Will Smith Movies Reportedly Up In The Air At Netflix And Sony After His Assault On Chris Rock
While Will Smith hasn’t been officially punished for his infamous slap of Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards, the fallout of his actions is only beginning.
A new rumor from Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter claims Netflix is moving on from an upcoming Will Smith project after the actor assaulted comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars for telling a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Last week before the ceremony, director David Leitch withdrew as the director of a planned Netflix movie “Fast and Loose,” starring Will Smith in order to join Universal’s “Fall Guy” starring Ryan Reynolds.
Masters claims sources informed her that “Netflix put out an urgent call for another director to take over a project featuring the star who was heavily favored to win best actor at the Oscars. But soon after Smith’s attack on Chris Rock on the Oscars stage, Netflix quietly moved the project to the back burner.”
“Fast and Loose” was supposed to be a film about a criminal who loses his memory after an attack and is forced to discover the clues of his past, leading him to learn that he has led two identities, a wealthy crime lord, and an undercover CIA agent. As of this writing, there is no word about what the plan is for the film.
Netflix isn’t the only studio hitting the pause button on Will Smith. On top of this rumor that Netflix is pausing development of their previously planned Will Smith vehicle, Sony Pictures is reportedly pausing development of a fourth Bad Boys film.
Masters reports, “Bad Boys 4 at Sony had been in active development — Smith received 40 pages of the script prior to the Oscars — but will now pause, a source said.”
Smith’s other upcoming projects include the Apple+ film Emancipation, and The Council and Bright 2 at Netflix, as well as Disney+ and National Geographic’s Pole to Pole series.
Emancipation is supposed to debut on Apple+ sometime this year, but the streamer has not announced a release date yet. There was no word about The Council and Bright 2 as well as Pole to Pole.
The Sun also claims that a biopic that was the center of a bidding war between Netflix and Apple+ has completely evaporated and both streamers “pulled out following his Oscars slap scandal.”
A source told the outlet, “Working with Will has become a risky business. They now plan on developing ideas with more family friendly stars like Mike Epps and Michael B. Jordan.”
Last week, Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Smith said he was heartbroken and would accept all consequences for his conduct during Sunday’s ceremony.
“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” Smith said.
RELATED: Chris Rock’s Brother Explains Why He Doesn’t Accept Will Smith’s Apology After The Oscars Slap
Not everyone is buying Smith’s apology, however. explained he is not accepting Smith’s apology because he does not think it was genuine. “I think his publicist and the people that work under him probably advised him to do that.” Kenny said.
“I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didn’t, so, right there that tells me that it is something else,” he added.
Tony Rock, another brother to the comedian slammed Will Smith during a stand-up comedy routine days after the incident in a video that went viral on social media. Tony said during his comedy set “If you think you gonna walk up on this stage, this ain’t the mother******* Oscars.”
Tony continued by attacking Will’s wife Jada. “You gonna hit my mother******** brother because your b**** gave you a side-eye? If you walk your a** up here, you ain’t nominated for s*** but these mother******* hands.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGmb3avXb6c
Chris Rock briefly addressed the assault at a recent comedy show. He said, ““I don’t have a bunch of s*** about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend.”
“I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that s***. And it will be serious and funny,” he added.
RELATED: Will Smith Issues Apology After Slapping Chris Rock At Oscars, Tim Allen Shares His Thoughts
TMZ claims that Chris Rock and Will Smith have not spoken since the incident and there has been no formal apology on Smith’s part albeit Smith did issue a public apology on Instagram.
He wrote, “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness,” he continued.
Smith continued, “I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family.”
“I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress,” he concluded.
Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the talent agency that represents Smith was rumored to be debating internally about whether to end their relationship with Smith but insisted that there is no truth to those rumors.
A spokesman told The Daily Beast, “There is no truth to any of it. Simply never happened.”
What do you make of Netflix and Apple+ reportedly pausing projects involving Will Smith?
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