The last time we saw Will Smith in a movie setting was at King RichardWhere he played Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. The role earned Smith an Academy Award for Best Actor earlier this year, but it was at the same awards show that the actor scored more attention for slapping Chris Rock on stage after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance. Smith has now started promoting his next movie, Releaseand its director Antoine Fuqua, responded to related fans Release With an Oscar smack.
There’s just under a month left until Apple TV+ subscribers can stream ReleaseBut the movie’s publicity campaign is in full swing. This includes Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua speaking with Vanity FairAnd while Smith declined to answer a question about the Oscars incident, Fuqua told the following outlet:
The movie for me is bigger than that moment. Four hundred years of slavery is greater than one moment. I hope people see it that way, watch the movie, and get swept away by the fantastic performance by Will and all the real hard work by the entire crew.
Release It marks the first collaboration between Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua, with the latter directing films such as training dayAnd the equalizer And the Southpaw. The public learned in June 2020 that these two teams would team up ReleaseHowever, Smith’s image completely changed when people around the world watched him slapping Chris Rock on live TV. As far as Fuqua is concerned, the Oscars moment shouldn’t have any bearing on how people will receive it Releaseboth in regards to its subject matter and the serious work that goes into the movie itself.
Antonin Fuqua’s comment arrives shortly after Will Smith’s Wild West Costar Bai Ling said the actor deserves forgiveness for what he did, and Smith also revealed that Floyd Mayweather called him 10 straight days after the slap. For his part, Smith formally apologized to Chris Rock in late July, but as of the following month, Rock was reportedly not interested in speaking with Smith. Even with the next round of Oscars ceremonies slowly approaching, it doesn’t look like this theme is going away anytime soon (it’s even been made into a Halloween costume), but Antoine Fuqua is hoping that won’t affect how that happens. Release It is viewed/received by the masses.
Release, which is based on a true story, sees Will Smith playing an enslaved man named Peter who escapes captivity, outwits hunters in cold blood on his way north and then joins the Union army. Smith is joined by Ben Foster, Stephen Ogg, Charmaine Bengoa, Gilbert Orr, Mustafa Shakir, Grant Harvey, and more. Check back with CinemaBlend for our review of the movie and more coverage of what’s going on with Smith both professionally and personally
