Owen Wilson Declined $12 Million for Movie About O.J. Simpson's Innocence
Owen Wilson reportedly turned down a lucrative eight-figure deal to star in a movie about O.J. Simpson’s potential innocence.
According to director Joshua Newton, who has been working on a satirical film about Simpson called The Juice since 2015, Wilson, 55, was approached to play real-life attorney Douglas McCann — who became immersed in conspiracy theories about Simpson during the former football star’s 1995 murder trial — in the movie.
“Owen Wilson was perfect for the role,” Newton told The Hollywood Reporter in a story published Wednesday, April 24. “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.”
With the offer on the table, however, Wilson made his intentions very clear.
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Newton continued, “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.’”
With Wilson out of the running, Newton said he found another actor who is “spot on” for the role. However, he wouldn’t name any names.
Whoever snagged the role of McCann will join Station 19 star Boris Kodjoe, who is playing Simpson, and actress Charlotte Kirk, who is playing his ex-wife Nicole Brown.
Newton said roughly 30 minutes of the movie has already been completed, a snippet of which can be seen in a teaser released Tuesday, April 23.
In the clip, Kodjoe can be seen strapped to an electric chair with sparks shooting off the sides of his head and smoke billowing from his mouth.
“Think of the real O.J.,” Kodjoe says while stuttering. “Not this lost person.”
The teaser ends with a title card reading: “Feel better now? You haven’t seen anything yet.”
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Originally titled Nicole & O.J., the movie has been in development for years. Back in 2018, People released first-look photos of Kodjoe and Kirk as Simpson and Brown, respectively.
“Boris is the same height as O.J., very tall, a very athletic presence,” producer Stephen Small told the outlet at the time. “He transformed himself, changed his voice, he sounds pretty amazing.”
Newton is hoping to finish the movie by the end of this year for a release date in 2025.
Simpson died of prostate cancer on April 10. He was 76 years old.
In October 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the murders of both Brown and Goldman. A civil lawsuit was subsequently filed by the Brown and Goldman families, which ultimately found Simpson liable. Simpson was ordered to pay the families $33.5 million, almost all of which was left unpaid at the time of his death.
