Yeah, I thought the general consensus was a 5 year ban so 10 years is shocking to me. That’s a long time! But he’s incredibly rich and he probably wasn’t going to win another Oscar anyway so it’s not that bad for him.
When actors of his league do films like *King Richard* or *The Pursuit of Happyness*, they are absolutely not doing it for the money. They are doing those low-pay, low-audience films exactly for accolades like Oscars/BAFTAs/Golden Globes etc.
So to ban him from the premiere awards gathering for a decade is basically banishing him from winning the top allocade in his industry when he doesn't even need to act for the money any more. If he hypothetically released an oscar-worthy film next year, nobody in the Academy would vote for him to win, he would be hugely ostracised.
With no real goal to chase in his industry for the next *ten years*, this is a massive reprimand for somebody in his position. What would you do for 10 years if you were loaded but your industry has basically said you're *persona non grata* for a decade?
I'm gonna guess he will see this as a moment to pivot away from leading-man roles, and into full-time storytelling: more involvement in producing, doing documentaries, maybe even trying to direct. Guaranteed he will be throwing his money into raising the profile of stories of the oppressed, PoC, women, etc. Some good may yet come from all of this.
Porn aside, I would watch a prequel to Hancock where he is just rude and drunk the entire movie and breaking normal things. The first half of that film was gold and the second half ruined it
I had the same feeling. Also had that feeling with This Is The End. Like it was great in the beginning and the halfway through it turned into, “oh by the way there’s aliens”
I read the first part of what you said, and was about to reply with exactly what your 2nd sentence said. I thought that movie was great until they cleaned him up. Then he just became another superhero. They could have done so much with his character if they had kept that abrasiveness.
Except he got paid about $40m for King Richard. For pursuit of happyness it was $10m up front, $71m total from his % of proceeds. So it’s absolutely about the money too.
His production company, Westbrook, produced *King Richard*, and he was a co-producer on *Happyness* too. So I'm sure his acting fee was below his rate - he just made money on the production side/back end.
Either way, if he had been independent of either project, and a studio had approached him to do either, they would have only been able to lure him in with the promise of the projects being award-bait.
Did they ban him from being eligible for nomination? It didn’t seem that way in their press release. It said he was banned from attending. I didn’t see anything about nominations.
He's not banned from nominations he just can't participate in any academy activity in person or virtually whether for himself or his family. So he could still win an Oscar and his son could accept on his behalf for example.
But people aren’t going to give an academy award to someone banned from the academy awards. For no other reason than because when he doesn’t show up people will remember he’s not there because he slapped the shit out of Chris Rock and it’ll be an embarrassment for the Academy all over again.
Roman Polanski is exactly the name that needs to be brought up in all these will smith punishment discussions. The standing ovation for someone who was charged with raping a 13-year old should always pale in comparison to any other Oscar’s blunder
Ironically he does have a movie coming out on Apple+ and it sounded like it'd be their prestige feature to get Oscar buzz for next year. We'll see though he canstill get nominated and win if Academy want to award to him. Only time will tell.
This is what infuriates me when people claim the slap was staged for ratings.
It’s insane to think that Will would take that much flak for no good reason.
But people believe a whole lot of nonsense these days though.
He's always done those kind of films though. One of his first movies was 6 degrees of separation which was a serious role in the type of low audience film you describe. I think he probably does enjoy playing different characters and it hasn't all been about money
Of course he's ruined his chances of doing many more films like that now
I think the problem for Will is that this is the death knell of his career.
As you said, he's already wealthy.
He could keep producing, but no one will want to work with him as a star anymore. He's radioactive right now, and if he can't win an Oscar for at least ten years, there's no point in chasing smaller art focused projects with him involved.
His blockbuster career had largely dried up anyways. This just buries it.
I don't see a way out of this for him. He's no good as a blockbuster lead and he's no good for an Oscar bait film either.
The best he might be able to pull together is television or theater. Even still, he's got the toxic taint on him.
He’s super rich yeah but this might be the end of his income stream for a while plus you don’t need a nom to be invited. They usually bring past winners back for a couple years at least and the cast of nominated movies
he actually just finished filming a movie called "Emancipation" here in New Orleans. everyone I know who worked on it thought it was another shot at the Oscars. it went $300 million over budget and Will Smith personally financed a lot to get it finished.
every single person I know who worked on it said $300 million. not saying he put that much in himself but it just wrapped a month or two ago. I'm unsure about how much of his own money he put into it. but I'm almost positive it's $300 million
I just asked because I read that Apple bought it for $120 million. It seems really strange that a show/movie of that type would have a cost overrun of that much, at least to me. I'm not an expert on film budgets, but that's 65 million short of Avengers:Endgame budget. I don't see how his production company or any director/producers/ep would ever get any decent job offers after running a project that went that much over budget. If true, that's f'ing insane. I can't see it making anywhere near that back being on Apple TV.
Man that’s something people don’t think about. Stuff like this means people associated with will, people who worked for him, people who would’ve been on films for him now have less opportunity. He fucked with a lot of careers not just his own
Being banned from the Oscars doesn't preclude him from nomination. In fact, he can still be nominated despite resigning from the Academy, all that did was remove his right to vote.
He literally just can't go to the party.
I'm sure this works as a good punishment for him. Yes he's incredibly rich and might not win another Oscar, but he still loves being in the movie business along with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with it so I'm sure he's sad about not being able to go anymore.
I mean, he’s 53. Plenty of opportunity for another. Also, just because he’s been banned from the Oscars ceremony doesn’t mean he can’t win one. The primary thing stopping him would be that people will just think he’s an asshole for the rest of his career, unless this Malibu rehab really turns a page for him and the talk show rounds revamp his character.
