Two films for which director Antoine Fuqua plans to make director’s cuts have been made public.
Fuqua has directed numerous films, including The Equaliser trilogy, Training Day, and Olympus Has Fallen. Fuqua was questioned about an extended version of his 2016 Western action film The Magnificent Seven as his latest film The Equaliser 3 was set to hit theatres. Vincent D’Onofrio, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Denzel Washington were among the ensemble cast members in this film.
“[Ethan Hawke] saw the very first [cut],” Fuqua said to IndieWire. “With MGM, I’d have to try to obtain it, but I don’t know where it is right now. I’d like to recut it myself, but I have no idea who would foot the bill. Sometime in the future, I’d have to pay for that, so I might attempt”. He did, however, see the first cut, which in my opinion was the better one. “Although you have to deal with the studio, schedule, and theatres, your business is a business. However, I wish that was the version that was made public”.
He continued by saying that he had the same thoughts about his 2003 action picture Tears of the Sun, which featured Monica Bellucci and Bruce Willis. “It had much more to it,” he says. “It was significantly reduced. Although that wasn’t the aim, it started to focus a little more on Hollywood stars. It was initially more on the characters and the events, but it quickly shifted. But I understand since Bruce Willis is a fantastic movie star”.