Samuel L. Jackson fought to keep the 'Snakes on a Plane' film title from being changed.
Samuel L. Jackson fought to keep the name Snakes on a Plane
The actor starred in the 2006 action horror which features passengers fighting a horde of venomous villains which had been placed on the aircraft by a gang boss in an attempt to cause a crash - and he's now revealed studio bosses wanted to give the film a more generic name to keep the snakes a secret but he wasn't happy about it.
Speaking to Vulture, the 74-year-old actor explained he was excited about signing on for the movie because of the title, saying: "When I heard about 'Snakes on a Plane', I had just done 'Formula 51' with the director [Ronny Yu]. So I called him, was like: 'Are you going to do a movie called 'Snakes on a Plane'? Is it what I think it is?'
"He’s like: 'Yes, it’s a plane full of poisonous snakes turned loose'. I’m like: 'Oh s***, can I be in that?'"
Samuel went on to explain things started to change after the director left the project, so he was left fighting to keep the name.
He added: "I signed on, and then I don’t know what happened. In the midst of all that, the director got fired. I was like: 'Oh, well I’m still going to do it. F*** that.'
"When I got there, they were trying to change the name of it to something like 'Pacific Flight 121': 'Cause we don’t want to give it away.' I was like: 'That’s exactly what you want to do! Hell is wrong with you? I signed up for 'Snakes on a Plane' and I guarantee you that audiences will be way more excited about 'Snakes on a Plane' than 'Pacific Flight 121'."
The name 'Snakes on a Plane' stayed and the film ended up being directed by David R. Ellis, who also helmed two of the 'Final Destination' movies as well as 'Shark Night'.
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