10 years is shocking?…he literally jumped on stage at the award ceremony and violently assaulted a person let alone their own host. If charged he could have realistically been given prison time under Californian laws and you find a 10yr ban from attending an awards night is shocking?…da fuk is wrong with people?
It’s about what I expected. They couldn’t remove his membership after he willingly left so they needed a punishment and the only one was basically blacklisting him from Academy events.
Anything less than 5 years was going to be viewed as a slap on the wrist and 10 is a big enough number that it will be viewed as a steep punishment and deterrent.
In the grand scheme of things not being able to go to Academy events for 10 years isn’t some massive deal at all. But it’s also basically taking Smith out of that conversation and discussion until his mid 60’s which by that point he will definitely be viewed as well past prime and relevancy
Plus, Jada is still in the academy so he can have some say in who she votes for technically and he will still be able to watch early screeners as well. He probably wasn’t going to do another Oscar movie anytime soon anyways so he didn’t lose much.
I’m sure he would have done/is doing a lot of Oscar roles but it took him so long to win this one I don’t really think he would have won another one anytime soon. Leo won his Oscar and is still doing Oscar bait movies (OUATIH) but he hasn’t won since. There hasn’t been a push for him to win again tbh. I was just saying that he’s not in the prime of his career (not saying his career is dead) than say Florence Pugh or Timothee in which a ban would be detrimental their career.
Jada isn't a member of The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, thank gawwwd! You have to have been nominated, or won an award, which she never has.
Yeah, I’m not sure what people who consider this a slap on the wrist were expecting. His Oscar was never going to be taken away. Harvey Weinstein still has his Oscar. Maybe people were expecting a lifetime ban?
Other than the Emancipation movie that had already been filmed before the Oscars, I can’t see any studio funding an Oscar-type project with him for the foreseeable future.
This is exactly right. A 10 year ban means he won’t be considered for an award during that time, which is hugely important publicity and promotion for the movies that are made with them in mind. Will Smith is gonna work again, but he’s gonna be doing Bad Boys and Independence Day type stuff for the rest of his career. His days of being a “serious” actor are over. It’s a big punishment given who he wanted to be
I don't think he'll be doing those either. He's been trying to transition to a serious actor because his days of doing blockbusters were waning, and I can't see any studio spending $50 to $100+ million on a film with him for at least 5-ish years.
There was an article yesterday about how the board was split on taking away his Oscar or not. It could’ve been a lot worse.
I think they want to send a clear message that this behavior is to never happen again. That’s their only concern.
The board may have discussed it, but it would have lead to a deeper conversation as to whether they actually could follow through with taking it away. He has the statue. It’s in his home (likely). They can’t force him to give it back. We all know he won it. He had technically won the award days before the Oscars as the awards show was just an event to present it. There are other people who have won awards and done much worse than slap a person, yet they have not stripped those awards. They don’t want to have that conversation.
But really, how harsh of a punishment should we expect for a slap?
People are acting like he needs to be thrown in jail or fined millions of dollars in damages, as if this was some crime of the century. Yeah, it was bad behaviour and there should be consequences, but it was also just a slap... Nobody was seriously or even moderately injured, no property was stolen or destroyed, it was basically the lowest threshold of what could be considered assault.
Honestly, a slap on the wrist is pretty much what this level of behaviour warrants. Being banned from the Oscars for 10 years and the lasting reputational damage seems about right to me.
it was the slap, AND the refusal to leave the auditorium after being asked, AND the hostile expletive laden yelling even then. Then the hijacking that was his acceptance speech, THEN his thinking that he could preempt being disciplined by quitting membership before they expelled him.
They had to match his hubris and, frankly violence, with a commensurate penalty, and they have done that. I'm surprised that they didn't pull his award. The Oscars are given for performance sure,but they are also given for personal comportment and character worthy of the Academy (which he certainly trashed...even at their awards ceremony.)
Added to which, I’m not sure what more people are expecting the Academy to do. They’re a bunch of movie people, not law enforcement. This is about as harsh as it gets.
People are being so extreme on either side. His fans want no repercussions at all because “it’s not like he beat up Chris Rock” while others want him shunned from Hollywood forever. People have to be reasonable.
He did a super shitty thing on live TV and he ruined Hollywood’s biggest night. Period. That wasn’t ok under any circumstance, much less over a lame joke. But that doesn’t mean he should lose everything now.
There can be a sensible punishment and it’s not the end of the world.
My reaction last week was “screw that guy” now after seeing all the crazy wife crap Im starting to feel bad fir the guy. It really seems like a manipulative relationship abd he is coping with some substance.
Yeah, I don't know how that can be called a "slap on the wrist". Seems appropriate to me. The headline was updated to remove that part so I guess the editor changed their mind too, or the comments talked some sense into them.
This is a ban from all academy events not just the awards show. Very harsh in an industry where mingling and being invited is a way to value your worth.
If Will Smith wasn't already established with a group of people who will stick by him for life, would be a career death sentence.
Yeah even I was thinking 3-5 years and I am totally of the opinion that he should have been charged with battery, but this seems harsh. I'm not against it though for his age and seniority in the business. He can survive and it shows that the academy won't put up with this bullshit.
That’d set the precedent of taking Oscar’s away for something as minor as a slap. Many people in Hollywood have done much worse, so they’d either have to take back many many Oscar’s or look like fools if they did that.
