'Emancipation': Will Smith-Led Film Receives Praise From Celebrities Ahead Of Release

It seems Will Smith is back on track after the ugly Oscars slapping incident.

The 54-year-old actor's latest movie, "Emancipation," was well-received by fellow celebrities who attended a private screening in Los Angeles ahead of its December theatrical release.

Smith shared a set of "happy" photos from the private screening on his Instagram page Monday. The event gathered an intimate crowd, including Dave Chappelle, Tyler Perry, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, film and television writer Kenya Barris, music producer Corey Smyth, celebrity stylist Fawn Boardley and writer-producer Esa Lewis, among others.

It was not known when exactly the private screening was held. The "Miami" singer captioned his post, "EPIC night!! Thanx for coming to see #Emancipation. Hope ya'll enjoyed!!"

Barris responded, "This night was MAGIC and your movie is truly something that will last forever!"

Interestingly, one of the attendees, Chappelle, had recently joined Chris Rock, who was on the receiving end of the infamous Oscars slap, in a sold-out European arena tour. The pair made fun of the incident in August, with Rock saying, "Did that s**t hurt? Goddam right... the motherf***er hit me over a bulls**t joke, the nicest joke I ever told!"

Chappelle chimed in and recalled how a guy jumped on stage and attacked him while he was performing at the Hollywood Bowl a few months ago. The comedian said, "That was some scary sh*t...Was that Will Smith?"

Nevertheless, people who attended the screening had only good words to say about the movie. Barris called the film a "True Art" and thanked Chappelle for hosting the screening event.

"Emancipation" tells the story of Peter, a slave (Smith) who escapes through the swamps of Louisiana during the American Civil War. The movie is directed by Antoine Fuqua and is Smith's first film since the Oscars incident, which led to his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Smith was also banned from attending the Academy's ceremonies for the next 10 years.

Smith apologized to Rock for a second time in July and said, "Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."

"Emancipation" is set to hit the theaters on Dec. 2 and will start streaming on Apple TV+ on Dec. 9.