In the early 1990s, Wesley Snipes was a box office sensation. Fresh off his success as vampire killer ‘Blade’ 1in the cult classic film of the same name and with his career soaring to new heights, Snipes signed on to star in a brand new action-adventure trilogy: The continued exploits of an FBI agent known simply as “Hawkeye.” Following the box-office failure of films like Voltage and Double Edge, producers were naturally wary of greenlighting another risky action hero who would need to be paid a substantial upfront fee. And so, in what must go down as one of the most ludicrous contractual agreements in Hollywood history, Snipes forced producers to pay him $12 million for agreeing to read aloud three pages of the script once every six months over the following five years. Unfortunately for all involved, we now know that no one bothered to check if there was actually any finished script at all. And so, somewhere around year four or five of this ridiculous contract (which included numerous other clauses that would make even Mickey Mouse blush), it became apparent that there was no script whatsoever and probably never had been.
What happened to Wesley snipes?
Wesley Snipes is an actor who has starred in many films throughout his career. Unfortunately, he has been incarcerated for tax evasion for the past eight years. He was released from prison in April 2016. I’m not sure what happened to him in between, but according to Google, he’s been part of a shady investment scheme and a get-rich-quick scheme that allegedly defrauded people out of $12 million USD. So it sounds like he’s had a rough period since getting out of prison.
History Of Wesley Snipes
1988 – 1992: Rising to stardom
Wesley Snipes had his first success as a rising star in the late 1980s. In 1988 he appeared in the cult classic film “Street Smart” alongside the legendary Dustin Hoffman. He then appeared in the films “JoJo Dancer, Your Life is Calling”, “Bad Boys”, “29th Street”, and “The Kitchen” during the following years. During this time, Snipes was also becoming the go-to actor for action movies, starring in the “Passenger 57” series and the “Blade” series.
1993 – 2000: Becoming a producer and writer
After becoming a household name, Snipes focused on working behind the scenes. He had a hand in writing and producing many of his films, including “New Jack City”, “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar”, “Disnetfy Jones”, “One Hour Photo”, “Bushwhacked”, and “The Art of War”. In 1999, Snipes also co-produced “The Blue Max”, a film that was overlooked by most but had a very important impact on his career. This film was what led him to meet Thomas Tull, the future head of Legendary Pictures. This partnership came to fruition ten years later, as you’ll see below.
2001 – 2007: Breakthrough as a writer and producer
In 2001, Snipes made a huge breakthrough in his career as a writer and producer. He teamed up with his longtime friend and creative partner, William R. Johnson, and their screenplay for “New Jack City: Reinvention” was bought by 20th Century Fox. The two also produced and starred in “The Art of War”, which was produced by Snipes and Johnson’s production company, Amen-Ra Films. In 2007, Snipes and Johnson wrote and produced “American Gangster”, which was a huge success and won three Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Snipes’s co-star, Denzel Washington. This was a huge achievement for Snipes and proved that he could work on massive Hollywood productions as a writer and producer.
2008 – 2013: Return to acting with The Blade Trilogy
After this huge success in the world of writing and producing, Snipes returned to his roots as an actor. He appeared in several small dramas, including “When the Pianos Stop Playing” and “Welcome to the Rileys”. However, Snipes’s most important role during this time was as the lead in the “Blade” series. In 2008, he reprised his role as Blade in “Blade: The Series” and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. After these small roles, Snipes returned as Blade in the sequel “Blade II” in 2002. In 2012, he then starred in the third installment of the film series, “Blade: The Third”. This was the first time Snipes had played the iconic role since 2004.
2014 – present: Comes back as director, screenwriter, and producer
Over the past few years, Snipes has focused on writing, directing, and producing. In 2014, he created a documentary series, “The History of the Joint”, which explores the history of cannabis from around the world. In 2015, he also created and starred in a series called “The Great Houses of New Orleans”, which explores the architecture of New Orleans. He also wrote and directed a documentary about the late rapper, The Notorious B.I.G., called “Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G”. In 2017, Snipes wrote and produced “All Americans”, a film about an Iranian immigrant who becomes a football star at a California high school. He also wrote, directed, and produced “The Whistleblower”, a film about an FBI agent who investigates corporate fraud. He’s currently working on a TV series based on his documentary “The History of Cannabis”.
What Are The Good Side Of Wesley Snipes?
- He is an actor
- He can make viewers laugh with his funny and witty lines in the movies.
- He has a strong sense of justice
- He is a good father to his kids
- He is a good husband to his wife, who is also an actress.
- He is popular with the ladies
- He can dance very well in the movie Boomerang and in other movies like Money Train, White Men Can’t Jump, etc.
- His fans love him for he always attends their request for autograph signings, fan meetings, and photo opportunities whenever he visits different parts of the world like Africa and Europe after getting married to his wife Kelly Parker in France on March 2, 2007.
- He is a very generous person who has been known to give large donations to charity and he was also the spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2001, for which he helped raise $4.5 million USD for children in need.
- He is a good actor because he is able to play different roles like a criminal, a drug dealer, an action hero, and others.
What Are The Bad Side Of Wesley Snipes?
- He is a tax evader.
- He refused to pay taxes because he believed that the government was not fulfilling its duties and therefore considered them as slaves who ought to be killed.
- He refused to pay taxes because they were not used on the poor but rather on education, health, and other sectors of society which he felt did not need assistance from the government.
- He believed that the government was using tax money to buy guns, bombs, and other weapons which were being used against people in other countries around the world such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and so on.
- In July 2010 Wesley Snipes was sentenced by a federal judge to three years imprisonment for failing to file income tax returns between 1999 and 2001 when his movie career was at its peak [4].
3 Key Lessons From Snipes’ Mistakes
- Snipes’ mistake was not filing his tax return for three years.
- Snipes’ mistake was not seeking competent legal counsel from the beginning.
- Snipes’ mistake was not hiring a tax professional who could have fixed his mistakes or at least given him a heads-up about them.
Bottom Line
In the end, the lesson to be learned from Snipes’ contract dispute is that sometimes the best way to win a battle is not to fight it at all. If the other party is contractually obligated to come crawling to you and offering to pay out, then you’re already ahead of the game. What’s important is not to get greedy and to make sure that no matter what happens, you’re the one who comes out on top.
