Almost a year after the actor Will Smith starred in what was, without a doubt, one of the most awkward in Oscar history slapping gala host and comedian Chris Rock, the career of the performer of men in black It regained momentum thanks to the Beacon Awards, the awards presented each year by the Association of African-American Film Critics.
In 2023, the AAFCA recognized Smith’s work in Emancipationa film directed by Antonie Fuqua, produced by himself and powered by Apple TV which tells the true story of a black slave and that before the actor’s image was seriously tarnished by the aggressiveness that led him to be excluded from the Oscars, he sounded, and many, in the pools for the American Film Academy awards of this year.
But in Oscar’s absence – the actor can’t attend the ceremony as punishment for his attack on Chris Rock – Smith stayed with the Beacon and made a point of thanking his audience and his family with a speech that lasted no less than six minutes Obviously, at home the interpreter of In search of happiness and 7 souls made no mention of the controversy that has followed him for more than eleven months.
Will Smith started off by making sure Emancipation was the hardest individual job he’s done in his entire film career and even joked about it being all shot on location and what that meant to him. ‘recording team, to which he was subjected. freezing working days and others where the sun has wreaked havoc.
Later, according to Variety, Smith went on to explain how difficult it is for a man in our time to transfer his mind to the times of slavery. “It’s so hard to imagine this level of inhumanity”assured the actor in front of the public of the gala to explain later that they even spat on him during the filming in search of the greatest possible realism.
But it didn’t stop there. Despite the fact that Smith did not want to refer to anything that happened on his personal level over the past year, he wanted to thank all the support received from the film industry, who helped him realize a story that he believes should be told, and on all Apple.
“The budget was one thing, then it was another thing, then another … And Apple never objected,” said Smith, who assured that for the owners of the apple-bitten company, c was, in this case, much more important. to tell the story how it was deserved than the money it was going to cost them. “They make iPhones. They can do it,” joked the actor just before ending his speech, assuring that Peter, the man he plays in this film, has undoubtedly changed his life.