A week before the Oscars, director David Leitch – in an accident of choosing the right moment – stepped down as director of a planned Netflix movie. Fast and loose, starring Will Smith. Instead, he turned to The fall boystarring Ryan Gosling, for Universal, the film is slated to begin production in August.
One source said Netflix was vying with Universal to be Leitch’s next project, but Universal got ahead. According to sources, Netflix has put out an urgent call for another director to take on a project featuring the star heavily favored to win Best Actor at the awards ceremony. Oscar. But shortly after Smith’s attack on Chris Rock on the Oscars stage, Netflix quietly moved the project to the rear.
Fast and loose is to tell the story of a crime boss who loses his memory after an attack. Putting together the clues, he discovers that he has led a dual identity as a wealthy tycoon and a bankrupt CIA agent. It seems that Netflix has been understandably wary moving forward. It’s unclear if it’s attempting to work on the project with a different star and director.
Smith now has an Apple runaway TV series + Emancipation in the post-production. The streamer is scheduled to launch in 2022 but has not determined a release date. Apple declined to comment. If not, Bad Boys 4 at Sony has been in active development – Smith received 40 pages of the script before the Oscars – but will now be on pause, a source said. A few other projects in pre-production are likely to do the same. Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.
In announcing his resignation from the Academy on April 1, Smith said, “Change takes time, and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never let violence overtake reason again. .”
Smith, Gosling and Leitch are all CAA clients.
