Will Smith's new film Emancipation heading straight to Apple TV+
Will Smith's latest film project Emancipation has been bought by Apple and will be made available to watch on Apple TV+ after its release.
Deadline reports that Apple won a big bidding war for the movie, which was being sold through the Cannes Virtual Market, against a number of other studios including Warner Bros. in a deal worth over $100 million.
The action movie is based on true events and tells the story of a runaway slave – named Peter in the film – who had to evade cruel hunters while making his way through the Louisiana swamps as he headed to the North in 1863.
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Once he arrived he signed up to the Union Army where the horrific scars on his back – the results of a near-fatal whipping on the plantation he had been owned by – were discovered during a medical examination.
Photos were taken of his injuries and one, known as 'The Scourged Back', was published by newspapers and journals across the world to prove the cruelty of slavery, which solidified the abolitionist cause and prompted many more sign-ups to the Union Army.
Emancipation will be directed by The Magnificent Seven director Antoine Fuqua with the script being written by Allegiant's William N. Collage. Smith will also be one of the film's producers while Fuqua will executive produce alongside Cliff Roberts.
Fuqua told Deadline that the film's script "hit home" with him "because this is at heart a film about family, about love. Faith, the idea that Peter never gave up and he fought tooth and nail to get back to his family."
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"That is an important story to tell," he said. "The slavery and the brutality, most people are familiar with it. People who care to know about it are familiar with it. I found it brutal and I found it entertaining in a way because of the journey it took me on, Peter's journey. What's amazing about it is, this is based on fact and deep research."
Production on the film is reportedly set to begin in early 2021.
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