MOVIE NEWS – The first screening of the upcoming Apple TV+ movie Emancipation starred Will Smith, who was present at the event.

Emancipation is being developed for Apple TV+, although reports have been that the release has been postponed following Will Smith’s behaviour at the Oscars. Filming on Emancipation was completed shortly before the gala, where Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face for an offensive joke he made about Jada Pinkett Smith, after which the King Richard actor was banned from Academy events for a decade.

Since then, rumours have circulated that Apple may be going ahead with the release of Emancipation, after all, now that much of the controversy surrounding Smith has died down.

If the film is released this year, it could be a contender in next year’s awards season. It is worth noting that Smith could potentially be nominated for an Oscar even if he is not welcome to attend the ceremony to accept the award in person. Perhaps viewer reactions at the first screening, which the NAACP hosted at the 51st Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, will influence the final release plans for the film.

According to THR, Smith participated in a post-screening discussion with director Antoine Fuqua and Mary Elliott, curator of American slavery, at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture hosted by Angela Rye. Here’s what the actor had to say about the film.

“Throughout my career, I’ve turned down many films that were set in slavery.”

“I never wanted to show us like that. And then this picture came along. And this is not a film about slavery. This is a film about freedom. This is a film about resilience. This is a film about faith. This is a film about the heart of a man – what could be called the first viral image. Cameras had just been created, and the image of whipped Peter went around the world.”

“It was a rallying cry against slavery, and this was a story that exploded and blossomed in my heart that I wanted to be able to deliver to you in a way that only Antoine Fuqua could deliver.”

Emancipation is directed by Antoine Fuqua, with a screenplay by William N. Collage. Smith produced with Jon Mone through Westbrook Studios, Joey McFarland through McFarland Entertainment and Todd Black through Escape Artists. Fuqua made the film with Chris Brigham, James Lassiter, Heather Washington, Cliff Roberts, Glen Basner and Scott Greenberg.

Based on true events, Smith plays an enslaved person named Peter who runs away from his plantation in search of his family.

To escape his pursuers, Peter joins the Union army. A famous photograph of Peter’s bare back covered in the scars of a horrific whipping shows the horrors enslaved people endured in America.

Emancipation has no set premiere date on Apple TV+.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter