Will Smith is between a Chris Rock and the anvil.
Speculation surrounding Apple Original Films’ “Emancipation” and Smith, its star and producer, has been the talking point of awards season and the bane of awards tipsters who follow their charts. Will voters embrace the epic? Can or should they?
After slapping the comedian at the 94th Academy Awards, Smith resigned from AMPAS and was banned from attending the ceremony or other Academy-sponsored events for 10 years. However, that doesn’t stop the ‘King Richard’ Best Actor winner from being nominated or even winning another statuette during this time. It won’t prevent Antoine Fuqua’s film from being considered for the awards either.
If you took “the slap” out of the equation, this awards season’s leadership narrative would likely have been geared towards Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) versus Fuqua (and it still is). . Indeed, this is Fuqua’s “Schindler’s List” (for which Spielberg won his first Oscar): the piercing honesty and careful craftsmanship of “Emancipation” are the crowning glory of Fuqua’s long career. , which is marked by populist favorites such as “Training Day” (2001), which earned Denzel Washington his main statuette.
Will Smith in “Emancipation”
Apple
The film tells the story of Peter (Smith), a runaway slave who sets out through the Louisiana swamps on a grueling escape from the plantation owners who nearly killed him. Smith’s performance is not only moving, but commanding. His attitude as he traverses the harsh terrain is reminiscent of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning work in “The Revenant” (2015). Smith’s performance as Peter is more impressive than his Richard Williams in ‘King Richard’ – and I thought he was fantastic in ‘King Richard’.
As for Smith’s chances of being nominated, the industry and cultural divide between supporters and opponents will be much more complicated to manage this time around. In conversations with members of the acting branch, they expressed a range of sentiments about Smith’s actions at the final ceremony, his punishment, and how he might be perceived in the eyes of industry voters.
I see a strange parallel between the behavior of Academy voters and the quiet support of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. To be clear, I am not in the least comparing the actions or personal traits of the two men, but rather how Trump supporters, especially independent swing voters, haven’t particularly expressed their intentions. Nevertheless, when it came time to put the pen on the pad and vote, they checked off his name. That could be Smith’s story, though if he manages a name, the media and public won’t have the same devastating reaction they had to Trump’s victory.
Remember that the Actors Branch has 1,303 voting members and a candidate needs 217 votes to be nominated. There will no doubt be some critics of Smith, so I suspect that even if he were to defy the odds and land in the top five lead cast when the Academy’s roughly 10,000 members vote, his chances of winning might be slim. . However, as a member shares with Variety“Mel Gibson keeps coming back, and we know where he’s at with people of color and Jews. Will’s been beaten up. Everyone’s been picking on him in the media. I’m not saying that “He didn’t deserve it. But now we can move on. If he’s good, then he’s good.”
Apple
Smith’s outlook aside, will voters embrace the other achievements of “Emancipation”?
Typically, films dealing with slavery face an uphill battle with voters who can’t stand the grotesque depictions of inhumane treatment and the difficult subject matter. However, there might be a morbid curiosity to see “Emancipation,” if only to look at what Smith brings to the role.
As the villainous Fassel, who relentlessly pursues Peter, Ben Foster can portray an obnoxious person who is an amalgamation of slave hunters throughout history. Still, the layer of fear he weaves into the character is an award-winning performance reminiscent of Oscar-nominated supporting actors like Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave” and Ralph Fiennes in “Schindler’s List.”
Demonstrating how to make the most of limited screen time, Charmaine Bingwa is unwavering as the film’s emotional mainstay, Dodienne, Peter’s wife and mother of his children, whom he desperately tries to get back to. There are elements that resemble Jessica Chastain’s work in Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” (2011), which isn’t overtly “strong” but still incredibly moving. In a wide-open supporting actress race, I hope the Academy doesn’t overlook such breakout talent due to doubts about the film’s star and producer.
The team of artisans that Fuqua has assembled is full of some of the most talented and respected in cinema. Notable among them are three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (“JFK,” “The Aviator,” and “Hugo”), who could very well have delivered his magnum opus with his mixes of sepia-toned and black frames. and white. images, especially impressive considering the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida during production – no easy task, even for such a master.
If “Emancipation” is recognized for Best Picture, the Academy could face a complex public relations dilemma. Smith is a credited producer and would be among the film’s nominees, along with Todd Black, Joey McFarland and Jon Mone. For such an essential film to be nominated and the only black producer (and perhaps the only black actor) not allowed to attend the ceremony will not sit well in the public square. That’s not to say the Academy should rescind its ban. Still, given that Smith would become the most nominated black producer in history (he would be tied with Jordan Peele at two apiece), the organization will have to rehash its verdict on Smith’s past actions and continue to highlight his diversity victories over the past few years. years. Or, he can pray to the Oscar gods that Smith isn’t nominated.
To see the current rankings for each individual category, visit Variety Oscar Center. The first set of SAG Awards predictions for the movie was also revealed.
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