The one scene Samuel L Jackson didn’t want to shoot: “That was like a big argument”
When you’ve been in as many movies as Samuel L Jackson, you’ve done just about everything there is to do on the big screen. A superhero, a hitman, a dinosaur park employee, a megalomaniacal tech billionaire, a snake-plagued airline passenger—Big Sam has truly been there, done that, and probably has the T-shirt to prove it.
He’s also not averse to playing the long arm of the law, of course, given that Jackson appeared in the 2008 film Lakeview Terrace, directed by Nick LaBute. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he directed the god-awful Wicker Man remake in 2006. Jackson plays a member of the LAPD named Abel Turner. When Turner discovers that an interracial couple, Chris and Lisa, is living next door, his prejudices rear their ugly heads, and he decides to make their lives a living hell. This would be a challenging role for anyone to take on, let alone someone whose race has been such a big part of so much of his career.
The final scene of the film is an interesting one. Abel confronts Chris, intending to kill him, but hides his gun when the police turn up. Chris cleverly taunts his aggressor, which results in Abel taking out his gun and shooting his neighbour, only to be gunned down by his own colleagues. It’s a clever ending, one of the better parts of a thoroughly average vehicle. However, its star had something to say about it.
“That was one way that the movie could end,” Jackson told Radio Free when discussing the project. “That was like a big argument between me and the producers for a minute, because I didn’t want him to die. Because in real life, cops take care of cops… I kept saying, ‘What if everybody gets arrested, and two weeks later, here these two guys are out watering their lawns, and they’re just staring at each other, like, ‘Fuck you.’ Because that’s the way life goes… Cops get away with shit, because cops take care of cops… But they kept saying, ‘Well, the audience needs to see the bad guy die.’”
Jackson raises an excellent point, one that has only become more relevant with age. A movie with a deeper script might have tackled this issue with more nuance, exploring the idea of corruption within the police or making a point about race relations. Unfortunately, this one just wanted to wrap everything up in a neat little bow. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it left a lot on the table.
The foul-mouthed icon clearly has no problem portraying police officers. He’s played a cop in a number of different films, including in the memorable opening to The Other Guys. Sure, he was only in the film for about 90 seconds, but it still counts. He’s also admitted to being a fan of the TV show SWAT and starred in the 2003 movie version.
This might not have been the ending Jackson wanted for Lakeview Terrace, but luckily, this is a largely overlooked part of his film career. It could have been a lot worse. Given the director he was working for, he’s lucky he didn’t end up with a load of bees on his head…
