Ale

:eusa_naughty:

Will Smith earns record amounts of money for films, and has been nominated for an Oscar twice. Short of world domination, what's next, asks gill pringle Published: 07 December 2007 If there's one reason why Will Smith is Hollywood's highest-paid actor, then look no further than the girl who broke his heart when he was a teenager. "I was probably about 15 when my first girlfriend cheated on me, and it so destroyed my concept of cause and effect in the universe; that you could be good and good stuff happens and when you're bad, bad stuff happens. And what I processed from that, [the reason] why she cheated on me was that I wasn't good enough," says the actor. It's an interesting twist on the old adage that behind every powerful man is a strong woman, given that it was a cheating woman who launched Smith on the path to becoming the mogul, movie star and platinum-selling musician that he is today. At 16, the mathematics and science student turned down a scholarship to Boston's prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) after he'd begun rapping with Jeff Townes (aka DJ Jazzy Jeff). Thereafter he became one half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, together winning the first-ever Grammy in the rap category in 1988. Two years later he landed the lead role in hit TV series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran for six years, and in 1993 he landed a role opposite Sir Ian McKellen and Donald Sutherland in Six Degrees of Separation. Rapidly starring in a succession of box-office blockbusters – including Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black and Enemy of the State – his quick mind for numbers helped him gain a quick understanding of Hollywood's financial pulse. Paid a record-breaking $28m for the 2004 hit I, Robot, the actor today regularly tops up his basic salary by taking 10 per cent of the movie's gross box-office as well as serving as producer on most of his films. Smith's trump card is the fact he is able to become a leading man for everyone. The second of four children raised in middle-class Philadelphia, his family were devout Baptists, although he grew up in an Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood. Enrolled at Overbrook High, a largely white Catholic school, most of his friends were black, although his closest neighbours were Muslim. In the process, he learnt to get along with everyone, translating his universal likeability and easy charm into movie gold. Doubtless Smith's high-school heart-breaking ex has kicked herself many times since her former beau became one of the world's favourite leading men. And if she needs any further reminder of lost opportunity, Smith even named his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, after their high school. While his marriage to actress Sheree Zampino produced a son, Trey Willard Smith III, now 16, Smith failed to find lasting love, divorcing after three years in 1995. Only in fellow actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, 36 – they married almost 10 years ago – did he meet his match. "You're so much stronger when your partner is strong. I honestly believe there is no woman for me but Jada," he says, referring to the fiery actress he first met when she tried out for – and lost – the role of his girlfriend in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Together the couple have raised two precocious progenies in son Jaden, nine, and daughter Willow, seven. Co-starring with Jaden in last year's Pursuit of Happyness, his latest film I Am Legend sees him co-star with Willow, cast in the role of his daughter, Marley. However, he says that they both got their parts on merit. "We make our kids audition, we don't do the whole nepotism thing. But, you know, it's the family business. It's just what our family does, and it's good." Smith also insists their children aren't spoiled, home-schooling them on the couple's 100-acre Calabasas ranch perched in the Santa Monica Mountains outside Malibu. "We live in La-la-land out here. For us, travelling is hugely important, for our kids to really see other things. We have taken them to South Africa and Italy and many places around the world. We try to let them experience how other people live." Having attended Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding last year, it has since been widely rumoured that the Smiths have become the latest Hollywood converts to Scientology. Circumspect on making any public declaration of affiliation to the religious group, whose high-profile followers include John Travolta and Lisa Marie Presley, he says: "Tom [Cruise] introduced me to the ideas. I'm a student of world religion, so to me, it's hugely important to have knowledge and to understand what people are doing. What are all the big ideas? I create my connection and I decide how my connection is going to be." A self-avowed proponent of self-help books, he says: "The idea that there are millions of people who have lived before us; and they had problems and they solved them and then they wrote it down in a book somewhere. So there's no new problem that we can have that we've gotta try to figure out by ourselves. " If Smith won't absolutely confirm an involvement with scientology, then he will admit to a blossoming friendship with the Cruises' new pals the Beckhams: "I love his [David Beckham's] energy; I love his attitude – like, what he represents to the sport – and just getting to know them. They're very, very funny. I keep telling them: 'You probably should let people know how funny you all are, cause y'all are hilarious!'" Smith probably spent more time in the gym than Beckham does for his football matches in preparation for his latest film I Am Legend, after he lost 20lbs for the role of Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist tortured by his inability to contain an incurable virus. Grieving the loss of his wife and daughter, he finds that he is the last human survivor in New York and possibly the world. If no Smith movie is complete without a gratuitous display of the actor's impressive 6ft 2in muscle-bound physique, he says modestly: "For me, I have an easier time losing weight than I do putting it on. Ali was 50 times harder [than I Am Legend] – trying to put weight on." Based on Richard Matheson's 1954 science-fiction novel about the last man alive on earth, I Am Legend has already spawned two movies, 1964's The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price and 1971's The Omega Man with Charlton Heston in the lead. Warner Brothers Pictures has owned the rights to the book since the 1970s, first attempting to adapt it in 1994 with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead and Ridley Scott directing. But plans were abandoned after the production went over-budget. In I Am Legend, Smith hopes to combine his mass appeal with a serious acting performance. Having twice been Oscar nominated, for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, there's little left for him to achieve, other than Hollywood's ultimate badge of respect. "Screenwriter [of I Am Legend] Akiva Goldsman and I met during the Oscars when he won for A Beautiful Mind and I was nominated for Ali," he says. "So we hung out and talked, and posed the question to one another – why do the big movies come out in the summer and the good movies come out in the fall? Why are they separated? Is there any possibility that you could take both and marry those ideas? "So we tried to commit to the small art-house, truthful version that stays close to the source material, and has that feeling and that energy, yet has the big blockbuster package. We know when people go into the theatre, they'll be a little shocked by it, but hopefully that will turn out to be a good thing." If Smith's gamble for the intellectual heart of Hollywood fails, then he may well return to Plan A. "I truly, honestly believe that if I chose to be the President of the United States, I could," he once said. "You have to believe in the impossible." 'I Am Legend' opens on 26 December http://arts.independent.co.uk/film/feature...icle3229371.ece

