Trivia for
Amistad (1997) More at IMDbPro »

• Denzel Washington was approached for the role as Cinque, but he refused.
  
  
• Djimon Hounsou learned Mende for his role as Cinque.
  
  
• Harry A. Blackmun, who plays US Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, served as a US Supreme Court Justice from 1970 to 1994.
  
  
• Writer Barbara Chase-Riboud unsuccessfully sued to prevent the release of this film, claiming that the screenplay copied portions of her novel "Echo of Lions."
  
  
• Producer Debbie Allen wanted Steven Spielberg to direct, but it wasn't until Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List (1993)) submitted a rewrite that he agreed to direct.
  
  
• In Spanish, the word "Amistad" means friendship.
  
  
• Sean Connery was approached for the role of John Quincy Adams but passed.
  
  
• Cuba Gooding Jr. also turned down the role of Cinque.
  
  
• John Quincy Adams addresses the Supreme Court and states that when faced with trouble the Mende people invoke the help of their ancestors. As he mentions this we see a portrait of his father John Adams just over his left shoulder.
  
  

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