first-time oscars producer, will p packer says in a new interview that he thought so too. >> i thought it was a bit like everybody else. once i saw will yelling at the stage with such vitriol, my heart dropped. >> reporter: packer says he rushed over to rock as he exited the stage. >> i said, did he really hit you? and he looked at me, and he goes, yeah. he goes, yeah, i just took a punch from muhammud ali, as only chris can. he was immediately in joke mode, but you could tell he was very much still in shock. >> reporter: smith played the boxer in the 2001 film "ali." cnn has obtained new video from a seat filler inside the oscars, showing a new angle of the incident, this time filmed from behind smith's wife, jada pinkett smith. packer says that los angeles police were prepared to arrest smith that night. >> and they were saying, this is battery. we will go get him. you can press charges. we can arrest him.