Netflix's 'Dolemite Is My Name' director shares 2 wacky stories from the making of the original movie that he couldn't fit in

One of the highlights of "Dolemite Is My Name" is the performance by Wesley Snipes as D'Urville Martin. An actor in the 1970s known best for playing Diego the elevator operator in "Rosemary's Baby," Martin met Moore by chance before shooting started. Moore wanted him in "Dolemite" but Martin demurred. Then Moore told him he could direct the movie and that sold it.

But as "Dolemite Is My Name" depicts it, Martin was very unenthusiastic about the project. Realizing he was surrounded by amateurs, he spent his time on set drinking and giving an outlandish performance as the movie's villain, Willie Green.

It may seem Snipes is going overboard with the portrayal of Martin, but Brewer said that's really how he was. And he got confirmation from the cinematographer of "Dolemite" when he visited the set.

"The kung-fu scene where Rudy kicks the guy into the trunk, we filmed at the same house they filmed the scene in 'Dolemite,'" Brewer said. "That day we invited the original director of photography, Nick Josef von Sternberg. He was telling us stories about D'Urville Martin, saying that he would come to set and was so not interested in the movie because he realized there was no money in it that he just stayed drunk. At one point he just laid on the floor, semi-passed out, and just directed from a reclining position."