I've just returned from our last Unscripted shoot here at Sundance, and I gotta boast, it was a helluva finale. While your typical Unscripted is usually a game of one-on-one, we couldn't resist adding an extra chair into the mix for the 'Blake Snake Moan's' leading threesome, Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci and Justin Timberlake.
Jackson entered our Main Street studio first, rocking all things purple – purple fleece, purple hat, purple scarf – like only Samuel L. Jackson could rock. (Never have I seen a man draped in so much purple and still thought, "Yep, he is a cool mutha f***er.") Ricci, the only Unscripted neophyte among the three, and JT quickly followed. After a brief photo shoot, the stars sat down to chat about their new drama, Craig Brewer's follow-up to the 2005 Sundance sensation 'Hustle & Flow.'
Ricci talked about researching the role of an abused woman and mastering a Southern accent, admitting she'd never even been to the South before. Jackson, who plays an aging bluesman, opined which of the genre's musicians should next be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And Timberlake, looking more and more comfortable in the acting (and movie-promoting) process, talked about shooting in his hometown of Memphis and who'd he play in a music biopic (he didn't say Michael Jackson, much to my dismay).
The shoot's funniest moment came when Timberlake hesitated before firing off a question from the teleprompter, looked off-camera and asked, "Can I really say all that?" Getting approval, he gestured toward Jackson: "Are there any mutha f***in' snakes in 'Black Snake Moan?'" Jackson repeated the question before retorting, "Only trouser snakes." JT chuckled. "I've had a few, but this is my coolest internet moment," he said.
Jackson wrapped up the interview, but not before Ricci gushed, "I liked this. I feel like I know so much more about you two." Timberlake echoed her sentiments. That's what we do here at Moviefone Unscripted, folks. We bring the stars closer together. Call for your appointment today.