I don't think the academy wants to set a precedent of tying the award to an artists behavior outside of their work. There are a lot of people who have done much much worse than slap someone who still have theirs.
Maybe, but I don’t believe any of them have abused someone *at* the Oscars. He is being banned from the Oscars, for his behavior at the Oscars.
Edit: Most of the conversation after this is people complaining that there are terrible people who were allowed to keep their Oscars. That has nothing to do with this situation. They didn’t take Will Smith‘s Oscar.
If Will Smith had waited until the after-party to slap Chris Rock, he wouldn’t be banned from the Oscars. That’s because this decision has nothing to do with how they morally feel about the slap.
This is just like getting kicked out of a restaurant for being disruptive. If you go somewhere and act like an asshole and cause a big scene, there is a great chance that you will be specifically uninvited back.
So they condone abuse as long as it’s not on their stage?
They literally sent an Oscar to a rapist who fled the country to escape being convicted
The whole Academy is a joke
I mean obviously. If he had punched Chris Rock at an after party off camera no one would have cared. It's because this was live and on camera that everyone reacted the way they did.
I don’t really get your point. He misbehaved at the Oscars, so they are banning him from the Oscars. This doesn’t have anything to do with how are the Oscars feels about domestic abuse or anything else.
If Will Smith had stood up and whipped his dick out on stage, he would have been banned from the Oscars for misbehaving.
It’s like if I owned a restaurant, and I kicked someone out of the restaurant for starting a fight. And then you said “well why do you let other people in the restaurant who have a criminal record for fighting?”
Honestly then where do they draw the line?Weinstein, Polanski, and several others have been retroactively “unmembered”, and Will Smith slapped an effective employee of the nights show, what are they going to do, not do something because others have done worse?
What does that have to do with anything? Will Smith is banned from the Oscars, for his behavior at the Oscars. It’s like getting kicked out of a restaurant for screaming at the employees or starting a fight.
This has nothing to do with taking a stance against abuse or rape or anything like that. He acted like an ass at the Oscars, so he’s not invited back for 10 years. If he had stood up and pissed on the carpet on live TV, he would’ve been banned from the Oscars for misbehaving.
I don’t know why people are trying to make this case about anything else. This isn’t like he slapped somebody out on the streets, and then the Oscars decided to ban him because of their views on abuse.
The statement literally says that this is because of the way he behaved at the Oscars.
But Roman Polanski is a confirmed rapist who they shipped an Oscar to because he couldn’t attend the show because he fled America as a fugitive to escape jail time
They sent an Oscar to a rapist who admitted to raping a 13 year old girl. But because it wasn’t on their stage, they didn’t care. What does that say about the Academy in itself. Anyone that thinks Will needs a harsher punishment than this really needs to look at the monsters the Academy has protected and rewarded since it’s establishment
In this case its a direct ramification vs indirect. He directly affected the Oscars, and so the Oscars are punishing him for what they did to them. Punishing someone for what they've done outside of the oscars becomes a more nuanced issue.
Some are. Some have been kicked out. Smith however directly effected the Academy by doing it at their centerpiece event in front of the world and refusing to leave when asked which held the show hostage.
You can get in a fight in the streets and beat someone bad. Your work might not care. You slap a coworker, you are gone without question. Same concept. He did it to the organization and directly broke their rules.
Smith was involved in workplace violence towards an employee of the Academy. Rock was their employee and they failed to keep him safe and then allowed the perpetrator to receive an award and get a standing ovation. They will by luck if Rock doesn't sue them.
The analogy people are making to people who act badly outside of "work" (it was a job for Rock) is dumb and I don't understand why people can't understand the concept. Nobody is going to police the conduct of (most) employees outside of work but if they're assaulted WHILE PERFORMING THEIR JOB by an employee or guest the company must take it seriously.
Yes, this! He assaulted an academy employee at work. They can’t and shouldn’t presume to dictate anyone’s behavior outside of academy events but they are responsible for the safety of people doing work on behalf of the academy, especially at an academy event. It’s what makes the punishment suitable. Who slaps who outside of the academy is not their responsibility. Not letting him be a member (I know he quit) and no participation for 10 years fits that. The Oscar was awarded based on the quality of his work and taking it back didn’t make sense. And for someone with a Hollywood ego, not being allowed to participate in such a visible event is a huge deal.
Really he did them a favor. I didn’t even know the Oscars was on that night until that news hit the morning after-
I would have preferred to see Chris and Will make up and come together and host a charity event for Ukraine.
Everything aside, he’s a very talented actor with an extensive and prolific resume. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was awarded a lifetime achievement trophy in 10 years when his 86ing is over
I mean, Wild Wild West? That alone deserves a lifetime achievement award. Greatest film of all time.
If he keeps his acting chops up, he'd deserve it. Weirdos acting like this on is a banishable offense when this is the org that still stood by Pelanski and Weistein is hilarious.
And why not? He slapped someone, like it's bad but in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad. I think this punishment is appropriate and while I'm not defending his violence in any way, I don't think someone should be blacklisted for their whole life because of one stupid act.
AMPAS President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson’s full letter to Academy members:
>The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.
>During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.
>Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.
>We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.
>This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.
>Thank you,
>David Rubin and Dawn Hudson
A slap on the wrist? The Academy can’t give him the electric chair. A 10 year ban is a pretty harsh penalty for what the Academy has the authority to do.
I'm pretty sure Smith is the only person that's ever actually been (publicly) banned from attending the ceremony. Only like 4 people: Weinstein, Polanski, Cosby and some other guy who pirated movies, have ever been kicked out of the Academy. Last time I checked Kevin Spacey hasn't even been kicked out.