Hollywood star Will Smith, in Hong Kong on Friday for the Asian premiere of his new film, said performing in the same movies as his children helped them bond as a family. HONG KONG (AFP) - The actor stars alongside daughter Willow in his latest film "I am Legend," which tells a story of a scientist, played by Smith, who tries to find a cure for virus-infected New Yorkers who turn into mutant humans. He played the role of father to his nine-year-old son Jaden in his last film "Pursuit of Happyness." "For me, it's such a perfect opportunity that they want to act because it's what I know most in this life. How much better could it possibly be that your kids are going to do something that you can actually teach?" Smith said. "Generally, we send out kids to school to learn things that we don't know... it's a perfect bonding... there's this thing that happens that a relationship grows in that way," he told reporters in Hong Kong. Smith would not be drawn on which of his children was more talented judging from their debut performances. The US star also talked about the difficulty in obtaining rights to show his latest film in China, which so far has not allowed it to be released, partly because of the restrictions on the number of foreign films that can be shown there. "We would love to able to find a way to be able to release the film in China. We struggle very very hard to work (things) out," he said. Despite that, his enthusiasm to make movies in China and Asia has not been dampened. Smith, who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of boxing legend Muhammad Ali in the film "Ali," said he had met a representative from the state-run China Film Group about making movies. "There's a few things we are trying to put together... we try to figure out how to get there and make some movies," he said. The actor added he is considering filming in the region, including Hong Kong or China's capital Beijing, for his remake of hit 1980s martial art movie "Karate Kid." "I am Legend" will be released in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia on December 13. http://news.sawf.org/Entertainment/45870.aspx

