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Will Smith in Charlotte


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A Will leaves a happy legacy

'Seven Pounds' actor Smith spreads cheer, hugs, food on his jaunt through Charlotte

Few movie stars could get away with a red-and-white-striped shirt, navy slacks and a brown-and-rust-colored tie, even before topping them with the shiny blue and black of a donated Carolina Panthers jersey.

Almost no Hollywood icon would grab someone's camera phone, point it at himself and a passel of squealing fans and ask, “We all in the picture?”

And only Will Smith would answer a reporter's question in a receiving line by discussing Victor Frankl's “Man's Search for Meaning,” a text about his experiences in Auschwitz.

But Smith sets his own orbit, and he rolled through Charlotte today, leaving happy people in his wake.

The first man in Hollywood history to log eight $100 million movies in a row had come to promote “Seven Pounds,” which opens Dec. 19. It's a drama about a man who helps total strangers, and Smith did so this week by buying 300 turkeys for needy folks through Second Harvest Food Bank.

Fans started lining up at 8 a.m. outside Regal Stonecrest Cinemas, standing in the rain to give away cans of food that would earn them a pass to Smith's film. (The theater started taking those cans at 2 p.m.) Smith thanked the multitude tonight, saying, “Capitalism always assumes we'll have big hearts. It's hugely important to get back to the spirit of what our country was meant to be. We believe, when the rubber hits the road, we're going to help our neighbors.”

He did that all day, starting with visits to Levine Children's Hospital, John Taylor Williams Middle School and Northwest School of the Arts. Those were all done without reporters and photographers, because he didn't want to make publicity stunts of them.

He followed the same pattern at both schools: coming onstage unannounced in the middle of a basketball pep rally (Williams) or an assembly (Northwest), singing a bit, talking to masses of startled kids about education and personal responsibilities, then taking impromptu questions.

“He was so down-to-Earth,” says Williams principal Ronald Dixon. “I asked backstage if he'd mind wearing one of our purple ‘Building Champions' shirts, and he popped off the sweater and shirt he was wearing and put one on. He talked about all sorts of things, including being careful whom you hang around with. He told the kids, ‘Think about the six people you spend most of your time with, because those are the people you'll pick up most of your traits from.' And I thought, ‘That applies to adults, too.' ”

Joel Ritchie, area superintendent for the Central Learning Community, was at Northwest's “phenomenal event. Students were dancing onstage when the principal came out and said, ‘Wait, back this up – this is not the right tune!' They put on a Will Smith song, and he came out. They were so excited you could probably have heard them in downtown Charlotte, but they listened to him talk about keeping focused on priorities and setting goals. Someone asked if he'd ever had a Plan B for his life, and he said, ‘Be careful about that Plan B, because that will distract you from Plan A.'”

Smith had lost none of his energy when he reached The Charlotte Observer for an interview. He came off the tour bus, which bore his jug-eared profile in a publicity shot from the film, with handshakes ready for all present. (His ears actually look smaller in person than in photos.) He has mastered the Hollywood art of walking, talking and listening all at once, and he moved into the building a little before 12:30 p.m. and out perhaps an hour later. Never was that smile any less sparkly than the diamond earrings that seemed unobtrusive on both sides of his close-cropped head.

In between, he shared his philosophy for half an hour – you can read the results in next week at www.charlotteobserver.com – and posed graciously for photographer Yalonda James, lounging in an easy chair and calming his multi-person entourage with “Ready in a minute. Just a minute.” Even they were smiling by the time he ran the gantlet of well-wishers back down to the street and climbed onto the bus again.

He capped the day at Stonecrest in front of a crowd that cheered Carolina Panthers Steve Smith and Julius Peppers but roared for the actor-rapper. Mayor Pat McCrory announced earlier today that he won't seek an eighth term and said, “I would like to proclaim Will Smith the next mayor of Charlotte!”

Had a vote been taken on the spot, Smith would be working up a light-rail budget today.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/104/story/408988.html

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Will Smith hits Queen City red carpet

CHARLOTTE, NC -- It was a scene straight out of Hollywood. Throngs of screaming fans lined the red carpet to wait for Will Smith at the Charlotte premiere of his newest movie, "Seven Pounds."

It was part premiere, part fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank. "Will's people came to us," Sonja Lucas says. "When there's a Will, there's a way!"

Two tickets to the movie were granted to the first 250 fans who waited in the rain for admission. The cost? Canned goods or non-perishables for the food bank.

Christian Espinoza ditched elementary school for a chance to meet the star. "It's better than learning," he laughed.

Smith arrived to the Regal Stonecrest theater at about 6:45 p.m. as fans cheered and screamed. He lifted children on his shoulders for photos, and signed autographs for at least a half hour before joining the event organizers on stage to present a gift of a check for 300 turkeys to Second Harvest.

Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers presented Smith a jersey, which he put on immediately and posed for pictures for a delighted crowd.

Mayor Pat McCrory bestowed the honorary title of "mayor" on Will Smith, who said, "I don't know how I'm going to be a movie star and mayor of Charlotte, but I'm gonna try."

Smith told the crowd he'd been inspired to make the premiere a fundraiser because of his belief in the need to meet responsibilities to society. He told Newschannel 36 on the red carpet that Barack Obama's election had convinced him it was time to step up.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcn...h.562c9425.html

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