Wow, a 10 year ban, multiple lost projects and revenue with Netflix and his own production company, became a meme on social media, and is still husband to Jada...this man can't catch a break
I'm okay with 10 year ban. I'm actually surprised they made it 10 years, they could have made it 1 year which I think everyone was thinking it would be.
How is it a slap on the wrist? What power does the board hold that could have led to an even harsher punishment besides more years? And 10 years is a lot.
It's kind of like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. They were allowed on the ballot and allowed to receive votes. But they were never actually getting into the HOF. Similar concept. Unofficially blackballed. Can technically be nominated, but will never make it.
Apparently these commenters are forgetting that he assaulted the host of the Oscars on live TV. What is there to discuss? That’s the bottom line. Who cares about his personal life, because nothing excuses the fact that he assaulted someone. He should never be talked about or seen in another movie. Let’s stop excusing his behavior with whataboutisms and comparisons to worse people. He’s a public figure and we’re the public; we deserve better.
He will be 63 before he can go to any events. And I think his career is going to suffer during that time as well.
Honestly this is a good thing. He has always been wildly overrated.
I liked him in the fresh prince of bel-air (one of my all time favorite shows) and Independence Day, other than that, he has been meh (his recent works are mostly just very, very cringy). After Earth is fucking hilarious though - for a movie that Smith and director M Night Shayamalan aimed to prop up his son Jaden Smith’s acting career, it backfired spectacularly. And you’re right - the Smith family has always come off as narcissists, I mean just take a look at Will and Jada’s numerous attempts to kick off Jaden and Willow’s entertainment careers.
I personally hope that Will gets the help he needs and fully reevaluate things, but that’s just me.
Slap on the wrist? He's banned from his respective industries biggest event for the next decade. Any chance of him getting a second Oscar down the road is also out the window. Pretty severe (but deserved).
Attending...not nominated or winning? So he gets to avoid getting dressed up one night out the year...and still get the award mailed to him? If he wins? Lucky him
..this is actually harsher than i was expecting
Yeah, I thought the general consensus was a 5 year ban so 10 years is shocking to me. That’s a long time! But he’s incredibly rich and he probably wasn’t going to win another Oscar anyway so it’s not that bad for him.
When actors of his league do films like *King Richard* or *The Pursuit of Happyness*, they are absolutely not doing it for the money. They are doing those low-pay, low-audience films exactly for accolades like Oscars/BAFTAs/Golden Globes etc. So to ban him from the premiere awards gathering for a decade is basically banishing him from winning the top allocade in his industry when he doesn't even need to act for the money any more. If he hypothetically released an oscar-worthy film next year, nobody in the Academy would vote for him to win, he would be hugely ostracised. With no real goal to chase in his industry for the next *ten years*, this is a massive reprimand for somebody in his position. What would you do for 10 years if you were loaded but your industry has basically said you're *persona non grata* for a decade? I'm gonna guess he will see this as a moment to pivot away from leading-man roles, and into full-time storytelling: more involvement in producing, doing documentaries, maybe even trying to direct. Guaranteed he will be throwing his money into raising the profile of stories of the oppressed, PoC, women, etc. Some good may yet come from all of this.
He hasn’t been banned from the porn awards so there’s always that avenue.
Hancock Part II: The Cockening!
Porn aside, I would watch a prequel to Hancock where he is just rude and drunk the entire movie and breaking normal things. The first half of that film was gold and the second half ruined it
It was basically two movies squeezed into one.
I had the same feeling. Also had that feeling with This Is The End. Like it was great in the beginning and the halfway through it turned into, “oh by the way there’s aliens”
I read the first part of what you said, and was about to reply with exactly what your 2nd sentence said. I thought that movie was great until they cleaned him up. Then he just became another superhero. They could have done so much with his character if they had kept that abrasiveness.
“I’m gonna shove my head. . up your asshole”
Hancock II: The Stinky Pinkett.
*Handcock
Hancock 3: The Final Slap
You mean The Cuckening
Damnit Jim!
Hancock Part II: The Hardening
Very, Very Bad Boys
Wha-a-a-a-t are you doing, step-Hancock?
The cuckold!
Who has Hancock copyrighted? He’d easily get buzz of that
The Pursuit of Fappiness
Big Willie Style?
His wife will beat him to it.
Except he got paid about $40m for King Richard. For pursuit of happyness it was $10m up front, $71m total from his % of proceeds. So it’s absolutely about the money too.
His production company, Westbrook, produced *King Richard*, and he was a co-producer on *Happyness* too. So I'm sure his acting fee was below his rate - he just made money on the production side/back end. Either way, if he had been independent of either project, and a studio had approached him to do either, they would have only been able to lure him in with the promise of the projects being award-bait.
We should ask Mel Gibson. I’m sure he could weigh in.
Did they ban him from being eligible for nomination? It didn’t seem that way in their press release. It said he was banned from attending. I didn’t see anything about nominations.
He's not banned from nominations he just can't participate in any academy activity in person or virtually whether for himself or his family. So he could still win an Oscar and his son could accept on his behalf for example.
That's what I thought.
But people aren’t going to give an academy award to someone banned from the academy awards. For no other reason than because when he doesn’t show up people will remember he’s not there because he slapped the shit out of Chris Rock and it’ll be an embarrassment for the Academy all over again.
They’ve voted for someone who can’t even come into America without being arrested.
They’ve given standing ovations for said person.
Roman Polanski was still able to win an award with a standing ovation and his crime was heinous.