Smith Says Film Not Yet OK'd in China HONG KONG (AP) — Will Smith's new sci-fi thriller, "I Am Legend," is hitting movie theaters across Asia later this month — but not in China. The delay in the film's approval comes amid a report that China has issued a temporary ban on American movies to boost the country's domestic film industry — a move the country's regulator has denied. "We struggled very, very hard to try to get it to work out, but there are only a certain amount of foreign films that are allowed in," Smith told reporters in Hong Kong on Friday. Smith said he had met with China Film Group's chairman, Han Sanping, and is working with him to secure a release date for "I Am Legend." Smith said he has discussed other movie projects with Han and mentioned that he's exploring the idea of a remake of "The Karate Kid," possibly set in Hong Kong or Beijing. "I am Legend" has already received a green light for release in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Although Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, the territory has maintained a certain amount of autonomy, with its own financial, legal and regulatory systems. Smith's comments came a day after Hollywood trade publication Variety reported that Chinese authorities have decided to ban American movies for three months to protect the local film industry. But an executive at the import and export arm of state-run China Film Group on Thursday denied there was a ban, saying the company is still reviewing Hollywood movies for release in the country. In the past, Chinese regulators have tried to maximize revenue for Chinese studios by banning foreign films from theaters during holidays and school vacations, when audiences are biggest. "I Am Legend," based on the Richard Matheson novel by the same name, is set in New York where Smith is one of the lone survivors of a deadly global epidemic. It has been adapted for the big screen on two previous occasions — first as "The Last Man on Earth" in 1964 and then as "The Omega Man" in 1971. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jlc94tb...N3PILwD8TCKVN00

Will Smith Visits Air Force Base YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Stacey Thibodeaux had a birthday she’ll never forget. With her husband, Albert, away in Kyrgyzstan, the Yokota woman was among several spouses of deployed servicemembers invited on stage to meet Hollywood megastar Will Smith during his visit to the base. “He signed my birthday card,” said Thibodeaux, of New Orleans, who turned 28 on Tuesday. “Baby, thank you for getting deployed … I got a kiss from Will Smith on my birthday. This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.” Another smooch came on the fly — literally. “My husband is deployed to Afghanistan. He told me I can’t leave here without a kiss,” one woman said during a random question-and-answer session. Without hesitating, Smith leapt off the stage, raced toward the woman and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you. You’re so amazing,” she replied. The 39-year-old former “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and Grammy Award-winning rapper-turned-blockbuster movie star showed off his unabashed enthusiasm, trademark humility and unassuming nature during an hourlong appearance at Yokota’s outdoor Sakura Shell. After flying in on a Black Hawk helicopter from Hardy Barracks in Tokyo, Smith addressed fans and then headed into the audience to sign autographs and pose for photos with servicemembers, civilians and their families. He smiled, waved and blew kisses to the crowd, pausing for as many requests as he could cram in. “It was hugely important for me to come out and let you know we are thinking about you,” Smith said. “A lot of you are away from home and away from your loved ones for a long time. I wanted to come show you some love.” The two-time Oscar nominee is in Japan to plug the upcoming release of his long-awaited, post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller “I Am Legend.” The world premiere was set for Wednesday at the Tokyo International Forum. Staff Sgt. Christabell Hermsdorf, assigned to Yokota’s 374th Airlift Wing, arrived about 40 minutes late. “I ran up here,” said Hermsdorf, 23, of San Bernardino, Calif. “I’m a big fan. I just wanted to try to catch a glimpse. I got to see him on the stage, but I missed him speaking, unfortunately. “It’s real exciting. I get star-struck very easily. I’ll come out to see any A-lister. I love Hollywood and gossip.” Airman Kenneth Bailey of the 374th Maintenance Group got an autograph and a handshake from Smith. “I grew up watching the ‘Fresh Prince,’ so it was nice to get a picture taken with him,” said Bailey, 22, of Augusta, Ga. “On a scale of one to 10, it was a 10.” Handed a microphone, a young girl asked Smith to name the best movie he’s appeared in. “‘Pursuit of Happyness’ is probably one of the best films I’ve made,” he answered, drawing wide cheers. “The most fun was with Martin Lawrence in ‘Bad Boys.’ “We had a great time shooting in Miami. And Martin is an all-around total fool.” Laura Vargas, 25, a military spouse from Chicago, said she was thrilled to see a big star on base. “It’s wonderful they didn’t forget about us overseas,” she added. “It’s awesome Will Smith came to see us.” In a brief interview with Stars and Stripes, one of the planet’s biggest movie stars said he frequently travels the world promoting his films but felt a need to visit the troops during his three-day Japan stop. “It’s a tough time for a lot of American families with their loved ones being away,” Smith said. “I felt like it was my pleasure and duty to come out and say, ‘We’re thinking about you. Good work and good luck.’” Added Col. Jeff Newell, the 374th Airlift Wing commander: “What a day for Yokota Air Base.” Smith’s promotional visit for U.S. Forces Japan was sponsored by Stars and Stripes, in association with Access Television, Japan. http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,157620,00.html

