Will Smith gathered a handful of industry friends for a private screening of his soon-to-be-released film Emancipation on Monday night.
Smith posted photos of him with those he invited, including Dave Chapelle, Tyler Perry, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Corey “Blacksmith” Smyth, and more.
The first photo is a group photo. The second photo in the post shows the whole gang having a deep discussion about the film.
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“EPIC night!! Thanx for coming to see #Emancipation,” Smith wrote in the caption. “Hope y’all enjoyed!!”
Smyth posted the same photos to his Instagram and wrote in the caption, “The picture only tells 1/2 the story. Glad to be part of such a great moment. #Emancipation.”
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Barris posted the same photos and wrote, “This night was truly one for the books! An amazing and brilliant group of friends got together and witnessed TRUE ART. The conversation after was the effect of what anything and everything we as creatives do in this industry hope for. Love you, @willsmith and thank you for hosting.”
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Perry only posted the photo of the group having a conversation and said, “This conversation was one for the history books.”
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Under the direction of Antoine Fuqua, Will Smith portrayed a man named Peter in Emancipation who wandered through Louisiana swamps to escape enslavers and slavery after hearing that slaves were free. The movie is inspired by the 1863 photos taken during the Union Army examination “Whipped Peter,” where one photo known as “The Scourged Back” showed his bare back deformed from The whips of enslavers, leading to many people opposing slavery.
The movie hits theaters on Dec. 2 and will stream on Apple on Dec. 9.
