech: According to one theory, this scene was an extremely long one with seven pages of dialogue, and that Samuel himself wanted him to ``Please kill me quickly.'' As a result, after taking into consideration the opinions of those involved who had seen the test screening, they decided to kill Samuel much earlier than planned, at a time when it seemed like a good time, and it turned out to be a great fit.

Reference materials

“Deep Blue Sea” DVD audio commentary (distributor: Warner Home Video)

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58020/17-fun-facts-about-deep-blue-sea

https://www.avclub.com/samuel-l-jackson-hated-his-big-deep-blue-sea-speech-w-1836824733

https://beforesandafters.com/2019/07/24/deep-blue-sea-samuel-l-jackson-sharks-death/

Text: USHIZU ATSUNOBU

Born in Nagasaki in 1977. When he was 3 years old, he saw ``Superman II'' with his father and became fascinated with movies. After The Graduate from Meiji University, he worked for a movie broadcasting channel and then became a movie writer. Currently, in addition to writing for Eiga.com, EYESCREAM, Real Sound Movie Club, etc., he also contributes to media press and theater programs.

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"Deep Blue Sea"

Blu-ray 2,619 yen (tax included) / DVD special edition 1,572 yen (tax included)

Publisher: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Distributor: NBC Universal Entertainment

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