Maybe buried beneath all the awards season chatter for films like “The Birth of a Nation,” “Moonlight,” “Queen of Katwe,” “A United Kingdom,” “Loving,” “The Magnificent Seven” and “Fences” is another film that’s on my 2017 Oscar predictions list: Will Smith starring in “Collateral Beauty.”




Based on the just-released first trailer below, the actor looks like he’s certainly going for yet another attempt at winning one of those coveted trophies next year, and being surrounded by a rather strong cast certainly helps; a mix of veterans and up-and-comers including Helen Mirren, Naomie Harris, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Michael Pena, and Jacob Latimore to name a few.

The New Line film, which is directed by David Frankel, follows a New York advertising executive (Smith) who experiences a personal tragedy, when his colleagues try to come up with a plan to get him out of his depression. Their plan works, but in a different way than they imagined.

That’s really all we know about the plot thus far. But with this cast, it’s a film that certainly can’t be ignored. After reading the synopsis the first time when the project was initially announced, I couldn’t help but think of a film like “The Game” – the David Fincher thriller that starred Michael Douglas as a wealthy but anti-social, divorced investment banker who is given a mysterious gift by his brother (Sean Penn) – participation in a game that integrates in strange ways with his everyday life, all in an attempt to get his brother to embrace life. But watching the below first trailer for “Collateral Beauty,” it doesn’t look or feel anything like it, so I was certainly off there; although I wish I wasn’t. This looks more like a previous Will Smith film titled “Seven Pounds.”

Regardless, Will Smith (and maybe some of his co-stars) just may be up for an Oscar nomination.

A December 2016 release is scheduled.

Watch the uplifting first trailer below: