Apple has a Will Smith problem.
Smith was the star of the Civil War-era movie Emancipation, which Apple envisioned as a solid Oscar contender when filming wrapped earlier this year. But that was before Smith strode onto the stage at the Academy Awards in March and slapped comedian Chris Rock for joking about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Smith, who also won Best Actor that night, renounced his membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was banned from attending Academy-related events, including the Oscar telecast, for the next ten years.
Now Apple realizes it’s left with an unreleased award-style movie worth $120 million. This one features stars who are no longer welcome at the biggest award show of all. Mr Smith?
The sensitivity of the situation is clear. According to three film insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity about the company’s plans, discussions are taking place within Apple to release “Emancipation” by the end of the year, which could be considered for an award. Variety coverage However, in May, the film’s release was postponed to 2023.
When asked for this article on when and how “Emancipation” will be released, Apple declined to comment on that or anything else about the film.
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There are no easy answers. Should the company hold off on a film based on an important historical subject because the main character is too toxic, or should Apple release the film and watch the results come to light? may be distracted by Mr. Smith’s presence, perhaps losing some luster to the sophisticated Apple brand. And the question of how to promote “Emancipation” will bring scrutiny to the film marketing department.
“If they shelve the movie, will it hurt Apple’s reputation? If they release it, will it hurt their reputation?” asked Stephen Galloway, former editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter. “Hollywood likes win-win situations. This is a lose-lose situation.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and written by William Collage, Liberation is based on the true story of a slave who flees north and joins the Union Army to fight his former captors. Filmed in a New Orleans suburb and plagued by delays caused by a hurricane and his Covid-19, the film is about a man known as “Whipped His Peter.” Filming wrapped about a month before the 2022 Oscars aired in March.
“Liberation” was already buzzing for 2023 awards, but the film’s release plans were called into question when Mr. Smith rushed to the stage and slapped Mr. Locke. Later in the show, Mr. Smith won Best Actor for his work in “King Richard.”
Smith may still be nominated for his work, but the response to the slap means that “Liberation”‘s Oscar chances are fading exponentially.
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In fact, some in the film industry believe that releasing “Emancipation” alongside an Oscar nominee this year will only anger Academy voters who were embarrassed by Smith’s actions.
In a recent call with reporters, Bill Cramer, newly appointed chief executive of the Motion Picture Academy, said next year’s show won’t dwell on slaps, even in the form of jokes. We want to move forward and get an Oscar to celebrate the film,” he said. “That’s our focus right now.”
The presence of “liberation” will make it difficult. Steven Ghirra, former co-CEO of Fox Searchlight, the studio behind Oscar-winning films like 12 Years A Slave and Slumdog His Millionaire, said he expects the film to take off between now and the end of the year. He said he would reveal it at the awards ceremony. Put too much pressure on the movie and make the slap the center of the conversation.
“Every press, every reviewer, every screenwriter, every award prognosticator sees a movie and talks about the slap,” Ghirra said in an interview. It is very possible that the film will not be judged on pure merit alone, which puts it in a very unacceptable situation.”
For some people This movie might be too good to keep quiet. Apple set up a public test screening of “Emancipation” in Chicago earlier this year, said three people familiar with the event, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the event. person said. They said it generated an overwhelmingly positive response, especially for Mr. Smith’s performance. In post-screening feedback, audience members said they were uninspired by Mr. Smith’s recent public behavior.
Smith disappeared from public view after the Academy Awards.However, in July he video On his YouTube channel, he said he was “deeply remorseful” for his actions and apologized directly to Mr. Rock and his family.
Lasting just over five minutes, the public accusation, in which Smith sits in a chair and speaks to the camera, has been viewed more than 3.8 million times since it was posted on July 29. It improved public perception of him. Smith’s Q-score, a metric that measures celebrity attractiveness in the United States, plummeted after the Oscars. Prior to the slap, Smith consistently ranked among the top five celebrities in the country, alongside Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, according to data. Variety offerWhen his appeal was measured again in July (before he released a video apology) it dropped from 39 to 24. Henry Schafer, his vice president at Q Scores Company, called this a “precipitous decline.”
Apple has postponed movies before. In 2019, the company delayed the release of “The Banker,” one of his first feature films starring Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson. About the sexual abuse involving her family. The film was finally released in March 2020 after Apple said it considered “the information available to us, including investigations of the filmmakers.”
Many in Hollywood are drawn to Apple, which is willing to spend big to acquire high-profile projects associated with established talent. But the company has also been criticized for its unwillingness to invest heavily in pitching the same project. Two of his people who have worked with the company and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal with Apple said he typically makes only one movie trailer. Aimed at different audiences. Apple likes to rely on the Apple TV+ app and in-store marketing to attract viewers.
But those familiar with Apple’s thinking believe that even if Apple chooses to release “Emancipation” this year, it won’t feature the film in retail stores the way “CODA” does. Get the best photo. That accomplishment, of course, was overshadowed by the controversy involving Mr. Smith.