‘DJANGO UNCHAINED’ Loses Kurt Russell and Sacha Baron Cohen. OH WELL.

I’m pretty friggin’ stoked for Django Unchained, and there isn’t much that can be done to deflate my excitement. So while two actors I am not disinclined to rub-up upon have left, I shall continue with my jittery smirks when contemplating this flick.

Slashfilm:

Cohen announced his exit during an appearance on the Howard Stern show (via The Playlist). The actor explained that while he’d been set for a cameo, he had to pull out of Django Unchained due to scheduling conflicts with his current press tour for The Dictator. In addition, Cohen is also working on Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, which is currently shooting in London. Cohen had been cast in Django Unchained as Scotty, a weak young man whose father buys him a female slave (Kerry Washington).

Variety’s Jeff Sneider was the first to break news of Russell’s departure. Russell was set to play Ace Woody, a sadistic slave trainer. While Sneider did not give a reason for Russell’s leaving the project, The Film Stage has picked up on a rumor circulating the IMDb forums that Russell was unhappy with the film for not being “western enough.” The source floating the story, who claims to know someone on set, also says that Ace won’t be replaced, but simply cut out of the film altogether. Whether or not that’s true – and obviously, this kind of stuff needs to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt – no replacements have been announced for either role at this time.

No Snake. No Borat. Clear Hearts. Ultra-violent Minds. It’ll Still Rule.