Why do we go to the movies? Many would say for escapism and entertainment, but Antoine Fuqua, director of Training Day and the upcoming Will Smith–starrer Emancipation,among others, begs to differ. Emancipation is going to make you feel uncomfortable. It’s violent and frank in its depiction of the story of an escaped slave, the man known to history as “Whipped Peter,” his scars on display in a famous photograph. Fuqua tells Vanity Fair’s Chris Murphy that he wants people to go to the movies not to forget, but to remember.
“The only thing I can do is try to tell stories that I think could be inspiring in some way but remind us of our history,” he says. “Because there is a responsibility: We are citizens of the United States of America and that’s the same country that kidnapped us and forced labor and brutalized us with violence for greed. So, I don’t think we can forget that. I don’t think we go about it with bitterness. We should go about it with an open heart; we should go about it hoping to have conversations about it and try to start some sort of healing about it.”
Elsewhere in HWD, Margot Robbie is VF’s cover star this month, and spoke to Rebecca Ford about the absolute chaos of making movies, as portrayed in her upcoming Babylon. Yes, Virginia, Jimmy Kimmel will talk about The Slap when he hosts the Oscars. Once considered a peppy little musical of a TV show, many now call Glee a “cursed” show after the deaths of three of its stars, dark offscreen drama, and more. Former stars Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale tell VF about their revamped podcast, which won’t look away from the more difficult aspects of the show’s history. Many have attempted to imitate the voice of saxophone-toting smarty-pants Lisa Simpson, but according to voice actor Yeardley Smith, few succeed. Watch her judge Lisa impressions and see if you think yours would measure up. All this and more, today on HWD.
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