Owen Wilson Turned Down Millions For An OJ Simpson Movie For One Reason
There's an O.J. Simpson movie in the works, and you may not be shocked to learn that veteran actor Owen Wilson simply wasn't interested in the project.
In the Rambling Reporter column in The Hollywood Reporter, which rounds up random tidbits of entertainment news, the outlet spoke to Joshua Newton, a British director who has reportedly filmed about half an hour of "The Juice," a "satirical thriller" that he originally titled "Nicole and O.J." Charlotte Kirk and Boris Kodjoe play Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson, respectively, and Newton says that he had a much higher-profile star in mind for a role. Apparently, the main plot of the film focuses on Douglas McCann, an attorney who ends up embroiled in conspiracy theories surrounding the troubled football star.
"Owen Wilson was perfect for the role," Newton told the outlet. "I actually had a meeting with him in Santa Monica. Everybody loved the script. His agent wanted him to do it. We offered him $12 million. But at the end of the lunch, Owen stood up and said, 'If you think I'm going to take the lead role in a movie about how O.J. didn't do it, you've got to be kidding me.'"
Newton went on to say that he found an ideal actor to play McCann, though he didn't reveal their identity, and said he also hoped to shoot more of this film soon.
O.J. Simpson died in the spring of 2024 after a controversial life
Once known as a football all-star (who played as a running back in the NFL for teams like the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers) and an erstwhile actor who appeared in the original "Naked Gun" films, O.J. Simpson's assorted achievements have been (rightfully) overshadowed ever since he was arrested for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. The initial trial took place in 1995, and Simpson was acquitted, but suspicions that he did commit the murders followed him for the remainder of his life. (Simpson was, incidentally, found liable for damages and ordered to pay Brown and Goldman's families a combined sum of $33.5 million, but never completed the payments in full and the amount has tripled.) Simpson was ultimately arrested in 2007 for breaking into a Las Vegas casino and stealing sports memorabilia that he claimed belonged to him; he was sentenced in 2008 and released from his prison sentence in 2018. In the midst of all of this, he wrote a book called "If I Did It" about Brown and Goldman's murders, which certainly didn't improve public perception.
On April 11, Simpson's family released a statement saying that the public figure had passed away due to complications from cancer. Remembrances of Simpson have all remarked upon his constant legal battles and the suspicion regarding Brown and Goldman's murders that constantly followed him, and director Joshua Newton's film "The Juice" certainly sounds like it will rehash the case once again.
Owen Wilson is a Hollywood A-lister — with plenty of opportunities ahead of him
It seems relatively safe to say that, even without "The Juice," Owen Wilson's career is doing just fine. The actor — whose brothers Luke and Andrew are also actors — works extensively with auteur Wes Anderson, appearing in several of his films (including "The Royal Tenenbaums," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," and Anderson's recent critical darling "The French Dispatch") as well as comedies like "Zoolander" (and its unpopular sequel), "Starsky & Hutch," and "Wedding Crashers."
In recent years, Wilson has returned as a romantic leading man in Jennifer Lopez's vehicle "Marry Me," showed up in the major ensemble horror-comedy "The Haunted Mansion," and perhaps most importantly, joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wilson plays Mobius M. Mobius on the Disney+ original series "Loki" alongside Tom Hiddleston, reprising his role as the trickster god from multiple MCU films, and the two make an incredibly charming team (not to mention the fact that Hiddleston and Wilson actually worked together once before on the film "Midnight in Paris"). If "Loki" returns for Season 3, it feels incredibly likely that Wilson will return ... and we know he won't appear in "The Juice," in any case.