Owen Wilson rejected $12 million to appear in movie defending OJ Simpson
The movie industry isn’t a place where a hot talking point will be actively ignored when there’s the potential to make money out of it, but despite the proposed riches on offer, Owen Wilson flat-out refused to star in a movie that would paint O.J. Simpson as being an innocent man.
The former NFL player, occasional actor, and murder suspect passed away from prostate cancer on April 10th, 2024 at the age of 76, but the movie Wilson rejected has been in the works a lot longer than that, although it’s easy to see why it’s become something of a priority again.
As far back as 2013, writer and director Joshua Newton signalled his intention to make a film about Simpson, which at the time was titled An American Mystery. The plot was set to present several other suspects with established motives and opportunities to murder Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Shooting began in 2018 with Boris Kodjoe playing ‘The Juice’, and it was announced for release in March 2019 after being rebranded as Nicole & O.J. That didn’t happen, and the film went uncompleted, but in a brazen attempt to capitalise on its subject’s death, it was announced the project had been given yet another new title, with a teaser trailer promising The Juice will be releasing in 2025.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker Newton revealed he’d approached Wilson about potentially playing the role of Douglas McCann, the attorney to went down the rabbit hole of trying to unravel the countless conspiracy theories that emerged in the face of Simpson’s heavily-publicised trial and subsequent acquittal.
Calling the comedic star “perfect for the role,” Newton even met with Wilson to discuss the part. “His agent wanted him to do it,” he said. “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.”
Far from being dissuaded by Wilson’s rejection, Newton has carried on shooting The Juice with a release date in mind. Neatly summing up the intentions behind the production, the director confirmed he has his eyes set on October 3rd, 2025 for the finished film to be rolled out to audiences around the world, which marks exactly 30 years to the day since Simpson’s not guilty verdict was confirmed.
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