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With Netflix releasing the action-thriller Bright on December 22nd, the other day I got to sit down with Will Smith and Joel Edgerton for an exclusive interview. They talked about the freedom they had working for Netflix, how the movie is something other studios might not make, what it’s like working with director David Ayer on the action scenes, and a lot more. In addition, Edgerton talked about why he wanted to direct Boy Erased and Smith talked about making Suicide Squad and the status of Suicide Squad 2. Finally, while in Brazil promoting the movie at CCXP (Comic-Con Experience), Smith sang a bit of the Fresh Prince of Bell Air theme song (you can watch it here). I asked how much of that was scripted and how much just organically happened in the moment.

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Image via Netflix

Scripted by Max Landis and directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad), Bright takes place in an alternate present day in which humans live alongside magic folk like elves and orcs. Joel Edgerton plays the first orc to join the LAPD, where he’s paired with a human character played by Will Smith. Together, the two must navigate their own personal differences while uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the future of the world as they know it.

Check out what they had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.

Will Smith and Joel Edgerton:

  • How I had to kill an Orc to do he interview…
  • I show them the orc mask and ask if that compared to what Edgerton had to wear on set?
  • When Will Smith took the stage at CCXP in Sao Paulo, did he know he was going to rap the theme of Fresh Prince beforehand or was it organic in the moment?
  • bright-joel-edgerton-lucy-fry
    Image via Netflix
    What was it like working for Netflix on their first big original movie? Edgerton talks about how they had the freedom to make something original.
  • What is it like working with David Ayer to craft the action set pieces?
  • Joel Edgerton talks about directing Boy Erased.
  • Will Smith talks about making Suicide Squad and the status of Suicide Squad 2.

Here’s the official synopsis for Bright:

Set in an alternate present-day, this action-thriller directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch, writer of Training Day) follows two cops from very different backgrounds (Ward, a human played by Will Smith, and Jakoby, an orc played by Joel Edgerton) who embark on a routine patrol night that will ultimately alter the future as their world knows it. Battling both their own personal differences as well as an onslaught of enemies, they must work together to protect a thought-to-be-forgotten relic, which in the wrong hands could destroy everything.

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Image via Netflix
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Image via Netflix