Once upon a time a Variety pundit by the name of Clayton Davis had inserted Will Smith into his Best Actor predictions and “Emancipation” as his #8 Best Picture nominee. Then the film was seen …
“Emancipation” is in all likelihood done. It won’t contend for anything and will probably garner some views on Apple TV, mostly from curiosity seekers who want to know what Will Smith has been up to post-slap.
Hack director Antoine Fuqua is the man behind “Emancipation,” so I never really thought it stood a chance at awards. The critics have also sunk it: The movie currently has a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and is now available on Apple TV. Has anybody even noticed?
Basically, Smith has been slapped hard by these nasty reviews. It’s not like he’s a bad actor, but, again, he chose the wrong filmmaker to work with. Smith can be very good (“Ali,” “Enemy of the State”) but only when he’s in a competently written and directed movie. This is not one of those projects.
He currently has no projects lined up. Netflix had scrapped their intentions of making “Bright 2,” the Smith-led thriller “Fast & Loose” was quickly put on the backburner,“ and “Bad Boys 4” paused pre-production after last year’s Oscar fiasco. “Emancipation” was shot and completed before the slap and I’m now wondering who is willing to hire Smith with all the baggage that he has.
A real shocker. There are some people you think will live forever, and Sir Patrick Stewart was one of them. The legendary actor has passed away at the age of 86. We’ve lost one of the greats.