Michael Mann Felt Jamie Foxx Went Too Far in His ‘Miami Vice’ Love Scene: ‘I Can’t Shoot This’
Actor Jamie Foxx collaborated with Heat director Michael Mann for the film Miami Vice. The stylish feature would include a scene that required Foxx to be physically close with his love interest. But Foxx took creative liberties with the shot, which threw Mann into a panic.
Michael Mann couldn’t finish shooting Jamie Foxx’s love scene in ‘Miami Vice’
Foxx considered his love scene in Miami Vice to be a memorable experience. But it wasn’t so just because of Harris. Although Harris would be with Foxx to initiate the scene, Harris’ body-double would later be called in to complete the take. Foxx was as impressed with the body double’s physique as he was her professionalism.
“Her body was whoa,” Foxx once told The Sydney Morning Herald. “Whoever picked her was right on. She had never done it before. So, they were setting up the shot, hanging the lights, and she just walked on to the set, took her robe off and goes ‘Where do I go?’”
The Ray star and the body double seemed to perform a love scene so intense that it caught Mann off guard. The Collateral director confided to Foxx that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to finish the take because of the scene’s passion.
“I think it kind of took Michael by surprise, too, because there’s not a lot of times you see African Americans making love on screen,” Foxx said. “I thought it was great. When you’re using a body double you can really go to it. The first time he said action we were going at it. Then the covers come off. We’re both nude. Then I heard ‘Cut, cut’. Michael Mann came over and said ‘S***.’ I said ‘What’s wrong?’ He said ‘I don’t know if I can shoot this.’”
But Foxx felt the love scene accurately predicted that kind of wild relationship.
“I said ‘That’s black love, man. That’s how we do it. There’s jungle drums playing,’” he said.
Jamie Foxx wore a sock over his member for a nervous Naomie Harris
Although Harris had a body double to split her love scene with, she was still notably anxious about the take. It had been the first time in her career she performed any type of love scene on-screen. Between the novelty of the scene, and the amount of people on set watching her, the former Bond girl understandably had a lot to worry about.
“But, Michael was really great because he made sure that there were as few people as possible in the room, and Jamie was fantastic as well because he really tried to make me feel comfortable, and keep me laughing, as well, as much as possible,” Harris once said according to Female. “He presented me with a rather unusual present, while we were in the shower, about to do our nude scene together.”
To release some of the tension in the scene, Foxx opted to wear a sock over his private member. The joke added a humorous bit to the film, and fit Foxx’s idea of how he expected a married couple to operate.
“I thought the most important thing to do with this love scene is, nobody makes love . . . After you’ve been with someone for a period of years, its never like music and flowers and candles. No, its not like that. There’s a little bit of fun. You kind of know each other,” Foxx said.
Michael Mann only made ‘Miami Vice’ because of Jamie Foxx
Mann’s Miami Vice wasn’t on the filmmaker’s radar until Foxx brought it to his attention. Foxx saw a lot of potential in a film remake of the classic 1980s television series. And Foxx wouldn’t stop pestering Mann about his vision.
“When I talked to Michael Mann, and just learned about who Michael Mann was, I made a couple rookie mistakes, saying, ‘Why don’t you do Miami Vice? You did it as a television show. And, we do Jay-Z, and we do this and we do that.’ And, he was like, ‘Get out of here,’” Foxx said.
Eventually, Mann was convinced to do the project, casting Foxx and Colin Farrell in the lead roles.
