Beijing time on September 19th news, Apple has encountered a problem of “bad actors”, which may affect the company’s path to the Olympics. In 2020, Apple paid $120 million (about 838 million yuan) for the distribution rights to “Emancipation,” a Civil War-era film starring Will Smith. Will Smith).
Smith starring in the movie “Emancipation”
When the film finished shooting earlier this year, Apple thought it would definitely be an Oscar contender. But that was before Smith strode onto the stage at the Oscars in March and slapped the host, comedian Chris Rock. At the time, Locke made jokes about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
As a result, the slap led him to renounce his membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and to be banned from any Academy-related activities for the next decade, including the Oscars telecast.
smashed in the hand?
Now, Apple finds itself in a dilemma. The yet-to-be-released Austrian film cost $120 million, but it stars a star who has fallen out of favor at the biggest awards show. Another big question: Even if the film is an artistic success, can it overcome the baggage that Smith is now carrying?
The sensitivity of the situation is evident. Apple has internally discussed releasing “Emancipation” by the end of the year so that it would be eligible for an Oscar, three people familiar with the matter said. However, Vanity Fair reported in May that the film would be delayed until 2023.
When asked how and when Emancipation would be released, Apple declined to comment on Smith or anything else about the film.
smith slaps oscar host
This problem is not easy to solve. Should Apple delay a movie based on an important historical theme because of the protagonist scandal, or should it go ahead and release the movie and see what happens? Viewers may lose interest in Smith’s presence, which could take some of the shine off the carefully crafted Apple brand. Perhaps, they will also respond positively to the film, thus creating momentum for the film to hit the Oscars, but this may upset the members of the film school.
For Apple, the question of how to market “Emancipation” will bring scrutiny to its film marketing division, which has drawn ire in Hollywood over miserly ad spending and disjointed communications, and parted ways with its head of video marketing this month.
“If they shelved the film, would it hurt Apple’s reputation? If it was released, would it hurt their reputation?” Stephen Dean of Chapman University’s Dodge School of Film and Media Arts and former executive editor of The Hollywood Reporter “Hollywood likes a win-win situation, it’s a lose-lose,” asked Stephen Galloway.
“Regardless of the quality of the film, all the media, all the critics, all the columnists, all the award forecasters are going to be watching it, talking about that slap in the face,” Stephen Gilula, former co-CEO of Searchlight Pictures, said in a statement. “There’s a good chance the movie won’t be judged on its sheer merit. That puts it in a very difficult context,” he said in an interview.
For some, the movie might be too good to keep it silent. Apple’s test screening of “Emancipation” earlier this year for general audiences in Chicago received an overwhelmingly positive response, especially to Smith’s performance, which one described as a “volcanic eruption,” three people familiar with the matter said. . Audiences said in their post-screening feedback that they didn’t lose interest in the film because of Smith’s recent public behavior.