Samuel L. Jackson Once Felt ‘Snakes on a Plane’ Didn’t Do Well Because It Was Better Than Audiences Thought
Samuel L. Jackson had some pretty high hopes for the creature feature Snakes on a Plane. But the film didn’t meet certain expectations after its release, and Jackson theorized this was because it was perhaps too good.
Samuel L. Jackson thought ‘Snakes on a Plane’ would be a bigger success
Jackson was eager to do the movie Snakes on a Plane. He personally attached his name and star-power to the project, believing the film would be a solid time at the theaters. Up until the film’s release, there seemed to be much interest in the film, especially on the internet. The growing expectations for the film, Jackson believed, played a part in switching the film from rated PG-13 to rated R.
“Somebody woke up. They said, ‘Wait a minute.’ And it’s a better film. C’mon it makes no sense to make a film like this in this day and age and shoot it like it’s a 1960’s horror movie or cowboy movie. There are certain things that are requirements for horror films. If two people go in the bathroom to join the mile high club you’ve got to see the girl’s breast. That’s what people pay the money for,” Jackson once told Black Film.
Despite its popularity online, however, Snakes on a Plane performed moderately at the box-office. It also received an overall critic score of 69%, and an audience score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. Jackson was perplexed regarding the film’s performance, and felt the movie’s quality might have been the issue.
“It was one of those internet phenomena that kept building and building and by the time the film came out we realised people who sit at home and blog don’t actually go to the cinema because they’re on to blogging about the next movie. I also think it suffered from being a little better than people were expecting. Had it been a bit cheesier or worse cinematically, it might have been a bigger cult hit,” Jackson said in an interview with Total Film.
‘ER’ star Julianna Margulies expected ‘Snakes on a Plane’ to go straight to DVD
Not everyone shared Jackson’s optimism about the project. ER alum Julianna Margulies also joined Jackson on his battle with Snakes. The actor admitted that Jackson was the main selling point behind doing the feature after obtaining the script.
“I was laughing, to be honest, because I could not believe this was an actual movie that was going to happen,” Margulies once told TV Guide. “But seeing that Sam was doing it elevated it. Samuel L. Jackson to me is one of our finest, so, after meeting the director, I was like, ‘OK, you guys are great. This is going to be a fun way to spend three months. And whatever happens, I can die happy saying I worked with Samuel L. Jackson.’”
Margulies also had fond memories of Jackson, who she remarked as a consummate professional. But unlike the Pulp Fiction star, she didn’t have high hopes for the film’s performance. And was surprised by its hype.
“When we left [the shoot], I was like, ‘OK, that’s going straight to DVD,'” she recalled. “I was grateful for the work, and I went on to do Broadway [costarring in Festen]… but then Snakes on a Plane became this huge thing.”
Samuel L. Jackson recently revealed the original title for ‘Snakes on a Plane’
After Jackson signed onto the project, the movie was in the process of getting a new title.
“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,’” Jackson recently recalled to Vulture. “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.’”
