Wesley Snipes out of Spike Lee's latest

Given that he’s having a little bit of trouble with tax evasion (though our sweating lawyers are at pains for us to point out he has not been convicted and pleaded not guilty to the charges), Wesley Snipes is finding it tough to get work outside the US. Especially since his passport has been nabbed by the authorities…

Take Spike Lee’s latest, Miracle At St Anna. The World War Two drama is shooting now in Italy, and Snipes was planning to join an ensemble that also includes James Gandolfini, Michael Ealy, Omar Benson and Tory Kittles.

Now Derek Luke is jumping into that part, playing one of four members of the US Army’s all-black 92nd Division who end up separated from their unit and stuck behind enemy lines. Bitter about their treatment by their own government, they end up staying in the titular small Tuscan village, where they find a much warmer welcome.

Looks like the only way Snipes will be heading abroad for a while would be smuggled in a packing crate. Not the easiest way to travel…

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