Legend's Smith Goes To Dog Will Smith, who shares the screen in I Am Legend with a German shepherd, told reporters that he quickly bonded with the dog. "Abbey is the dog's real name," Smith said in a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., last week. "And, yeah, when I was probably 9 years old, I had a dog, Trixie, a white golden retriever, that got hit by a car. So ... I refused [to have one since then]. ... And then [trainer] Steve [berens] brought that damn Abbey on the set." Abbey, a 3-year-old German shepherd rescued from an animal shelter, plays Sam, the constant companion to Smith's Robert Neville, the last man on Earth. "You say a smart dog? It's like, it got to the point with Abbey, she'd be playing, playing, playing, she'd hear 'Rolling!' and she'd run over to her mark and get ready," Smith said. "And I was like, 'What in the hell?' It's like she would know when I wasn't doing my lines right. If I would get lost in the scene, you know, she would just go [tilts his head]." To cement the bond between man and dog, director Francis Lawrence issued a directive: No one pets Abbey except Smith. (Though Smith's co-star, Brazilian actress Alice Braga, admitted that she snuck in a few scratches behind Lawrence's back.) "There was a rule on set that nobody could interact with her other than the trainer and Will," Lawrence said, adding: "Everybody was dying to pet her, because she was the most beautiful, friendly dog that I had ever seen, but nobody could touch her. Except Alice told me today that she touched her all the time. ... When she was finally wrapped, ... it was the one day that everybody could finally go and pet her, and she was very excited that she got all that attention from everybody that she had been dying for." At the end, Smith admitted that he wanted to take Abbey home. "It was the first time I had ... allowed myself to be fond of a dog since [Trixie], and I was like, ... 'Steve, please, Abbey has to live with me. Please.' And he was like, 'Well, this is how I make my living, man.' ... I experienced the pain again, because he was like, 'I'll bring her over every weekend, Will, but you know, she has to work.' It was painful, but, yeah, she was great." I Am Legend, based on Richard Matheson's novel of the same name, opens Dec. 14 http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?c...=3&id=45972

Smith wows fans at world premiere Will Smith was greeted by hundreds of screaming fans as he hit the red carpet in Japan for the world premiere of his new film. Smith stars in action thriller I Am Legend, the fourth big screen adaptation of Richard Matheson's sci-fi novel of the same name. The Hitch star plays scientist Robert Neville who is the only person left alive when a virus wipes out the population of New York City. The film comes highly recommended by its star: "It has wonderful action and really big scares. So you want to watch this movie with a big audience 'cause there's some terrifying parts in this movie and I think my performance is pretty good too." So it's no secret that Will is a fan of his own work but it seems producers were not so impressed with the Hollywood star when he accidentally gave away the ending of the film during the opening in Tokyo. I Am Legend is slated to hit cinemas on December 26. VIDEO

From our ANI Correspondent Washington, Dec 6: Hollywood star Will Smith revealed that he is determined to become best pals with David Beckham as he finds the ace footballer and his wife Victoria "charming". Smith admits that he's impressed with Becks' energy and attitude, and says that he wants to spend more time with the couple. "I love his energy and his attitude, what he represents to the sport and we're just really getting to know them," Contactmusic quoted the 'Men in Black' star, as saying What he also loves about the couple is the fact that they are 'very, very funny'. "They're very, very funny and I keep telling them they should let people know how funny they are because they're hilarious," he said. "I'm interested in spending some time with them and getting to know them," he added. http://www.dailyindia.com/show/197496.php/...id-Beckhams-BFF

