Apple held first screenings for Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua upcoming movie Liberate, Saturday in Washington, D.C., although the fate of the project appears to hang in the balance after Smith’s now-infamous Oscars A slap in the face, showing that Apple wants to release it sooner rather than later.
At the Oscars, Smith walked on the stage of the awards ceremony when he Shocked the world when he slapped presenter Chris Rock, who joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith has since resigned from the academy, some of his projects have been put on hold, and he has apologized to Locke, Locke’s family, his Oscar winner and others.
Apple and NAACP hosted Liberation during Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Screening st Annual Legislative Session. This was followed by Smith and Fuqua’s first public discussion of the film.
“Throughout my career, I’ve turned down a lot of films set in slavery,” Smith said at the screening. “I never wanted to show us that. And then this picture came along. It’s not a movie about slavery. It’s a movie about freedom. It’s a movie about resilience. It’s a movie about A movie of faith.”
He went on to say, “It’s a movie about the heart of a man — arguably the first viral image. The camera was just created. , the image of the whipped Peter spread around the world. It was a battle cry against slavery, a story that exploded and blossomed in my heart, and I hope to be able to reach you in a way that only Antoine Fuqua can provide.”
Based on a true story, Liberation follows Peter (Smith) as he escapes from his plantation Find his family, outwit cold-blooded hunters, and survive the Louisiana swamps along the way. Peter eventually joined the Union Army. During a medical examination, his bare back was photographed with scars from a near-fatal whiplash by his former plantation supervisor. The Independent published this photo, which undoubtedly proves the cruelty and barbarism of American slavery.