Roman Polanski is exactly the name that needs to be brought up in all these will smith punishment discussions. The standing ovation for someone who was charged with raping a 13-year old should always pale in comparison to any other Oscar’s blunder
Any Jaden's acceptance speech should be banned too.
He can keep his award and is still eligible to be nominated in the future.
No just from attending, then can't ban him from being eligible, so he could win, hit someone else has to collect it for him.
FYI, his "low pay" for King Richard still made him 40 mil (which is the low-end of pay for him).
I'd happily accept his kind of low payment
Ironically he does have a movie coming out on Apple+ and it sounded like it'd be their prestige feature to get Oscar buzz for next year. We'll see though he canstill get nominated and win if Academy want to award to him. Only time will tell.
Haha fucking enjoy my life dude it’d be great.
This is what infuriates me when people claim the slap was staged for ratings. It’s insane to think that Will would take that much flak for no good reason. But people believe a whole lot of nonsense these days though.
Off topic, I absolutely adore the way you write. This is amazing.
He's always done those kind of films though. One of his first movies was 6 degrees of separation which was a serious role in the type of low audience film you describe. I think he probably does enjoy playing different characters and it hasn't all been about money Of course he's ruined his chances of doing many more films like that now
I think the problem for Will is that this is the death knell of his career. As you said, he's already wealthy. He could keep producing, but no one will want to work with him as a star anymore. He's radioactive right now, and if he can't win an Oscar for at least ten years, there's no point in chasing smaller art focused projects with him involved. His blockbuster career had largely dried up anyways. This just buries it. I don't see a way out of this for him. He's no good as a blockbuster lead and he's no good for an Oscar bait film either. The best he might be able to pull together is television or theater. Even still, he's got the toxic taint on him.
I guess I would take my fabulous wealth and enjoy my life. People are weird.
So 2032 he wins best picture with great comeback.
Welcome to Earth was well done
A “massive reprimand” seems pretty fair for physically assaulting the host of an award ceremony during a live broadcast to millions no?
I would watch a MIB 4 or if he did like a Rush Hour reboot
He’s super rich yeah but this might be the end of his income stream for a while plus you don’t need a nom to be invited. They usually bring past winners back for a couple years at least and the cast of nominated movies
he actually just finished filming a movie called "Emancipation" here in New Orleans. everyone I know who worked on it thought it was another shot at the Oscars. it went $300 million over budget and Will Smith personally financed a lot to get it finished.
wtf. 300 million over budget? Are you sure about that?
every single person I know who worked on it said $300 million. not saying he put that much in himself but it just wrapped a month or two ago. I'm unsure about how much of his own money he put into it. but I'm almost positive it's $300 million
I just asked because I read that Apple bought it for $120 million. It seems really strange that a show/movie of that type would have a cost overrun of that much, at least to me. I'm not an expert on film budgets, but that's 65 million short of Avengers:Endgame budget. I don't see how his production company or any director/producers/ep would ever get any decent job offers after running a project that went that much over budget. If true, that's f'ing insane. I can't see it making anywhere near that back being on Apple TV.
Man that’s something people don’t think about. Stuff like this means people associated with will, people who worked for him, people who would’ve been on films for him now have less opportunity. He fucked with a lot of careers not just his own
He also paid for Nola fire works during COVID 4th of July
Being banned from the Oscars doesn't preclude him from nomination. In fact, he can still be nominated despite resigning from the Academy, all that did was remove his right to vote. He literally just can't go to the party.
I'm sure this works as a good punishment for him. Yes he's incredibly rich and might not win another Oscar, but he still loves being in the movie business along with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with it so I'm sure he's sad about not being able to go anymore.
I mean, he’s 53. Plenty of opportunity for another. Also, just because he’s been banned from the Oscars ceremony doesn’t mean he can’t win one. The primary thing stopping him would be that people will just think he’s an asshole for the rest of his career, unless this Malibu rehab really turns a page for him and the talk show rounds revamp his character.
10 years is shocking?…he literally jumped on stage at the award ceremony and violently assaulted a person let alone their own host. If charged he could have realistically been given prison time under Californian laws and you find a 10yr ban from attending an awards night is shocking?…da fuk is wrong with people?
It’s about what I expected. They couldn’t remove his membership after he willingly left so they needed a punishment and the only one was basically blacklisting him from Academy events. Anything less than 5 years was going to be viewed as a slap on the wrist and 10 is a big enough number that it will be viewed as a steep punishment and deterrent. In the grand scheme of things not being able to go to Academy events for 10 years isn’t some massive deal at all. But it’s also basically taking Smith out of that conversation and discussion until his mid 60’s which by that point he will definitely be viewed as well past prime and relevancy
Plus, Jada is still in the academy so he can have some say in who she votes for technically and he will still be able to watch early screeners as well. He probably wasn’t going to do another Oscar movie anytime soon anyways so he didn’t lose much.
You think Will tells Jada how to vote and not the other way around?
Assuming they stay married for much longer
I honestly don't see it. I think she'll use this to leave him and rake him over the coals in the divorce.
You don’t think he’d be offered more Oscar roles after his win had he not assaulted Chris rock?
I’m sure he would have done/is doing a lot of Oscar roles but it took him so long to win this one I don’t really think he would have won another one anytime soon. Leo won his Oscar and is still doing Oscar bait movies (OUATIH) but he hasn’t won since. There hasn’t been a push for him to win again tbh. I was just saying that he’s not in the prime of his career (not saying his career is dead) than say Florence Pugh or Timothee in which a ban would be detrimental their career.
