Development In 2007,
Quentin Tarantino discussed an idea for a type of
spaghetti Western set in the
United States of America's pre-
American Civil War Deep South. He called this type of film "a Southern", stating that he wanted: Tarantino later explained the genesis of the idea: Tarantino finished the script on April 26, 2011, and handed in the final draft to
the Weinstein Company (TWC). In October 2012, frequent Tarantino collaborator
RZA said that he and Tarantino had intended to
cross over Django Unchained with RZA's Tarantino-presented martial-arts film
The Man with the Iron Fists. The crossover would have seen a younger version of the blacksmith character from RZA's film appear as a slave in an auction. However, scheduling conflicts prevented RZA's participation. One inspiration for the film is Corbucci's 1966 Spaghetti Western
Django, whose star
Franco Nero has a
cameo appearance in
Django Unchained. Another inspiration is the 1975 film
Mandingo, about a slave trained to fight other slaves. "
Silenzio takes place in the snow. I liked the action in the snow so much,
Django Unchained has a big snow section in the middle," Tarantino said in an interview. The title
Django Unchained alludes to the titles of the 1966 Corbucci film
Django;
Hercules Unchained, the American title for the 1959 Italian epic fantasy film
Ercole e la regina di Lidia, about the mythical hero's escape from enslavement to a wicked master; and to
Angel Unchained, the 1970 American biker film about a biker exacting revenge on a large group of
rednecks.
Casting Among those considered for the title role of Django,
Michael K. Williams,
Will Smith, and
Idris Elba were mentioned as possibilities, but in the end
Jamie Foxx was cast in the role. Smith later said he turned down the role because it "wasn't the lead" and was "not for me," but stated he thought the movie was brilliant.
Tyrese Gibson sent in an audition tape as the character.
Franco Nero, the original Django from the
1966 Italian film, was rumored for the role of Calvin Candie, but instead was given a cameo appearance as a minor character. Nero suggested that he play a mysterious horseman who haunts Django in visions and is revealed in an ending flashback to be Django's father; Tarantino opted not to use the idea.
Kevin Costner was in negotiations to join as Ace Woody, a Mandingo trainer and Candie's right-hand man, but Costner dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Kurt Russell was cast instead but also later left the role. When Kurt Russell dropped out, the role of Ace Woody was not recast; instead, the character was merged with
Walton Goggins's character, Billy Crash.
Jonah Hill was offered the role of Scotty Harmony, a gambler who loses to Candie in a poker game, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with
The Watch. Sacha Baron Cohen was also offered the role, but declined in order to appear in
Les Misérables. Neither Scotty nor the poker game appear in the final cut of the film.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt said that he "would have loved, loved to have" been in the film but would be unable to appear because of a prior commitment to direct his first film,
Don Jon.
Costume design In a January 2013 interview with
Vanity Fair, costume designer
Sharen Davis said much of the film's wardrobe was inspired by spaghetti Westerns and other works of art. For Django's wardrobe, Davis and Tarantino watched the television series
Bonanza and referred to it frequently. The pair even hired the hatmaker who designed the hat worn by the
Bonanza character Little Joe, played by
Michael Landon. Davis described Django's look as a "rock-n-roll take on the character". Django's sunglasses were inspired by
Charles Bronson's character in
The White Buffalo (1977). Davis used
Thomas Gainsborough oil painting
The Blue Boy () as a reference for Django's valet outfit. In the final scene, wears a dress similar to that of
Ida Galli's character in
Blood for a Silver Dollar (1965). Davis said the idea of Calvin Candie's costume came partly from
Rhett Butler, and that Don Johnson's signature
Miami Vice look inspired Big Daddy's cream-colored linen suit in the film. King Schultz's faux chinchilla coat was inspired by
Telly Savalas in
Kojak. Davis also revealed that many of her costume ideas did not make the final cut of the film, leaving some unexplained characters such as Zoë Bell's tracker, who was intended to drop her bandana to reveal an absent jaw.
Filming Principal photography for
Django Unchained started in California in November 2011 continuing in Wyoming in February 2012 and at the National Historic Landmark
Evergreen Plantation in
Wallace, Louisiana, outside of
New Orleans, in March 2012. The film was shot in the
anamorphic format on
35 mm film. Although originally scripted, a sub-plot centering on Zoë Bell's masked tracker was cut, and remained unfilmed, due to time constraints. After 130 shooting days, the film wrapped up principal photography in July 2012.
Kerry Washington sought to bring authenticity to her performance in several ways. The actor playing her overseer used a fake whip, but Washington insisted the lashings really hit her back. And to dramatize her punishment inside an underground, coffin-size metal container, she and Tarantino agreed she would spend time barely clothed in the "hot box" before the filming began so the feeling of confinement would be as realistic as possible.
Django Unchained was the first Tarantino film not edited by
Sally Menke, who died in 2010. Editing duties were instead handled by
Fred Raskin, who had worked as an assistant editor on Tarantino's
Kill Bill. Raskin was nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Editing but lost to
William Goldenberg for his work on
Argo.
Broken glass incident During the scene when DiCaprio's character explains
phrenology, DiCaprio cut his left hand upon striking the table and smashing a small glass. Despite his hand bleeding profusely, DiCaprio barely reacted and remained in character under the astonished eyes of his fellow actors. He is seen taking out pieces of broken glass from his hand during the scene. After Tarantino's cut, there was a standing ovation by the other actors to praise DiCaprio's performance despite the incident; Tarantino, therefore, decided to keep this sequence in the final cut. DiCaprio is seen with his left hand bandaged in the scene after when he is signing Broomhilda's papers. Contrary to popular belief, DiCaprio wiped fake blood on Washington's face in a separate take.
Music for
spaghetti Western films of the 1960s and 1970s. The film features both original and existing music tracks. Tracks composed specifically for the film include "100 Black Coffins" by
Rick Ross and produced by and featuring Jamie Foxx, "Who Did That To You?" by
John Legend, "
Ancora qui" by
Ennio Morricone and
Elisa, and "Freedom" by
Anthony Hamilton and
Elayna Boynton. The theme, "Django", was also the theme song of the 1966 film. Musician
Frank Ocean wrote an original song for the film's soundtrack, but it was rejected by Tarantino, who explained that "Ocean wrote a fantastic ballad that was truly lovely and poetic in every way, but there just wasn't a scene for it." Ocean later published the song, entitled "
Wiseman", on his
Tumblr blog. The film also features a few famous pieces of
western classical music, including
Beethoven's "
Für Elise" and "Dies Irae" from
Verdi's Requiem. Tarantino has stated that he avoids using full scores of original music: "I just don't like the idea of giving that much power to anybody on one of my movies." The film's soundtrack album was released on December 18, 2012. but later agreed to compose an original film score for Tarantino's
The Hateful Eight in 2015. In a scholarly essay on the film's music,
Hollis Robbins notes that the vast majority of film music borrowings comes from films made between 1966 and 1974 and argues that the political and musical resonances of these allusions situate
Django Unchained squarely in the Vietnam and Watergate era, during the rise and decline of Black Power cinema.
Jim Croce's hit "
I Got a Name" was featured in the soundtrack. ==Release==