By now, the casting "what-ifs" for the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems have become the stuff of legend. Joel Embiid was supposed to pay the part that eventually went to Kevin Garnett. Jonah Hill was initially tied to the lead role of Howard Ratner, which was ultimately brought to life by you-know-who, and so on.
On Sunday night, we got another window into what could have been, thanks to a candid Instagram post from Cam'ron himself. Before we dive into the nature of Killa Cam's Sunday confessional, we should point out that its catalyst was Complex's own deep dive into Manhattan Diamond District mainstays Izzy and Joseph Aranbayev, the jewelers better known as Avianne & Co.
In the piece, they reveal that despite providing much of the jewelry that was seen in Uncut Gems, both they, and Cam'ron (a frequent client of theirs), were supposed to have roles in the film. As anyone who's seen the Safdies' buzzy crime saga can attest, neither Izzy, Joe, or Cam'ron made the final cut.
That brings us to Cam'ron's Instagram post, which consists of a clip from Complex's interview with Avianne & Co., as well as a caption that spills the so-called tea.
Cam'ron begins by thanking Izzy for "keeping it 100," before accusing Josh Safdie specifically, of using him to get to them, adding that they tried to give him what he refers to as a "sucker ass role" in the film.
Cam'ron goes on to say that film was supposed to feature him alongside the aforementioned Jonah Hill and Adam Sandler, and in the end, he didn't even get a "thank you in the credits."
Despite the apparent slight, Cam ended things on a positive note, saying that the elder Safdie is still his "guy," and offered his "love and congrats to all." He also joked about his consultant fee, and based on the absolutely boffo box office done by Uncut Gems, the Safdies can probably afford to pay him that, and then some.
