CNN —
In the wake of the Oscars earlier this year, film viewers and industry insiders alike have been wondering what Will Smith’s now infamous on-air slap by Chris Rock will mean for the King Richard actor’s career, as well as his future Oscar chances.
Now, ahead of the release of Smith’s new film Emancipation, director Antoine Fuqua is opening up on all that speculation and his desire for audiences to instead focus on the burning narrative at the heart of the film, which is America’s historic struggle against slavery.
“The film is bigger for me than this moment. Four hundred years of slavery is greater than a moment,” Fuqua told Vanity Fair in an interview published Tuesday about the film, in which Smith plays a character named Peter, a man escaping slavery.
The character was inspired by a historical figure commonly referred to as “Whipped Peter” who appeared in graphic photographs from 1863 depicting the brutality of slavery.
Fuqua, who directed Denzel Washington in his Oscar-winning best actor role in 2001’s Training Day, added that he hopes people “will go and see the movie and appreciate the great performance by Will and all the really hard work get carried away that the whole crew did it.”
Smith, who won this year’s Best Actor Oscar for his role as Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena, will be barred from attending any Academy events or programs, including the Academy Awards itself, in person or virtually for a period of time ten years from 2022 as a result of his physical outbreak.
That punishment, decided after a series of exchanges between Smith and the Academy after the awards ceremony on March 27, does not prevent the actor from being nominated for another statuette.
Emancipation will be a limited release in theaters on December 2 before streaming on Apple TV+ a week later, meaning both the film and Smith are eligible for Oscar nominations this awards season.