Samuel L. Jackson Says Film Editing Screwed Him Out Of An Oscar Award
Samuel L Jackson may be one of the most recognized and beloved screen actors in the history of modern cinema. Despite his status as a world-renowned household name, it may surprise film fans to know that the bad MF-er has never won an Oscar. According to a write-up in Deadline, Jackson blames the use of excessive editing for ruining one Oscar-worthy performance he delivered in Joel Schumacher’s 1996 film A Time To Kill.
Samuel L. Jackson thinks his best performance in A Time To Kill was left on the cutting room floor.
According to comments by Samuel L Jackson, a great deal of his incredible performance in the film was left on the cutting room floor, including an entire scene that he claims left everybody on set in tears. Despite initial feelings of shock and anger regarding the scene being cut, Samuel L Jackson eventually realized why it was necessary for the progression of the film in the final edit.
In Samuel L Jackson’s understanding, the scene was removed from the film because his character wasn’t as crucial to the plot as some of the others, and the script wasn’t designed to make him the film’s breakout star. Of course, this editing bay adjustment caused a number of issues with the ethos of Jackson’s character within the film, seemingly undercutting his entire motivation.
In A Time To Kill, Samuel L Jackson plays Carl Lee Hailey, a despondent father of a 10-year old girl who is brutally abducted and sexually assaulted by a pair of racist white men. In response to both the assault and the justice department’s failure to prosecute the men responsible, Hailey enters the courthouse and shoots the men to death in front of a number of witnesses.
The bulk of the film centers around the following legal battle for Hailey’s freedom, with Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Spacey portraying Hailey’s legal counsel and state District Attorney, respectively.
Despite initial feelings of shock and anger regarding the scene being cut, Samuel L. Jackson eventually realized why it was necessary for the progression of the film in the final edit.
Samuel L Jackson recognized that the film centers mostly around the star-power of McConaughey and Spacey, affording the editing team some leeway for cutting a number of the nuance from his performance.
However, as Jackson explained, the edit removes a pivotal speech in which his character explains exactly why he felt it necessary to kill the men. Without this speech, Jackson’s behavior comes off more like that of a man attempting to cheat the justice system for committing murder than a man seeking true justice in the face of a corrupt court.
The film opened to a wide box office turnout and mostly positive reviews, with many praising Samuel L Jackson’s performance. Of course, despite the fanfare he inspired, there was little to no Oscar buzz for Jackson in the film’s wake. Perhaps the full and unedited cut could have truly swayed crowds and had Samuel L Jackson going head to head against his co-star, Kevin Spacey, who won the Best Supporting Actor that year for his work on The Usual Suspects.
Samuel L. Jackson has never won an Academy Award, but he’s happy with his career even without one.
In 2021, Samuel L Jackson was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for his outstanding work in film, though he, like many others, has long since lost faith in the Oscars. These days, Jackson says he has very little interest in winning an Academy Award, as he has found happiness and fulfillment in his career without one.