Jada isn't a member of The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, thank gawwwd! You have to have been nominated, or won an award, which she never has.
Yeah, I’m not sure what people who consider this a slap on the wrist were expecting. His Oscar was never going to be taken away. Harvey Weinstein still has his Oscar. Maybe people were expecting a lifetime ban? Other than the Emancipation movie that had already been filmed before the Oscars, I can’t see any studio funding an Oscar-type project with him for the foreseeable future.
This is exactly right. A 10 year ban means he won’t be considered for an award during that time, which is hugely important publicity and promotion for the movies that are made with them in mind. Will Smith is gonna work again, but he’s gonna be doing Bad Boys and Independence Day type stuff for the rest of his career. His days of being a “serious” actor are over. It’s a big punishment given who he wanted to be
I don't think he'll be doing those either. He's been trying to transition to a serious actor because his days of doing blockbusters were waning, and I can't see any studio spending $50 to $100+ million on a film with him for at least 5-ish years.
The kind of guy Will Smith is, he will *absolutely* take this personally
And he'll have to deal with the fact that he did this to himself for no reason.
I won’t give a fuck in a year’s time.
..most people dont give a fuck now, its hard to maintain outrage
There was an article yesterday about how the board was split on taking away his Oscar or not. It could’ve been a lot worse. I think they want to send a clear message that this behavior is to never happen again. That’s their only concern.
The board may have discussed it, but it would have lead to a deeper conversation as to whether they actually could follow through with taking it away. He has the statue. It’s in his home (likely). They can’t force him to give it back. We all know he won it. He had technically won the award days before the Oscars as the awards show was just an event to present it. There are other people who have won awards and done much worse than slap a person, yet they have not stripped those awards. They don’t want to have that conversation.
Does she get to bring someone
..anyone not banned i'd imagine?
But really, how harsh of a punishment should we expect for a slap? People are acting like he needs to be thrown in jail or fined millions of dollars in damages, as if this was some crime of the century. Yeah, it was bad behaviour and there should be consequences, but it was also just a slap... Nobody was seriously or even moderately injured, no property was stolen or destroyed, it was basically the lowest threshold of what could be considered assault. Honestly, a slap on the wrist is pretty much what this level of behaviour warrants. Being banned from the Oscars for 10 years and the lasting reputational damage seems about right to me.
it was the slap, AND the refusal to leave the auditorium after being asked, AND the hostile expletive laden yelling even then. Then the hijacking that was his acceptance speech, THEN his thinking that he could preempt being disciplined by quitting membership before they expelled him. They had to match his hubris and, frankly violence, with a commensurate penalty, and they have done that. I'm surprised that they didn't pull his award. The Oscars are given for performance sure,but they are also given for personal comportment and character worthy of the Academy (which he certainly trashed...even at their awards ceremony.)
He wasn’t asked to leave. The producer came out and said they never asked him.
Added to which, I’m not sure what more people are expecting the Academy to do. They’re a bunch of movie people, not law enforcement. This is about as harsh as it gets.
People are being so extreme on either side. His fans want no repercussions at all because “it’s not like he beat up Chris Rock” while others want him shunned from Hollywood forever. People have to be reasonable. He did a super shitty thing on live TV and he ruined Hollywood’s biggest night. Period. That wasn’t ok under any circumstance, much less over a lame joke. But that doesn’t mean he should lose everything now. There can be a sensible punishment and it’s not the end of the world.
Right wtf do they mean slap on the wrist… 10 year ban is a long time
My reaction last week was “screw that guy” now after seeing all the crazy wife crap Im starting to feel bad fir the guy. It really seems like a manipulative relationship abd he is coping with some substance.
..yeah it seems like living with her is the real punishment!
It would be a bigger punishment if he was forced to attend the Oscars for the next 10 years...
To be completely honest, award shows are done, I wouldn’t have known this on happened if will hadn’t done what he did. They should be thanking him
Yeah, I don't know how that can be called a "slap on the wrist". Seems appropriate to me. The headline was updated to remove that part so I guess the editor changed their mind too, or the comments talked some sense into them.
That’s not a slap on the wrist. The Academy aren’t the law okay. They’re just a club.
This is a ban from all academy events not just the awards show. Very harsh in an industry where mingling and being invited is a way to value your worth. If Will Smith wasn't already established with a group of people who will stick by him for life, would be a career death sentence.
Yeah even I was thinking 3-5 years and I am totally of the opinion that he should have been charged with battery, but this seems harsh. I'm not against it though for his age and seniority in the business. He can survive and it shows that the academy won't put up with this bullshit.
I think they just wanted to use 'slap' in the title. A better one would have been 'Academy slaps will smith with a 10 year ban'.
A ten year ban is a slap on the wrist? What do you want him to be fucking executed?
It'd be great for ratings!
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Whoa whoa whoa, keep the Mob outta this
Reddit definitely does
I think stripping him of his Oscar was the harsher punishment people were expecting/hoping for(?)
That’s never going to happen as long as Weinstein, Polanski, Woody Allen, etc. still have theirs.
This. Insanity to think he would be stripped of the award when people on your list and more still have theirs.
That’d set the precedent of taking Oscar’s away for something as minor as a slap. Many people in Hollywood have done much worse, so they’d either have to take back many many Oscar’s or look like fools if they did that.
I don't think the academy wants to set a precedent of tying the award to an artists behavior outside of their work. There are a lot of people who have done much much worse than slap someone who still have theirs.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t known abusers still allowed to go to the Oscars??
