Will Smith’s Apple Thriller ‘Emancipation’ gets premiere – The Hollywood Reporter

Apple held the premiere of will Smith And the Antoine Fuquanext movie, Releaseon Saturday in Washington, D.C., although the fate of the project apparently hangs in the balance after the now-infamous Oscar Smith slap, the show indicates that Apple is looking to release it soon.

At the 2022 Academy Awards, Smith walked on stage during the ceremony and surprised the world when he slapped presenter Chris Rock, who had mocked Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith has since resigned from the Academy, some of his projects have been suspended, and he has apologized to The Rock, The Rock family, fellow Academy Award winners and others.

Apple and NAACP hosted a file Release The film was shown during the 51st Annual Black Congress Foundation Legislative Conference of representatives from the Congressional Black Caucus, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Divine Council 9 (Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities), the National Council of Negro Women, the National Coalition on Black Civic Engagement, Power Ascended and #WinWithWomen is among other social impact leaders.

This was followed by a conversation about the film with Fuqua, Will Smith, and Mary Elliott, curator of American slavery at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, moderated by political and cultural commentator Angela Ray.

“Throughout my career, I’ve rejected many films that were about slavery,” Smith said on the show. “I never wanted to show that to us. Then came this picture. This is not a movie about slavery. This is a movie about freedom. This is a movie about resilience. This is a movie about faith.”

He continued, “This is a movie about a man’s heart – what could be called the first viral photo. The cameras were just set up, and the picture of the bound Peter went around the world. It was a rallying cry against slavery, and this was a story that exploded and blossomed in my heart and I wanted to be able to communicate it to you in a way Only Antoine Fuqua can offer it.

Based on a true story, Release It follows Peter (Smith), who escapes from his farm in search of his family, outruns cold-blooded poachers and survives the Louisiana swamps along the way. Peter eventually joined the Union Army. During the medical examination, his bare back, which was scarred from semi-fatal skin, was photographed by his former farm supervisor. independent He published the photo, which undoubtedly proves the cruelty and brutality of slavery in America.

Fuqua directed and executed Release From a text by William N. Collage. The film is produced by Smith and John Moon through Westbrook Studios, Joey McFarland through McFarland Entertainment, and Todd Black through Escape Artists. Chris Brigham, James Lasseter, Heather Washington, Cliff Roberts, Glenn Basner and Scott Greenberg are executive producers.