Netflix and Apple+ reportedly pull out of bidding war over Will Smith, biopic ‘thrown into chaos’ after Oscars

Will Smith continues to deal with the fallout after the allegedly emasculated actor defended his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s honor by storming the Academy Awards stage and slapping Chris Rock in the head after the comedian joked about her shaved head.’

The latest development coming after the slap heard ’round the world is that Will Smith’s biopic has reportedly “been thrown into chaos after Netflix and Apple+ reportedly pulled out of a bidding war,” the Daily Mail reported.

As egregious as his display of violence was, it initially appeared that Smith would get away with it scot-free, as he returned to his seat and was later given a standing ovation by his peers when he received an Oscars award for best actor. However, in a break from the norm, where the Hollywood elite are seldom held accountable, there would be ramifications for Smith. One of the first being that he resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate,” Smith wrote in a statement.

Turns out, according to the Academy, Smith was asked to leave the awards show last Sunday and refused. There is still an outside chance he could have his Oscar stripped — it would be a first. As for resigning, Smith remains eligible for future nominations, but cannot vote for the Oscars or attend special Academy events.

Netflix had already put Smith’s latest film on the back burner, and Sony’s ‘Bad Boys 4’ installment has also stalled, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Netflix film, “Fast and Loose,” had already lost “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch, who withdrew from the project in the week leading up to the Oscars, and Sony stalled production of the “Bad Boys” film even though Smith had reportedly received 40 pages of the script in the lead-up to the award ceremony.

As for his biopic, the Daily Mail reported that insiders are allegedly saying Netflix and Apple+ removed their competitive bids on the film about the star’s life, based on his best-selling autobiography Will, and “will instead relocate the funds and develop original ideas from new black actors.”

Smith is due to appear in Apple TV’s slavery drama “Emancipation” this autumn,  and the British tabloid said that project appears to still be a go.

Tom Tillison

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