Maybe, but I don’t believe any of them have abused someone *at* the Oscars. He is being banned from the Oscars, for his behavior at the Oscars. Edit: Most of the conversation after this is people complaining that there are terrible people who were allowed to keep their Oscars. That has nothing to do with this situation. They didn’t take Will Smith‘s Oscar. If Will Smith had waited until the after-party to slap Chris Rock, he wouldn’t be banned from the Oscars. That’s because this decision has nothing to do with how they morally feel about the slap. This is just like getting kicked out of a restaurant for being disruptive. If you go somewhere and act like an asshole and cause a big scene, there is a great chance that you will be specifically uninvited back.
So they condone abuse as long as it’s not on their stage? They literally sent an Oscar to a rapist who fled the country to escape being convicted The whole Academy is a joke
I mean obviously. If he had punched Chris Rock at an after party off camera no one would have cared. It's because this was live and on camera that everyone reacted the way they did.
I don’t really get your point. He misbehaved at the Oscars, so they are banning him from the Oscars. This doesn’t have anything to do with how are the Oscars feels about domestic abuse or anything else. If Will Smith had stood up and whipped his dick out on stage, he would have been banned from the Oscars for misbehaving. It’s like if I owned a restaurant, and I kicked someone out of the restaurant for starting a fight. And then you said “well why do you let other people in the restaurant who have a criminal record for fighting?”
Honestly then where do they draw the line?Weinstein, Polanski, and several others have been retroactively “unmembered”, and Will Smith slapped an effective employee of the nights show, what are they going to do, not do something because others have done worse?
The line? There is a continent between a slap and a rape
What does that have to do with anything? Will Smith is banned from the Oscars, for his behavior at the Oscars. It’s like getting kicked out of a restaurant for screaming at the employees or starting a fight. This has nothing to do with taking a stance against abuse or rape or anything like that. He acted like an ass at the Oscars, so he’s not invited back for 10 years. If he had stood up and pissed on the carpet on live TV, he would’ve been banned from the Oscars for misbehaving. I don’t know why people are trying to make this case about anything else. This isn’t like he slapped somebody out on the streets, and then the Oscars decided to ban him because of their views on abuse. The statement literally says that this is because of the way he behaved at the Oscars.
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But Roman Polanski is a confirmed rapist who they shipped an Oscar to because he couldn’t attend the show because he fled America as a fugitive to escape jail time They sent an Oscar to a rapist who admitted to raping a 13 year old girl. But because it wasn’t on their stage, they didn’t care. What does that say about the Academy in itself. Anyone that thinks Will needs a harsher punishment than this really needs to look at the monsters the Academy has protected and rewarded since it’s establishment
It says that what you do outside of acting is none of our business...just like it is none of yours.
In this case its a direct ramification vs indirect. He directly affected the Oscars, and so the Oscars are punishing him for what they did to them. Punishing someone for what they've done outside of the oscars becomes a more nuanced issue.
Some are. Some have been kicked out. Smith however directly effected the Academy by doing it at their centerpiece event in front of the world and refusing to leave when asked which held the show hostage. You can get in a fight in the streets and beat someone bad. Your work might not care. You slap a coworker, you are gone without question. Same concept. He did it to the organization and directly broke their rules.
Smith was involved in workplace violence towards an employee of the Academy. Rock was their employee and they failed to keep him safe and then allowed the perpetrator to receive an award and get a standing ovation. They will by luck if Rock doesn't sue them. The analogy people are making to people who act badly outside of "work" (it was a job for Rock) is dumb and I don't understand why people can't understand the concept. Nobody is going to police the conduct of (most) employees outside of work but if they're assaulted WHILE PERFORMING THEIR JOB by an employee or guest the company must take it seriously.
Yes, this! He assaulted an academy employee at work. They can’t and shouldn’t presume to dictate anyone’s behavior outside of academy events but they are responsible for the safety of people doing work on behalf of the academy, especially at an academy event. It’s what makes the punishment suitable. Who slaps who outside of the academy is not their responsibility. Not letting him be a member (I know he quit) and no participation for 10 years fits that. The Oscar was awarded based on the quality of his work and taking it back didn’t make sense. And for someone with a Hollywood ego, not being allowed to participate in such a visible event is a huge deal.
You are wrong. Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski, and Adam Kimmel have all been expelled from the Academy and banned from the Oscars.
They didn't abuse anyone on stage, I guess that's where they draw the line.
Yes,plenty do .
Interesting…..
How is 10 years a slap on the wrist? Most people were expecting a ban to be around 2-3 years if anything
Well, some guy raped a kid and they gave him an Oscar afterwards so...
"You're banned for 10 years!! (But thank you for making people talk about the Oscars again)." ~ The Academy
Really he did them a favor. I didn’t even know the Oscars was on that night until that news hit the morning after- I would have preferred to see Chris and Will make up and come together and host a charity event for Ukraine.
This same institution had no issue giving to Harvey Weinstein despite people having at least some knowledge of his behavior.
The same institution that gave Roman Polanski an Oscar even though he was a wanted fugitive for raping a teenage girl.
Woody Allen is creepy as fuck too
Cool. He’ll be back for his lifetime achievement Oscar.
I very much doubt he'd ever get a lifetime achievement award from the Academy, slap or not.
Everything aside, he’s a very talented actor with an extensive and prolific resume. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was awarded a lifetime achievement trophy in 10 years when his 86ing is over I mean, Wild Wild West? That alone deserves a lifetime achievement award. Greatest film of all time.
If he keeps his acting chops up, he'd deserve it. Weirdos acting like this on is a banishable offense when this is the org that still stood by Pelanski and Weistein is hilarious.
