"Django Unchained," December 25th (Weinstein Co.):
This holiday season, writer/director Quentin Tarantino will launch another potentially controversial film in "Django Unchained," a western about a slave seeking revenge against an evil plantation owner.
Unlike his last film "Inglourious Basterds," which had Brad Pitt and mostly unknown foreign actors, this time Tarantino has an eye-popping cast of A-list stars to headline "Django Unchained."
Jamie Foxx stars as the freed slave, Christoph Waltz is a smooth talking bounty hunter, and Leonardo DiCaprio looks like he had fun playing the sinister Calvin Candie, the cocky plantation owner who holds Django's wife captive. Samuel L. Jackson is also on board as Candie's slave, marking his fourth collaboration with Tarantino.
Set in the Deep South at the tail end of slavery, "Django" seems to be Tarantino's homage to the spaghetti westerns he grew up on, something he also explored in "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."
Tarantino showed that he had a knack for delving into historical fiction with his incredibly successful "Inglourious Basterds," and "Django Unchained" looks like another great excuse to fill the screen with flashy characters loosely rooted in history.
The trailer for "Django Unchained" can be viewed through the movie's official site.
Box office outlook:
Tarantino's solo features have all been commercial successes, but it wasn't until "Inglourious Basterds" that he was able to fully reach mainstream audiences.
"Basterds" crossed over to earn $120 million domestically and more than $300 million worldwide, likely leading distributor Weinstein Co. to think it could happen again with "Django Unchained."
With its popular cast and Tarantino's clout, "Django Unchained" should end up as one of the top grossing R-rated films released in 2012.
by RTT Staff Writer
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