The 'Legend' of Will Smith continues . . . Thursday, December 06, 2007 By JOHN URBANCICH LOS ANGELES Ten questions for Will Smith, who takes command of the big screen as the last man on Earth with the Dec. 14 release of "I Am Legend." You've had a passion for this project since you were going to do it with Michael Bay about 12 years ago. Why has this Robert Neville character stayed with you all this time? When it comes to movies, I think I am really connecting to the Joseph Campbell idea of the collective unconscious. There are things we all dream, things that are beyond language, things that each one of us has thought which connect to life, death and sex. To me, this is one of those concepts. There are times you've been on the freeway and wished that everybody were dead (laughs). There've been times you just wish you were by yourself; you don't need anyone, you just want to be by yourself. In this movie, that couples with that kind of separation from people, of being ripped away and connected with the unknown. It's how we would fair against whatever is in that unknown that is a really primal idea. I couldn't always articulate it like that, but I've loved this concept. It connects to ideas that a 4-year-old can understand. What about the loneliness of this character and also the madness? And, how about basically acting for half of this movie or more by yourself? It was such a wonderful exploration of myself. You get in a situation where you don't have people to create the stimulus for you to respond to. Instead, you start creating the stimulus and the response. You learn things about yourself that you would never even imagine. To prepare for that, we sat with former POWs and with people who had been in solitary confinement. They said, "The first thing is a schedule. You will not survive in solitary if you don't schedule everything." That even includes cleaning your nails or watching roaches, whatever, but making sure it's at the same time each day. For me, the thing was to get into the mental space where whatever the truth was for Robert Neville didn't matter. The only thing that mattered is what he saw and what he believed. It was such a great exploration of what happens to the human mind that is trying to defend itself. For me, I'm a better actor for having had to create both sides of the scene, with no dialogue. What was the experience of shooting in New York like? Shooting in New York is difficult, especially something on this level. Percentage-wise, it's the most amounts of middle fingers I've received in my career (laughs). I'm used to people liking me; when I come to town, it's fun. This time, I was starting to think my name started with "f" and ended with "you." But, hey, we shut down six blocks of Fifth Avenue on a Monday morning. That was probably poor planning. You realize you have never actually seen an empty shot of New York. When we were doing it, it's chilling to walk right down the middle of Fifth Avenue. I mean, there is never an opportunity to do that, even at 2 o'clock in the morning on Sunday. It created such a creepy energy. Logistically, it was a nightmare, but it absolutely created something that you can't do with green screen and you can't do shooting in any city other than New York. How significant do you think it is that the last man alive is African-American? First and last, baby (laughs). It's almost a metaphysical idea for me. I mean, I rarely think about that until someone brings it up. Then, I say, "Oh, wow! That never crossed my mind in that way." Acknowledgment of those kinds of ideas puts a weird boundary on my thoughts. I can't allow myself to be a part of it because it sort of makes me think smaller, if that makes any sense. I've never really thought about the significance of that with the film. A recent magazine article alluded to the idea that, like your wife Jada, you may have converted to Scientology. Any truth to that? I don't necessarily believe in organized religion. I was raised in a Baptist household, went to a Catholic church, lived in a Jewish neighborhood and had the biggest crush on the Muslim girls from one neighborhood over. Tom (Cruise) introduced me to the ideas. I'm a student of world religion so, to me, it's hugely important to have knowledge and to understand what people are doing. What are all the big ideas? What are people talking about? I believe my connection, to my higher power, is separate from everybody's. I don't believe the Muslims have all the answers, or the Christians or the Jews, so I love my God, my higher power, mine and mine alone. I create my connection and I decide how my connection is going to be. Was that gray hair a special effect or is it really Will Smith? That was a special effect. We had the world's best gray hair people come in from . . . uh, from Europe. Yes, that is a European GH, or GHI, or Gray Hair International, and they just do that (laughs). What about working with your daughter, Willow? You kind of don't work with Willow, you work for Willow. Jada and I carry on the age-old debate of nature vs. nurture. Is it because two actors went to Mexico and drank some tequila and made a baby? Does that make the baby an actor? Or, did she grow up in a house where that is what is in her house, that is just the life, and that's the experience that she knows? When I look at Willow, I believe that it has to be neither one of those. There has to be something else. She just knows and she just loves it. When we were shooting the bridge sequence, there was a building nearby with a temperature gauge on it. We started at sunset and it was probably 29 degrees or something. Then, we watched it go down to 1 and then to negative numbers. Willow is out there, and she's cold and getting a little irritable. She looks at me and says, "Daddy, I don't care how low it goes, I'm going to finish." I thought, "Wow!" I said, "That's good, baby, because Daddy is leaving if it goes any lower than that 1." Willow just wants it. She has a drive, an energy, and she just connects to human emotion. A big part of it is probably Jaden (Christopher Smith, Willow's brother). After "The Pursuit of Happyness" and she saw what Jaden did, she thought, "I want that." Now, we make our kids audition and all of that; we don't do the whole nepotism thing. We always call the family in and announce good things that happen so everybody shares in it. Well, we say, "Everybody, we just want to congratulate Willow. She got 'I Am Legend.' " She immediately turns around to Jaden and (posing aggressively) goes, "What's that? What was that?" Never had she talked about any feelings she was having, but it was like, "OK, I'm plotting on you, dude." When we look at Jaden and Willow, we say Jaden is Johnny Depp because he just wants to do good work. He doesn't care what money he gets, he doesn't care if people see it or don't see it. He just loves acting and wants to make good movies. Which child demands more money? Willow is Paris Hilton (laughs). She wants to be on TV. We are managing both of those in our household. Are you still in contact with DJ Jazzy Jeff? Jeff and I perform a couple of times a year. We're going to go out big in July, figuring out some places around the world to do some big shows. It's about that circle back to the golden age of hip-hop, starting to be a little resurgence, so we're planning some things. As far as the Fresh Prince, it's interesting. On July 6, 1996, the Fresh Prince stopped. After "Independence Day" came out on that Monday, it was the first time anyone called me Mr. Smith. I was like, "What the . . . ?" All through "The Fresh Prince" (on TV), all through the music, it was like, "Hey, Fresh Prince, Fresh Prince." That morning, when the box office numbers came out for "Independence Day," it was evryone saying, "Good morning, Mr. Smith." Just so bizarre. What is next for you in film? I'll be working with (director) Gabriele Muccino on something in March called "Seven Pounds." Gabriele has a wonderful insight on who I am and how to get the best out of me. Michael Mann and Gabriele Muccino you know how people can have X-ray vision on you? Like, how there are some people you can't pull tricks on, they know exactly what is going on? They see you, right to the heart of who you are, and what you are feeling. That's the relationship I have with those guys. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back in there with Gabriele. We've already completed "Hancock" for the Fourth of July, with Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman. Peter Berg directed; Akiva Goldsman, Michael Mann and myself are producing. If you can imagine, it's the Michael Mann version of an alcoholic superhero it is so bizarre. Jason Bateman plays a publicist and I save his life. Then, he begins to rehabilitate me in the eyes of the public. http://www.cleveland.com/sun/intermission/....xml&coll=4