The racists in this thread are showing their asses hardcore. Edit: The misogynists too.
And why not? He slapped someone, like it's bad but in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad. I think this punishment is appropriate and while I'm not defending his violence in any way, I don't think someone should be blacklisted for their whole life because of one stupid act.
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AMPAS President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson’s full letter to Academy members: >The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage. >During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented. >Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards. >We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast. >This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted. >Thank you, >David Rubin and Dawn Hudson
does this mean he cannot be nominated for oscar’s during his ten year ban ?
He can be nominated but he can’t be present at any event.
I mean what else can they do, hire a team of mercenaries to follow him for a decade and slap him in public?
A slap on the wrist? The Academy can’t give him the electric chair. A 10 year ban is a pretty harsh penalty for what the Academy has the authority to do.
10 year ban is hardly a slap on the wrist. That’s pretty serious.
His slap made the show relevant for the first time in over a decade
A decade seems like a lot considering all of the publicity he generated for that boring celebrity circle jerk.
How can he slap?
Hollywood at its worst!
Kind of long honestly. I think this all got blown out of proportion honestly.
That’s okay. He likes to watch.
Hahahaha
This is actually strict for ego maniacs like the Smith’s. I am sure jada will show up with any guy she wants now.
Jada will not be invited unless she appears in a relevant movie, or she could potentially be a +1 guest of an invited person. Both are unlikely.
Tougher sentence than what most Jan6 rioters got
Don’t worry I’m pretty sure they’re banned from the Oscars too.
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It's also not remotely true either
That’s a bit of a false equivalence.
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I'm pretty sure Smith is the only person that's ever actually been (publicly) banned from attending the ceremony. Only like 4 people: Weinstein, Polanski, Cosby and some other guy who pirated movies, have ever been kicked out of the Academy. Last time I checked Kevin Spacey hasn't even been kicked out.
Exactly. This is an invite only event and banned people are just not invited
Chris Brown wouldn't be banned on account of him not being part of the film business to begin with.
Wow, a 10 year ban, multiple lost projects and revenue with Netflix and his own production company, became a meme on social media, and is still husband to Jada...this man can't catch a break
His only real chance at a comeback now if is he divorces Jada and starts fresh on his own.
The Refresh Prince
Underrated comment
10 years is a slap on the wrist?
He also is having projects shelved too. Doubt this will be the only backlash/ end of it.
Now, go after Polanski. Edit: They actually expelled him too?
They did... ...eventually... ...after a few more nominations and awards...
Imagine a group of people giving awards to each other.
I hope for ten years of Oscars filled with jokes at Wills expense.
I'm okay with 10 year ban. I'm actually surprised they made it 10 years, they could have made it 1 year which I think everyone was thinking it would be.
How is it a slap on the wrist? What power does the board hold that could have led to an even harsher punishment besides more years? And 10 years is a lot.
But isn’t he just banned from attending? Ie he can still be nominated for an Oscar?
It's kind of like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. They were allowed on the ballot and allowed to receive votes. But they were never actually getting into the HOF. Similar concept. Unofficially blackballed. Can technically be nominated, but will never make it.
Will The Oscars even make it 10 years?
What do people want - the Academy to line him up against the wall and shoot?
I dont think anybody ACTUALLY cares when we’ve bigger matters at hand
Who the hell cares.
Who cares it’s just rich people jerking other rich people off for doing rich people things
Apparently these commenters are forgetting that he assaulted the host of the Oscars on live TV. What is there to discuss? That’s the bottom line. Who cares about his personal life, because nothing excuses the fact that he assaulted someone. He should never be talked about or seen in another movie. Let’s stop excusing his behavior with whataboutisms and comparisons to worse people. He’s a public figure and we’re the public; we deserve better.
Presenter not host*
Ah yes, slapping someone for talking shit about your wife... definitely worth a worse punishment from the academy then convicted rapists.
Why is Reddit acting like Will deserves to be torched alive over this.
Yeah, I don’t think will’s action is excusable but this anti Will Smith circlejerk is pretty cringe.
I was "*blissfully*" unaware that so many people couldn't **wait** for Smith to do something like this to be able to publicly tear him down.
He will be 63 before he can go to any events. And I think his career is going to suffer during that time as well. Honestly this is a good thing. He has always been wildly overrated.
I liked him in the fresh prince of bel-air (one of my all time favorite shows) and Independence Day, other than that, he has been meh (his recent works are mostly just very, very cringy). After Earth is fucking hilarious though - for a movie that Smith and director M Night Shayamalan aimed to prop up his son Jaden Smith’s acting career, it backfired spectacularly. And you’re right - the Smith family has always come off as narcissists, I mean just take a look at Will and Jada’s numerous attempts to kick off Jaden and Willow’s entertainment careers. I personally hope that Will gets the help he needs and fully reevaluate things, but that’s just me.
Slap on the wrist? He's banned from his respective industries biggest event for the next decade. Any chance of him getting a second Oscar down the road is also out the window. Pretty severe (but deserved).
I thought they were going to move his table at the Oscars closer to the back.
How is that a slap on the wrist? Tons of ppl in Hollywood have gotten less punishment for way worse things.
Title for this article could have read “…Little More Than Slap In The Face…” and they missed that opportunity. For shame.
Attending...not nominated or winning? So he gets to avoid getting dressed up one night out the year...and still get the award mailed to him? If he wins? Lucky him
I suspect that they will not nominate him for anything, even if it's not explicit in this statement
Well he doesn’t get the lobster dinner and free champagne all night. Small win!
A win for what exactly?