Joe Francis isn’t the only celebrity who is figuring out that the consequences of breaking the law aren’t nearly as cool as it looks on TV. It’s not just a cute mug shot and a spot on Larry King. Jail sucks and courts aren’t nearly as amenable to working around your schedule as you’d think. Just ask Wesley Snipes.
Snipes was forced to drop out Spike Lee’s much-hyped flick, Miracle at St. Anna, due to his pending trial for tax evasion charges. Snipes’ court date is set for October 22, about the same time Lee begins filming in Italy. Snipes had previously been ordered to turn over his passport after returning to the US from filming in Namibia.
The film is the true saga of four members of the U.S. Army’s 92nd Division of all-black soldiers, who became trapped in a Tuscan village during World War II. Already getting lots of buzz, the film would have marked Snipes’ third pairing with Lee; his prior roles in 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues and 1991’s Jungle Fever were decidedly some of Snipes’ best work. His last few roles have been (to be polite) junk.
Taking over for Snipes is Derek Luke. You may remember Luke as the title character in Denzel Washington’s Antwone Fisher. Also set to appear are Lee favorite John Turturro, as well as James Gandolfini, Omar Benson and Naomi Campbell (so long as she, too, stays out of trouble).
Does the media just blow things out of portion or are there a lot of celebs getting into trouble?