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Will Smith in Tokyo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAE9JA63U2k (Watch the full video) :thumbsup:

NEW PICS! http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/16/87416500cl5.jpg http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3503/11660659jl3.jpg http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3663/14409147qp6.jpg http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/2526/89624339ae7.jpg

This Is Legend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-osL31Zhn18

Will Smith Needs a "Spoiler Alert" Before Talking As prominent as his ears are, it looks like they're just for decoration, since Will Smith wasn't able to hear instructions not to spoil the ending of his movie by completely giving it away. In Tokyo at a press junket for his latest film, "I Am Legend," Will Smith got so carried away when talking about the film that he accidentally revealed the ending to the suspense thriller. It was during his enthused interaction with the press that co-screenwriter and co-producer Akiva Goldsman suddenly told Smith loudly, "Don't give away the ending!" and members of the press present were instructed to please keep the info under wraps for the sake of moviegoers. Oh Willie. There's a pretty funny picture of Will making a total "Oops, I messed up, huh?" face after the jump that you should check out. http://socialitelife.buzznet.com/2007/12/0...ore_talking.php

Will Smith Knows How to Laugh It Off Will Smith smiled big for the cameras on the red carpet at the I Am Legend premiere tonight in Tokyo. Even though he's taken on many serious roles since his Fresh Prince days, Will is still a jokester at heart and his comedic side came out at his press conference on Tuesday. Apparently one of the reporters in the audience fell asleep during the event, but rather than lose his temper Will asked to have his picture taken with the reporter, and even pretended to be asleep. No doubt the journalist was a little embarrassed, but at least Will didn't yell at him like a another star we know of. http://popsugar.com/858540

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR7NkeLMA08 :paperbag:

Don't worry. You can read it.

