Will Smith’s biopic is said to have been thrown into chaos after Netflix and Apple+ reportedly pulled out of a bidding war after the Oscars slap controversy.
Insiders are believed to have claimed the two streaming giants removed their competitive bids on the film about the Hollywood star’s life, based on his best-selling autobiography Will.
It comes after Will, 53, marched on stage and slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s haircut.
A source told The Sun: ‘Netflix and Apple+ have quietly removed their bids for a Will Smith biopic and will instead relocate the funds and develop original ideas from new black actors.’
The source added that working with the rapper has now become ‘risky business’ as he faces his upcoming movie projects being put on hold in the wake of the scandal.
MailOnline has contacted Will’s representatives, Netflix and Apple for comment.
Meanwhile, work on the fourth instalment of the Bad Boys film franchise has been halted by Sony following the Oscars scandal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film would have seen Smith reunited with co-star Martin Lawrence as a maverick Miami drugs agent.
And Netflix has reportedly slowed down production on its planned action thriller movie Fast and Loose, which stars Will.
The film had already lost its intended director prior to Smith slapping Chris, further complicating the film’s path to being shot.
Fast And Loose was originally to be helmed by Deadpool 2 director David Leitch, but he had withdrawn from the project just a week before the Oscars.
A source told THR that both Netflix and Universal had been competing for a new project from Leitch, but the traditional studio appealed to him more than the streamer.
Following the loss, Netflix started urgently searching for a new director to take over on Smith’s project.
It’s not known if the project will be scrapped, or if Netflix will just find another star and director pair to lead it.
Industry sources say studios want to assess how tarnished Smith’s reputation has become after he stormed on stage to slap Chris for making a joke at the expense of his wife Jada, before sinking millions of dollars into further projects.
The Men in Black and Ali actor is also due to appear in Apple TV’s £90million slavery drama Emancipation this autumn, but there has so far been no suggestion that will be delayed.
Smith – who took exception to Chris’ joke about his wife’s shaved head, a result of alopecia – has announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, saying he had ‘betrayed’ its trust.
He won’t be able to vote for the Oscars or attend special Academy events in the future but he will still be eligible for future Oscar nominations.
‘I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate,’ he wrote in a statement.
‘Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,’ Smith concluded.
Will – who won the Best Actor gong for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena, in King Richard – is unlikely to be invited to announce the Best Actress award next year, a task performed in recent years by the outgoing Best Actor.
One Academy member said: ‘Some of the members are saying Will jumped before he was pushed. The executives are still in utter disbelief at what happened.’
The Academy said it would ‘continue to move forward’ with disciplinary proceedings.
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