Emancipation Trivia | 25 facts about the movie

«Emancipation» is a 2022 American historical action film directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith.

Let’s find out more about the movie!

1. Emancipation is a 2022 American historical action film.
2. The film was directed by Antoine Fuqua.
3. Will Smith stars as an enslaved man in Louisiana in the 1860s who escapes his plantation.
4. The film was written by William N. Collage.
5. It is loosely based on the real-life story of Gordon (named “Peter” in the film), a former slave, and the photographs of his bare back, heavily scourged from an overseer’s whippings, that were published worldwide in 1863, giving the abolitionist movement proof of the cruelty of American slavery.
6. The film also stars Ben Foster and Charmaine Bingwa.
7. Producer Joey McFarland began researching the story of Gordon in 2018, and hired Collage to write the script.
8. The film was officially announced in June 2020.
9. Fuqua was about to direct and Smith to star.
10. Filming took place in Louisiana between July and August 2021.
11. Apple paid $130 million to acquire the rights to the film, outbidding several other studios.
12. Emancipation had its first screening in Washington, D.C. on October 1, 2022.
13. Then it was released in select cinemas on December 2, 2022, before its streaming release on December 9, by Apple TV+.
14. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
15. Captain James Ingraham and Louis Snear were the last two remaining “officers of color” in the 1st Regiment Louisiana Native Guards (73rd USCT) until Captain Ingraham resigned on March 22, 1864, leaving Captain Louis Snear to be the sole officer of color on the battlefield at the assault of Fort Blakeley on April 9, 1865.
16. Steven Ogg’s Hollywood feature film debut. Ogg is much known for his portrayal of the character Trevor Phillips in the video game Grand Theft Auto V (2013). He previously took small roles in the AMC shows The Walking Dead (2010) and Better Call Saul (2015).
17. At the Siege of Port Hudson, there were four different regiments of US Colored Troops: 1st Louisiana Native Guards (73rd USCT), 3rd Louisiana Native Guards (75th USCT), 4th Louisiana Native Guards (76th USCT), and the 1st Louisiana Engineers (later split into the 95th and 97th USCT). Of these regiments the only one that had any sergeant with the name of either “Peter” or “Gordon” was the 1st Louisiana Engineers. There were three: Peter Jones of company M, who deserted June 19, 1863; William Gordon of company A, who died of scurvy Sept 11, 1864; and Peter Simms of company I, who completed his 3-year enlistment and mustered out of service with the 97th USCT on April 6, 1866 as part of the occupation force in Mobile, Alabama. As a coincidence, there were also three “Will Smiths” in the 97th USCT; one of them enlisted in April of 1863 and would also rise to the rank of sergeant.
18. The movie is shot both in color and black and white.
19. After months of speculation, Apple TV+ has officially revealed that Will Smith’s King Richard follow-up, Emancipation, will enter the awards race. Apple made the decision to release Emancipation days after the film’s first public screening at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st Annual Legislative Conference held in Washington D.C. Both Smith and Fuqua attended the screening and took part in a post-screening conversation. The streaming service released the first trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s period drama, along with the announcement that the film will play in theaters on December 2, 2022 and will start streaming on December 9, 2022. Reaction to Emancipation at the screening was largely positive, which no doubt played a role in Apple’s choice to put the film in awards contention.
20. It was highly speculated that the film would be ‘shelved’ for some time, due to Will Smith’s much-publicized anger incident at the Academy Awards on March 27, 2022. However, it was later announced that it would get a release in 2023 prior to being moved to its December 2022 date.
21. Will Smith’s first movie since his temporary hiatus in the aftermath of his 2022 Oscars incident and also his first movie since King Richard (2021), for which he won Best Actor in the same ceremony.
22. Principal photography was expected to begin on May 3, 2021, in Los Angeles.
23. It was later set to begin on June 21, 2021, in Georgia. On April 12, it was announced that the film would be shot elsewhere due to the recently-enacted Election Integrity Act of 2021. S
24. The location move was reported to have cost approximately $15 million.
25. Filming was announced to take place in New Orleans from July 12 to August 21, 2021. On August 2, filming paused for five days as a result of several positive COVID-19 tests.^[15] Additional casting for the film was announced in November and December.