Will Smith Is Hopefully Lost in Translation Tue, 12/04/2007 - 12:53pm by Molly Will Smith arrived in Tokyo for a press conference to promote I Am Legend today. He was looking pretty dapper in his suit, which I assume we'll be seeing a lot of as he premieres this one all around the world. While the movie is based on the premise of Will thinking he's the last man alive, his daughter Willow makes a cameo in the film. According to her dad, she's already a bit of a diva. He said, "You don't work with Willow. You work for Willow." He also said that while Jayden is the Johnny Depp of the family, Willow is more like, well, a different kind of personality. "Willow is Paris Hilton . . . Willow wants to be on TV." Let's just hope that her similarities to Paris end with the desire to be on television. http://popsugar.com/856145

Will & Scientology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EDIx-e0ZFI

SMITH COULDN'T SURVIVE ALONE LIKE I AM LEGEND CHARACTER 2007-12-05 03:18:26 - WILL SMITH fears he couldn't survive all alone - and he'd kill himself rather than face the prospect of becoming the last man on earth. The movie star plays the last surviving, living person in New York following a terrible disaster in new film I Am Legend, but he admits he couldn't exist without human contact for real. He says, "I'm outta here. I'm going to the nearest bridge! "It's such a primal, childlike idea to wish everybody was gone and you were by yourself, but, as much as people get on your nerves on the freeway, as much as people irritate you through your daily life, if you took everyone away and had it exactly the way you want it, it would be the most miserable existence. "I walked down the middle of Fifth Avenue (in New York), which we had cleared out for six blocks... and, as cool as that is, it's only cool because when we yell 'Cut,' there's 10,000 people on the other side. "There was absolutely no pleasure for me at all experiencing that amount of loneliness and solitude in the film. I love people, so that's hard for me not having anybody else around." The Ali star reveals he studied prisoners of war to get into the mindset of a person who spends days after days alone: "I found a guy, Geronimo Pratt, who had been in isolation in prison. He said, 'You would schedule things like cleaning your nails and you'd have two hours to clean your nails and that was the only way to maintain sanity. "But he struggled - he remembers sitting in his cell one time and for about four hours he was trying to remember what his fingers were called!" http://www.pr-inside.com/smith-couldn-t-su...e-i-r332585.htm

I thought you would say "God Bless America". :lolsign:

De nada Sandy! :thumbsup:

