What you need to know
- Apple TV+ is getting a new film.
- It's called Emancipation.
- It stars Will Smith and will be directed by Antoine Fuqua.
Apple has reportedly landed the rights to a new movie on Apple TV+, Emancipation, starring Will Smith.
According to The Hollywood Reporter:
After a heated bidding war, Apple has landed Emancipation, the action film that will star Will Smith and is set to be directed by Antoine Fuqua.Many of the major studios were vying for the package being sold out of the Cannes virtual market. Warner Bros and Apple were the final two bidders, with Apple taking the project for a massive price tag.
As the report notes, Apple has reportedly paid through the nose for the production.
Emancipation is based on a true story and follows a runaway slave who tries to evade capture through Louisiana, heading north to join the Union Army. A photo taken of Peter's back was made famous in 1864 after it was published as proof of the cruelty of slavery in America. As the report notes, it prompted many free Blacks to join the Union Army.
The movie will be directed by Antoine Fuqua (The Magnificent Seven, Shooter), Will Smith will produce, with James Lassiter and Jon Mone serving in a production capacity rthrough Westrook Studios. Joey McFarland will produce through McFarland Entertainment along with Todd Black at Escape Artists. Joey McFarland began researching and developing the story and characters in 2018. He engaged William Collage to pen the script before taking the idea to Fuqua and Smith.
The movie marks the latest acquisition for Apple's TV+ platform, adding to Tom Hanks WWII film Greyhound and Israel-Iran espionage thriller Tehran.
Yesterday, Apple dropped the trailer for Boys State, a political coming-of-age documentary which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
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