In an interview given to Vanity Fair, Antoine Fuqua explains why it is important to maintain the release of his film Emancipation with Will Smith, who became persona non grata in Hollywood after the famous “slap”.
Will come out, won’t come out? Apple made its decision a month ago, announcing that it would maintain the release of Emancipation, a shock film worn by Will Smith. The latter portrays Peter, a man who escapes slavery thanks to his intelligence, his unshakable faith and his love for his family. Between ruthless hunters in pursuit and the fearsome swamps of Louisiana, he sets out to conquer his freedom.
If the platform hesitated, it was because of the slap scandal, which put a temporary stop to the actor’s career. After weighing the pros and cons, the teams finally decided to try the race for the Oscars, even if many voices were raised to make known their disagreement.
In an interview given to Vanity Fair, its director Antoine Fuqua explains the choice of studios: “The film is more important than this moment. Four hundred years of slavery are more important than this short time. My biggest wish is that people see it that way and that they get carried away by Will’s performance, as well as by the work done by the whole team.“. If the director does not defend his actor, he tries to qualify things: “Not very pretty things have happened in Hollywood and we have never seen people get Oscars when they have done horrible things. I think Apple kept all that in mind.”.
Emancipation will be released on December 9 on Apple TV + and in some theaters in the United States in order to compete in festivals. It remains to be seen whether people will be there or not…