7 Things We Learned About the 'Magnificent Seven' Remake Starring Denzel Washington

If there's anything cooler than Denzel Washington firing a six-shooter, we don't wanna know about it.

That was just one of the very exciting things we saw during an edit visit to Antoine Fuqua's remake of "The Magnificent Seven." The much-anticipated fall release -- its first trailer hits today -- reunites the "Training Day" team of director Fuqua, Denzel and Ethan Hawke as they attempt to bring this classic Western to new audiences that are more accustomed to their heroes wearing Iron Man suits than ten-gallon hats.

But judging by the exclusive footage Fuqua screened for us, if the movie succeeds at anything it's delivering the type of gunplay and likable characters ticket buyers can't wait to see on opening weekend.

In the remake, Denzel inherits the iconic Yul Brenner role of team leader, overseeing a diverse crew of hired guns that include Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Byung-Hun Lee. The seven enlist to protect a small town's population from the greedy and tyrannical industrialist Bogue, played by "made-to-be-a-villain" Peter Sarsgaard. Securing a diverse cast was important to the director in terms of distinguishing the remake from the original for modern audiences.

"Having a diverse cast, I loved it," Fuqua said. "It felt right to use diversity to fight tyranny."
In fact, the idea of Denzel in the lead role was one of the first things the director pitched when MGM asked him for what his version of this remake would look like. He also promised to shoot it on anamorphic film, which was on vivid display in the footage we saw showing the seven riding across the plain, all silhouetted against the sun. Kinda badass.

Even more badass was the team's seemingly first encounter with some of Bogue's enforcers in the town of Rose Creek. It's here we find out that each of the Seven stand out due to the weapons they use, as Washington slowly approaches the lead goon and is forced to draw down. Pratt's Josh Farraday is the silent-but-cocky type, and a very quick draw. D'Onofrio is a drunken (but effective) ax wielder, delivering some nasty deathblows -- but keeping it very PG-13.

Lee is the throwing knife expert and Hawke plays Goodnight, an ex-Civil War hero (and sharpshooter) suffering from what would now be called PTSD. He can't bring himself to fire his rifle in a key moment, as one of the bad guys gets away. His face twitches and sweats with adrenaline, as his gun hand quakes with fear. He and Farraday do not get along as a result of his inaction, their animosity boiling over in a scene where the two are trying to train the locals how to fight and shoot.

The scene-stealer was Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), a character not in the original film. He is the Native American equivalent of the Avengers' Hawkeye -- a badass bow and arrow expert. If the test screening reactions Fuqua witnessed are any indication, expect Red Harvest to emerge as a fan-favorite.
While shown largely out of context, the scenes we saw set up the tone and world of "Seven" very well. It's a PG-13 Western, as Fuqua always intended it to be. But it's "right on the edge," the director said. "We're not going for gore." Washington is great, as always. The only member of the Seven that felt "off" was Pratt. His performance felt like watching Andy Dwyer doing Burt Macklin do an impersonation of someone doing an Eastwood impersonation. It seemed a little stiff, almost like we were watching a rehearsal instead of final footage. Here's hoping there is more Star-Lord charisma and charm awaiting us in the final cut.

In addition to exclusive clips, Fuqua shared several key insights into the making of the film. Here are some highlights:

1. Soon after his meeting with MGM execs, Fuqua reached out to Washington and sent him the script. Soon after Washington read it, he agreed to sign on.

2. According to Fuqua, Hawke was very insistent on getting a role in the film. Fuqua told us a story about how the actor literally cornered the director in New York and said he has to be in this movie -- but with a few more f-words and colorful language.

3. At one point, the director was juggling pre-production demands while facing the possibility that deals could not be made in time to lock down his main actors. But, over the course of a weekend, the deals worked out and the Magnificent Seven would ride again.
4. But the process took a toll on Fuqua. At one point, the movie was this close to falling apart -- and with it the director's desire to make it. But a meeting with the film's composer, the late James Horner, changed his mind. Fuqua joined Horner at his house in Calabasas, "which is filled with all these toys -- these classic, antique toys," the director said. And as the two discussed the problems the film faced on its way to a greenlight, Horner just listened and... looked out his window.

"He told me that here, in Calabasas," Fuqua recalled, "they used to raise and just ride horses" across the land. Horner's story eventually turned into a call to action for the director, with the Oscar-winning composer urging the filmmaker to make this movie -- and put an African-american as the lead in a western. Horner told the director not to worry about his fee or any thing like that, just to make it happen. And, thankfully, happen it did.

5. "No friends or family screenings," Fuqua said. But they did have two test screenings.

6. What did these test screenings tell the director about his movie? Well, that it was funnier than expected. "More people laughed in this than any other movie" he had screened, Fuqua told us. They especially loved the diverse cast and their engaging on-screen chemistry.

7. The new film is not a Xerox of the original -- which itself was an American remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai." "We kept the DNA of the characters from 'Seven Samurai' for [the new] 'Magnificent Seven," Fuqua clarified, adding that Kurosawa's film was his tonal benchmark throughout production. Especially when it came to the "epic scale" of the film's final battle.

We will see just how big that final showdown is when "Magnificent Seven" hits theaters Sept. 23.



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