Will Smith Film Projects Put on Hold After Oscars Slap
Will Smith is feeling the fallout from his Oscars slap.
A week after the King Richard actor smacked Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the Academy Awards, some of his film projects are in jeopardy, including a Netflix movie and Bad Boys 4.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix was in the process of finding a new director for Fast and Loose, in which Smith was to play a crime boss who loses his memory after an attack. The week before the Oscars, director David Leitch withdrew from the project, causing Netflix to put out a call for a new director.
In the wake of the incident, the action film has been “quietly moved to the back burner.” It’s unclear whether Netflix will try to make the movie with another star and director.
Additionally, Bad Boys 4 was in active development prior to the Oscars, but Sony has decided to put a hold on the fourth installment in the blockbuster franchise co-starring Martin Lawrence. Per the report, a few other projects in pre-production are likely to follow suit.
Smith’s slave drama Emancipation for Apple TV+, called the largest film festival acquisition deal in history at over $100 million, had been completed and is in post-production. The Antoine Fuqua-directed film, which was already garnering Oscar buzz, was slated to debut sometime this year, but an official release date has not been announced.
In the wake of the controversy, Smith publicly apologized to Chris Rock and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, saying he will “fully accept any and all consequences” for his “shocking, painful, and inexcusable” conduct.