| The Juice | |
| Director: | Joshua Newton |
| Cinematography: | Lorenzo Senatore |
| Editing: | Joshua Newton |
| Released: | (scheduled) |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Juice is an upcoming dramatic crime thriller film centered around conspiracy theories purporting to exonerate O. J. Simpson of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
On June 28, 2013, it was announced that British filmmaker Joshua Newton would write and direct a movie about the O. J. Simpson murder case to be titled An American Mystery.[1] Newton extensively researched the case and claimed to have discovered startling new evidence that would present several other suspects with both the motive and opportunity to commit the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The evidence is based on real court documents, witness interviews, and trial testimonies.[2] Newton said in a statement that the project "has the capacity to challenge entrenched attitudes on a topic that has inspired visceral reactions for almost a generation."
Several people from the sports and political spectrums lent their support for the project such as former NBA player Bo Kimble, former NFL player Rosey Grier, former Texas state senator Rodney Ellis, and former U.S. Representative for California's 33rd congressional district Diane Watson, one of the film's associate producers and an inspirational force behind the project. Watson was good friends with Johnnie Cochran and said at a 2016 town hall meeting, about Cochran's portrayal in The People v. O. J. Simpson, "(of him coming) across as undignified, unlikable, and obsessed with using the race card to secure an acquittal – but that's not how he was and that's not what happened. The jury gave their verdict based on the evidence – nothing else. And if anyone wants to say differently I suggest they read the actual trial transcripts. There has been a massive misrepresentation of the truth, but fortunately things are about to change and the truth is about to come out."[3]
Principal photography involving scenes with O. J. and Nicole began in February 2018 and took place in Bulgaria, recreating the Los Angeles settings of the murders and trial. "The reason we shot in Bulgaria was because we reconstructed O. J.'s house on Rockingham and Nicole's house on Bundy and Mezzaluna, those places don't exist anymore." Steve Small, one of the film's producers, said "It's the first time you'll see O. J.'s house inside and out."
The film was originally intended to be completed for release by summer 2014 under the title An American Mystery with a proposed budget of $65 million.[4] Simpson himself wanted to be involved with the project but Joshua Newton turned him down. It was announced that the movie would be released in March 2019 under the new title Nicole and O.J., but had still not been completed. Another 42 days were required to film scenes involving Douglas McCann, a real-life attorney who repped Simpson in a 2000 civil suit against the Verizon precursor GTE for withholding phone records the attorney claimed would exonerate Simpson.[5]
In 2024, following Simpson's death, it was announced that Owen Wilson was offered $12 million for the role of Douglas McCann, but he refused as he was incredulous over the film’s speculation that Simpson was innocent of the murders.[6] [7] [8] The film was retitled The Juice and a teaser trailer was released, showing a hypothetical sequence with Simpson in an electric chair, and a release date for 2025.[9] The teaser included a link to a Google Form requesting suggestions for "outrageous ideas" to include in the movie.[10]