Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Newly Released Alternate Ending for 'Juice'


KHALIL KAIN AND JERMAINE HOPKINS SHOW LOVE TO RAHEEM and STEEL


Kain and Hopkins’ memories of Raheem, Steel and “Juice” come as the film is set to debut on Blu-ray on June 6 The video release, which will be re-released on DVD the same day, will honor the movie’s 25th anniversary with new interviews with the cast and crew as well as never-before-released footage of the cast on set, the original ending of “Juice” and a new director’s commentary from Dickerson, who details the reasons why the ending was changed prior to the film’s theatrical release.

Bishop: You gotta snap some collars and let them motherfuckers know you here to take them out anytime you feel like it! You gotta get the ground beneath your feet, partner, get the wind behind your back and go out in a blaze if you got to! Otherwise you ain't shit! You might as well be dead your damn self! 
Juice (1992)

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the hip hop classic Juice, director, Ernest R. Dickerson, has released the alternate ending to the movie's climactic finish. 
The original ending portrayed Tupac Shakur's character Bishop and Omar Epps' Q engage in a bloody skirmish on a city rooftop. After Q knocks Bishop over the edge of the rooftop, he attempts to grab his hand to keep his friend from falling. Unable to maintain his grip, Q watches his homie take a gruesome fall. 
For the alternate ending, Bishop is once again fighting to maintain Q's grip. As he struggles to hold on, he's startled by the sounds of police sirens closing in on them. Rather than pull his way up, Bishop concedes, because he refuses to spend his life in prison.

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"He hears the cops coming and he stops struggling... and he lets go," says Dickerson, looking back on the agonizing scene. "It was just an attitude that showed that Bishop wasn't a punk. He was a force that really had to be reckoned with in the right way." Read More

While some entertainers grow weary and annoyed over recognition for portraying that one character, Kain wears it like a badge of honor. Especially since the movie that birthed Raheem, (“Juice”) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.


So yes, all the love Kain receives for his character is proof he made one hell of a first impression. Not bad for a guy who carried no prior movie experience and continues to be blown away by the mark Raheem left with filmgoers.

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“That was the first film that I ever did. I had no idea that 25 years later, people would still be screaming ‘Raheem!’ out in the streets. That’s a huge compliment, huge compliment,” Kain shared with EURweb associate Chris Richburg as he explained how being annoyed is never an option when it comes to Raheem.


“I have friends of mine that be walking around and they’re like, ‘Yo man. Does that ever get annoying?’ I’m like, ‘No, never. Never. Not 25 years later.’

Like Kain, Hopkins can testify about the relationship with his co-stars going beyond what was seen in front of the camera. According to the “Lean on Me” and “Phat Beach” star, late nights on and off set resulted in the formation of a genuine “brotherhood” that made for a “life-changing” experience.

“I remember a lot of late nights and getting back into the condo at the break of day,” Hopkins recalled. “So there was a whole lot of that and just the time that we as a cast, pretty much…we formed a brotherhood. We was that crew when the cameras wasn’t rolling. We had a lot of fun like black brothers would do, different jokes, different pet names and stuff and everything.”

When it came time to assemble the Wrecking Crew, “Juice” producers brought a natural approach with an invitation for the actors to eat dinner with them, a strategy Hopkins labeled as “genius.”

“When I look back on it, it was genius for them to do that because that’s how they were able to put this cast together. They took us out with different groups. Everybody that they had in mind. And they didn’t tell us to stick together or get together. It was just like however, whoever clicked and we clicked. Just like y’all seen us click in the movie, that’s how we clicked in real life.

This article was originally published by Billboard and EuroWeb
This article originally appeared in Billboard and EuroWeb
Contributing author(s)  Carl Anthony Lamarre & QWEST7

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