MGMSamuel L. Jackson's the original badass MF, so of course he didn't get all weepy about Soul Men costars Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, who both died on the same weekend in August. At a press event for the film yesterday, Jackson honored them as only he could: talking and telling tales.
"He would have found a way to make a joke about it," Jackson said about Mac. "He would have been poignant, and then he would have been funny."
Mac had been ill during filming, having up and down days, but Jackson promises fans that they'll be seeing "the Bernie Mac that they knew and loved, the Bernie Mac that came into their homes every week, who made them pee on themselves when he was doing his act. It's a fitting last performance."
Jackson also had kind words for Hayes...
He and Mac play reunited (fictional) soul singers, performing many of the hits from legendary label Stax Records—Hayes' label. "To do an Isaac Hayes song in the middle of the film while he's sitting there watching us [was] a little daunting," Jackson said. "But then you look at him and you see he's [nodding his head]. So you think 'All right, we're killing it.'"
Soul Men opens Nov. 7.