TOKYO, Japan – Will Smith, Noomi Rapace, Joel Edgerton, and Dawn Olivieri made their way to Roppongi Hills Arena in Tokyo on December 20 for the Japan red carpet event for the upcoming Netflix film, Bright, which premieres globally on Netflix on Friday, December 22.

The stars made their way down the carpet and greeted their Japanese fans, many of whom stood in freezing temperatures for hours to see their idols.

Bright is a buddy cop movie with a twist. It’s set in a gloomy, gritty version of modern-day Los Angeles, reimagined so that fantasy creatures – orcs, fairies, and elves – coexist with humans. There’s a social hierarchy in this LA: elves are at the top of the rung, while orcs are the bottom-feeders. Humans are caught in the middle.

Smith stars as Daryl Ward, a human cop whose partner, Nick Jakoby, played Edgerton, is the first orc to be part of the police force. The two stumble upon a powerful weapon: a magic wand that can only be wielded by rare beings called Brights. On of them, Leilah, played by Rapace, leads a rogue group of elves who are working to bring back the forces of evil at any cost. 

Smith, Edgerton, and Rapace attended the red carpet event, along with Olivieri, who plays Ward’s wife in the film. Also at the Tokyo premiere, which Rappler was invited to by Netflix, were director David Ayer and producers Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless. 

The film is a reunion of sorts for Ayer and Smith, who worked together for 2016’s Suicide Squad. “We’re friends now,” Ayer quipped, saying that he loves working with Smith because “he’s a positive person, a very happy man.”

Ayer said that the action sequences were particularly difficult to direct because most of them were real – including the smoke and the explosions.

Rapace, who had to do fight scenes in high heels, said the experience was “very intense,” but that playing the villain was fun.

Edgerton described the movie as “weird.”

“It’s familiar, because it’s a buddy cop movie, but it’s also very strange,” he said, adding that it’s something he wants the audience to enjoy. Ultimately, he said, the movie’s theme is very simple: that people should not judge others.

Smith took his time on the red carpet, with most Japanese fans losing their characteristic composure when he passed by to greet them. When asked if he would ever go to the Philippines – where many of his movies are blockbuster hits – Will said he should visit for a premiere.  

– Rappler.com