I Am Legend - Cast and Crew Interviews By Locke Webster http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/3791/siggypy2.jpg I Am Legend, the new Will Smith sci-fi hits theaters on December 14th, but this past week we had a chance to catch up with the Ex-Fresh Prince along with Brazilian cast member Alice Braga (pronounced ah-lee-see), director Francis Lawrence, and writer/producer Akiva Goldsman to hear their thoughts on creating the film. In true fashion, Smith was quite the charmer, providing insights to his process of becoming the last man on Earth as well as what shutting down New York can do to your star persona. Akiva, you're a big fan of the original story, at what point did you start writing the screenplay for I Am Legend? Akiva Goldsman: I hired the writer, me, about 2, 2 1/2 years ago. Francis Lawrence: Almost 3. AG: Warner Brothers had yet again decided that the movie was in the broken toy pile, which Warner Brothers had a tendency to do with this screenplay. It had had about a zillion incarnations. They said, "anybody want it?" and I raised my hand. It was probably Mark [Protosevitch]'s 719th draft or so. You really had great access in shutting down parts of Manhattan, how difficult was that? AG: We had almost every problem you could imagine you would have in New York if you tried to shut the streets down. I am a New Yorker. By the end of the shoot, which was endless, none of us would tell anybody what we did for a living. You'd be at a cocktail party and hear from across the room "oh you're that motherf**ker!". There was not one person we hadn't stopped from getting somewhere. FL: The city was really helpful. They let us shut down pretty much everywhere we wanted to shut down. I mean, you name it, we shut it down. Will Smith: Shooting in New York, especially something on this level, is difficult. I'd say, percentage wise, it's the most amount of middle fingers I've ever received in my career. I was like "I'm used to people liking me, when I come to town people have fun". We shut down 6 blocks of 5th Avenue on a Monday morning. That was probably poor logistics. But you realize that you've never actually seen an empty shot of New York. When we were doing it, it was chilling to walk down the middle of 5th Avenue. There's never an opportunity to walk down the middle 5th Avenue. Two o' clock in the morning on a Sunday you can't walk down the middle of 5th Avenue. It puts such an eerie, icky kind of feeling on the movie when you've seen those shots. Logistically it was a nightmare, but it absolutely created something that you can't do with green screen and that you can't do shooting another city for New York City. What was the total time you shut down the streets? FL: Wow I don't know. 40 plus days for some of the stuff. We did 6 days alone up at Grand Central by the Viaduct. It was tricky. How significant do you think it is that an african american is the last man alive? WS: Well first and last baby! (laughter) You know I rarely think about that until someone brings it up. It never crossed my mind in that way. For me, at least, the acknowledgment of those kinds of ideas put a weird boundary on my thoughts that I can't allow myself to be a part of. It sort of makes me think smaller if that makes any sense. What did you do to help create the future New York for the film? FL: We did a lot of conceptual work on this world before we got started. What we didn't want to do was the same grim world we see in movie after movie after a situation like this. So we started to do research and we talked to scientists and ecologists and people and really started looking into what would happen to a city once a population disappeared and the truth is nature would start to reclaim the city. And there have been since our film, not because of our film, there have been scientific studies and we're sort of in line with that -- the types of animals that would start to repopulate, the types of plant life that would start to repopulate. How the air would start to get cleaner. The water would get cleaner. It would actually probably become a more beautiful place. AG: One of the big changes from the source material obviously is the relocation to New York. Novelistically it's really very effective to render Los Angeles empty, but cinematically Los Angeles is always empty. Once we got to New York, we just picked a specific date and we built a present [time], and then I took every DC poster and character that I could think of that Warner hadn't made and slapped them up there. Some of them we got cleared and some of them were just slowly stalled so the clearance never saw them. So I'm pretty sure someone owes somebody a lot of money. FL: We did some kinda fun stuff too. There are certain things in Times Square. A bunch of a scene takes place around a tickets kiosk where you can buy tickets for Broadway plays. That's actually not built yet, but we got the designs from the city and actually built our set to be how it will look in the year that our apocalypse is supposed to happen. Will, can you talk about creating the persona of the last man on Earth? WS: It was such a wonderful exploration of myself, because what happens is, you get in a situation where you don't have people to create the stimulus for you to respond to. So what happens is, you start creating the stimulus and the response. So there's a connection with yourself where your mind starts to drift to in those types of situations that you learn things about yourself that you would never even imagine. To prepare for that we sat with former POWs and people who were in solitary confinement. That was sort of the framework for creating the idea. They said, first thing is a schedule. You will not survive in solitary unless you schedule everything. What about I Am Legend had you attached to the project for such a long time before finally going into production? WS: With movies, I am really connecting to the Joseph Campbell idea of the collective unconscious. There are things that we all dream, that each one of us has thought that connect to life, death, sex... There're things that are beyond language. And to me, this is one of those concepts. You've been on the freeway many times and wished everybody was dead. (laugh) There've been times where you just wish you were by yourself, you don't need any of these assholes, you just want to be by yourself. And I love this concept because it connects to ideas that a 4 year old can understand. What was it like working with Will? FL: Now I know all of you guys have heard stories, so its a bit of a cliche, but Will's a pretty great guy to work with. He's as professional as can be, he's as positive as can be. His energy is always fantastic. He's really smart. He's really good with story. He's a really good actor. He's inventive and creative and has great instincts. You can't ask for a better person to work with. Other than Alice. Alice Braga: It's an enormous pleasure to have a chance to work with someone that just wants to give you more and more and more and just wants to open the door for you to be really comfortable... and as he says "search magic". Which is wonderful. He just all the time, was pushing me harder and harder and look in my eyes and say "do you want one more?" "Do you want to try this?" "Do you want this?" Or pushing me to go somewhere that he wanted me to go, which is so generous. This is the best thing you can have from someone that is like him. It was an enormous pleasure and opportunity. Will, when was the last time you were called the Fresh Prince? WS: 4 seconds ago. (laugh) On July 6th, 1996 Fresh Prince stopped. That Monday after Independence Day was the first time someone called me Mr. Smith. And I'm like "what the hell"? I specifically remember that morning when the box office numbers came in people started calling me Mr. Smith. http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18...amp;sectionId=2

Posted Dec 4th 2007 12:55PM by TMZ Staff Who needs bedtime stories when you have Will Smith?! The Fresh Prince held a press conference in Japan today, where one sleep-deprived (or extremely bored) reporter was caught catching some zzzs while Smith rambled on about "I Am Legend." Surprisingly, the ever charming Will didn't seem to mind. He must be used to it. http://www.tmz.com/2007/12/04/will-smith-p...press-to-sleep/ Video! :lol: