Will Smith Full Biography – Hollywood Megastar the incomparable Will Smith what crime did Young will end up in prison for how did his rap pseudonym Fresh Prince come about for the sake of which role did he exhaust himself with training for a whole year and Whose
advice made him the highest grossing actor in Hollywood today we will answer all these questions and even more so get comfortable and we are starting foreign
what you have come to understand is Will
Smith the alien annihilating MC the
bigger than life movie star is largely a
construction a carefully crafted and
honed character designed to protect
myself to hide myself from the world
the life and career of our today’s star
was most influenced by his family it was
the family that made him the Will Smith
we all know his father Willard Carroll
Smith after whom are today’s star was
named was born and raised in the rough
and dirty streets of North Philadelphia
in the 1940s he grew up unsupervised and
as a teenager Willard developed a
brashness and aggression that would
haunt him for the rest of his life
despite his hard work wild energy and
sharp mind his drive to self-destruction
always took its toll after an unfinished
education and unfinished a service in
the Army Willard returned to
Philadelphia found a job at a
metallurgical plant

but because of his race he had to leave
it and open his own business my father
tormented me and he was also one of the
greatest men I’ve ever known
my father was violent but he was also at
every game play and recital he was an
alcoholic but he was sober at every
premiere of every one of my movies he
listened to every record he visited
every Studio
Smith’s Mother Caroline Elaine bright
was born and raised in Homewood a black
neighborhood on Pittsburgh East Side she
was an honors student at Westinghouse
Academy and one of the first black women
at Carnegie Mellon University my mother
graduated from Carnegie Mellon and she
was dead serious about education and in
her mind if you didn’t have an education
you you were dead you know yeah you did
it wrong you can’t survive in this world
without an education she was interested
in business and always had her own money
Caroline married for the first time in
her 20s gave birth to a daughter Pam and
divorced less than three years later
wanting more from life she packed her
things and went to live with her mother
in Philadelphia Will’s parents met at a
dance in the summer of 1964. two years
later they got married at Niagara Falls
the family settled in the
mother-in-law’s house and began to
develop the family business repairing
refrigerators on September 25th 1968
they had their first joint child son
will my mom says that from the moment I
showed up I was a talker always smiling
yapping and babbling away content to
just be making noise
since parents work took a lot of time
grandmother Gigi was Raising her son she
had a huge porch Smith recalls which
served as my front row seat to the drama
of North 54th Street and a stage on
which I could join in the theatrics she
dropped me up on that porch and watched
me jibber jabber with anybody and
everybody who walked by even at that age
I loved having an audience when will
turned two his parents bought their own
house just a few kilometers from Gigi’s
and a year later twins Harry and Ellen
were born counting Caroline’s eldest
daughter Pam there were six people
living Under One Roof at the same time
the father’s business flourished and the
family lived quite well my middle class
upbringing contributed to the constant
criticism I took early in my rap career
Smith says I was not a gangster and I
wasn’t selling drugs I grew up on a nice
Street and a two-parent household I went
to a Catholic school with mostly white
kids until I was 14. my mom was college
educated and for all of his adults my
father put food on the table and would
die before he abandoned his kids however
Willard senior while drunk often raised
his hand to his wife and children Will’s
younger brother Harry always stood up
for his mother sister Ellen hid and
cried and will decided that he would
please everyone I was the Entertainer in
the family I wanted to keep everything
light and fun and joyful I should have
been able to keep my father satisfied I
should have been able to protect my
mother I should have been able to make
the family stable and happy
constant fear throughout his childhood
developed Will’s keenest intuition the
ability to feel any emotion around him
he learned to feel anger anticipate joy
and understand sadness on a much deeper
level than most other children and the
boy was very dreamy and often lost in
his imagination later these qualities
made him a talented actor and Megastar
in Hollywood Will’s parents supported
his passion for music as they made all
their children learn to play the piano
since their mother played it herself
Harry played the saxophone and will took
drum lessons in high school however the
boy really liked Only the Piano his most
emotional performance on the piano took
place at the age of 11 in his
grandmother’s church when he played
Feelings by Morris Albert Gigi was
delighted to listen to her grandson’s
performance and the look on her face I
still struggled to describe it Smith
admitted the words Pride or approval are
pale and inadequate I could only say
that I have been chasing that look in
the eyes of every woman I’ve ever loved
ever since I’ve never felt more certain
of some woman’s adoration all my career
my performances my albums everything has
been a Relentless unbroken quest to
relive the delicious Purity I felt when
I played feelings at Resurrection hall
for my Gigi after that we’ll start
performing all the time he made up skits
for his parents acted out moments from
movies with friends sang songs in church
public speaking became his little Oasis
Of Happiness although Smith lived in an
area where the majority of the
population was black he attended Our
Lady of Lourdes Catholic school with
white children however he never felt
comfortable anywhere a Catholic School
no matter how well spoken or intelligent
I was still the black kid in Winfield no
matter how much I was on the latest
music or fashion I was never quite black
enough
at school as well as at home his shield
was a sense of humor in public speaking
and the classroom will was a typical
clown the hidden disrespect numerous
suspensions from classes in the 7th and
8th grades not being invited to parties
and school events the boy explained
being a Baptist in the Catholic church
and not black in a white world besides
his parents knew that it was the best
school in the districts in terms of
academic performance so they insisted
their son be patient but after Smith a
member of the School’s football team was
denied a front row seat at the awards
ceremony and was refused to accept the
player of the year award on stage
because of his skin color the parents
patients finally ran out will was moved
to Overbrook High School a center for
black youth in West Philadelphia which
was nicknamed The Castle on the hill it
is in this school that a new Hip-Hop
star the incomparable Fresh Prince was
born
[Applause]
will was introduced to hip-hop Culture
by his cousin Paul who moved in with the
Smiths in 1983 because of his problems
with the law the boys became friends
back then hip hop wasn’t what it is now
the star recalls there had been a couple
of hits but for the most part it was
still underground there were no albums
or singles no radio play no videos
Paul’s Bad Company in New York was
helping him get the coolest hip-hop
mixtapes Will’s Idol at that time was
Grandmaster Cass who had the greatest
influence on his further musical career
he was the prototype for the fresh
prince he was one of hip-hop’s first
storytellers Kaz was witty he was clever
his verses took you on a journey
first hit single girls ain’t nothing but
trouble was inspired by grandmaster’s
freestyle mixtape Yvette I’m not exactly
sure when I became a rapper will said
back then hip hop wasn’t something we
did it was what we were hip-hop was not
just our music it was dance it was
fashion street art politics social
justice it was everything it was life
it was us it was at school where will
began freestyling to the beatbox of his
friend Clarence Holmes nicknamed ready
Rock C at night he was riding and
memorizing his own lyrics and during the
day he joined rap battles proving to
everyone that he was the best some guys
were more rhythmic and more poetic but
he was the funniest no one could
entertain the crowd better than him and
humor according to the star always won
will was loved by everyone both
classmates and teachers for his way of
making everyone laugh his favorite
teacher Miss Brown jokingly nicknamed
Smith Prince Charming in the 80s the
word fresh was popular among hip-hoppers
meaning cool so will decided to combine
it with his nickname and choose Fresh
Prince as his stage name he had no idea
that soon this name would be all over
the world during that time Smith met his
first love at school a girl named
Melanie Parker
she had gorgeous mahogany eyes and a
springtime smile that I would come to
understand was painted on top of hidden
layers of sadness Melanie was a Broken
Angel and from the moment I saw her I
wanted nothing more than to take care of
her
it was for Melanie’s sake that will who
dreamed of his own family since
childhood decided to become the most
famous rapper and the most successful
showman in order to ensure their future
together in the 11th grade Smith joined
the band The hypnotic MCS hoping to
become famous however the boys treated
hip-hop more as a hobby and 16 year old
will was not perceived as an equal at
all therefore after six months Fresh
Prince said goodbye to them he noted my
story was very different from the ones
being told by the young black men who
were launching the global phenomenon
that would later become hip hop in their
minds I was somehow an illegitimate
artist it would call me soft whack corny
a bubble gum wrapper criticisms that
violently infuriated me looking back I
realize I may have been projecting a
little at one of his girlfriend’s
parties he met The Talented DJ Jeffrey
Allen towns nicknamed DJ Jazzy Jeff the
guy had a lot in common so they became
friends fast and decided to perform
together this is how the band DJ Jazzy
Jeff and The Fresh Prince was born young
people were real Workaholics so they
worked on music every day will would
come over to his friend’s house after
school and they would hang out in Jeff’s
basement or he had some kind of a studio
we had done every show we could block
parties school dances proms basement
parties birthdays fundraisers and church
parking lots you name it we did it we
had established a rep as fun creative
captivating party rockers
they also participated in the 1986 new
music seminar an annual DJ in MC
competition held in New York City there
DJ Jazzy Jeff received the title of King
of the DJ world and Will Smith realized
for the first time that he did not want
to go to college after the victory at
the festival the boys were invited to
perform in clubs of Philadelphia
Delaware and Atlantic City they also got
their own manager James Lasseter an old
friend of Jeff’s nicknamed JL who dealt
with the band’s legal and organizational
issues once their music Was Heard by
local businessman Dana Goodman he was
the younger brother of Lawrence Goodman
the founder of pop art records one of
the first hip-hop labels that gained
popularity in New York Dana was
delighted with the boy’s Charisma and
decided to sign a record deal with them
they recorded two singles together just
one of those days and girls ain’t
nothing but trouble after some time the
last composition became a hit on the
radio in Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff
were finally recognized have you ever
listened to their songs let us know in
the comments we’d love to hear your
thoughts on Will’s early work this
became the last argument for Will and
the decision not to go to college
however not everyone in the family was
so supportive of it when I told her I
wasn’t going to college because I wanted
to rap you know it wasn’t though you’re
going to be Will Smith yeah yes yeah she
she had uh no idea and you know so my
father let me have a year so I had a
year that I could go try to do rap music
and then after that I was going to have
to go to college the Young Artists
recorded the first full-length album
called rock the house us and went on a
U.S tour where they performed as a
warm-up for Public Enemy and two Live
Crew two of the most influential hip-hop
bands in the country they were noticed
by Russell Simmons a well-known producer
at the time and the Band came under his
leadership however Dana Goodman still
wanted full control over the band in
their record sales then JL decided to do
the following he persuaded Dana to sign
a deal with the international company
Jive Records that would later manage the
careers of such pop stars as Britney
Spears and sync and Backstreet Boys and
they promised to bring the band to the
world stage in essence Jive covered all
expenses while Dana still remained the
source of income he willingly signed
such a contract received a big check and
sold their International rights to Jive
the company immediately re-released rock
the house in March 1987 with a new cover
and a new sound and it became a major
Global hit they started importing the
same new version of the album to the US
Dana realized that he had chosen a
one-time payment instead of regular ones
and could not get anything from the
imported records therefore he demanded
more money and threatened to completely
refuse to cooperate with jive a legal
battle ensued Smith said and as soon as
the lawyers started digging into our
paperwork they figured out that I had
been 17 when I signed the contract with
Dana Under Pennsylvania law anyone under
the age of 18 cannot legally sign a
contract without a parent or Guardian
present I had signed mine in the lobby
of a studio before a recording session
there are four in legal terms our
contract with Dana never existed Dana
Goodman suffered the loss of such a
profitable band and even wanted to get
even with Will arriving at his house
with a loaded gun Will’s dad approached
Dana and said that he could shoot the
whole family but they would not let him
hurt his son because they were not at
all afraid of him Daddio immediate turn
his back on a man who could easily have
shot him and strolled into the house I’m
not sure if it was his military training
or his upbringing on the streets of
North Philly but he taught me a valuable
lesson that day it’s better to die than
to walk around scared
meanwhile things were going up in the
band their debut album rocked the house
and its major hit girls ain’t nothing
but trouble went gold selling more than
500 000 copies and eventually peaked at
number 83 on the billboard 200. the boys
performed at almost 200 concerts and in
the fall of 1987 they flew for the first
time to London for six weeks to record
their second album The Musicians
recorded a lot of songs and the
producers liked them so much that they
offered something that no one in the rap
world had done before DJ Jazzy Jeff and
Fresh Prince released the world’s first
double hip hop album the guys had no
idea what this album would mean for the
industry they didn’t know if the fans
wanted it if the people at MTV would
like it if it would be played on the
radio or if it would be condemned by the
hip-hop Titans they were only concerned
with the creative process the second
album called he’s the DJ I’m the rapper
was released on March 29 1988. the
song’s brand new funk and parents just
don’t understand where the main hits
thanks to which the album climbed to the
fourth place on the billboard 200 and
became three-time was platinum as they
sold more than 3 million copies
closed captioning not available
[Music]
in which Jeff absolutely massacred the
Wheels of Steel and the other half was
the rapper side where I was allowed to
let the hyper-creative poetic
playfulness of my 19 year old mind run
wild at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in
their first ever rap award DJ Jazzy Jeff
and Fresh Prince won best rap
performance for parents just don’t
understand making them the first rappers
in the world who received this award the
guys boycotted the ceremony itself
because the Music Academy naras which
presented the Grammys refused to
broadcast the rap Awards presentation on
television the band became Innovative in
many ways they launched yo MTV wraps
which broadcasted hip hop on daytime
television will and Jeff were among the
first to be broadcast live on daytime
radio and Four Seasons which at that
time did not allow rappers to stay in
their hotels change their decision only
after the president when Russell Simons
accommodated the boys in his own room
we’ll now have the money and fame he had
always dreamed of he bought his
grandmother an apartment on the 16th
floor overlooking the historic City
Center and he and his beloved Melanie
moved to Gigi’s old house the band
launched a Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince
hotline
1-900-909 Jeff was the first toll-free
900 number in history premium phone
numbers have become a revolutionary new
way to connect with fans and in fact the
Forerunner of modern social networks
fans called it to hear the Idol’s short
daily messages of where they were and
what they were doing at the peak of
their popularity they received about 5
000 calls a day however constant touring
and lack of time for personal life
caused a crack in will and Melanie’s
relationship the last straw was the
Betrayal of his beloved one the couple
broke up Smith took the breakup very
hard he tried to drown his pain in the
immeasurable money spending as he had a
lot of it and in promiscuous sexual
relations
I had sex with so many women and it was
so constitutionally disagreeable to the
core of my being that I developed a
psychosomatic reaction to having an
organism it would literally make me gag
and sometimes even vomit
out of grief will bought his first house
a mansion overlooking Marion Park in a
rich area beyond the City Line Bridge as
well as the whole car park after six
months of separation from Melanie he
decided to get her back the couple moved
in again and now lived in a new house
but they never managed to restore a
normal relationship during the same
period will became involved with jbm a
junior Black Mafia that was involved in
the sale of addictive substances they
often played pool with Smith for money
at his house this band was supposed to
record their next album in a studio in
the Bahamas but instead the artists just
spent two hundred thousand dollars on
entertainment and girls and didn’t make
a single song the situation was saved by
the band’s manager who called Willard
senior he arrived at the studio saw the
entire creative process and sent
everyone Home the album and in this
corner was released in October 1989 just
on Halloween and the public greeted it
with silence in a desperate attempt to
save the situation at least somehow the
band went on tour but it was all in vain
and in this corner flop hard Smith
recalled we were coming off 3 million
records sold triple platinum sales in
the first ever Grammy Award in rap
expectations and Investments were very
high and we crashed and burned at that
time we’ll begin to fly to Los Angeles
where he met Tanya Moore who later
played an important role in his life
choice instead of recording new albums
the guys spent money but did not earn it
later it turned out that they did not
even pay taxes Smith had to sell his
entire car park house and finally end
his relationship with Melanie during one
of the interviews on the local radio
station WDAS FM the former band manager
Dana Goodman entered the studio with
another man the latter began to shout
during the recording that will should
thank Dana for his popularity slowly
approaching the rapper however the
star’s bodyguard and his friend Charlie
blocked the stranger’s path and
seriously injured him as a result Smith
and Charlie were thrown into prison you
know getting into the fight at the radio
station that you know Charlie punching a
dude that ended me in jail so the money
is gone the car is gone I’m laying on
the floor
in a jail cell and I’m like you’ve got
to be kidding me
I want a Grammy eight months ago
right like what is happening the
victim’s lawyers filed a lawsuit
specifically against Smith and not his
bodyguard in the hope of making good
money however when they found out that
the prince was broke this claim was
rejected will was released from prison
but new troubles awaited him at home the
FBI came after jbm the feds knew that
the young rapper was in close contact
with them so he was again threatened
with imprisonment Smith had no choice
but to flee Los Angeles there he and
Tanya Moore rented an apartment and
started living together it was she who
inspired will to work on the next
project that would change his life
forever
at one of the shows in Los Angeles Smith
met Benny Medina who was a Headhunter
for Warner Bros records Studio he
invited the young rapper to the birthday
party of the famous producer Quincy
Jones the thing was these two had the
idea to make a series about a poor
relative who moved to live with a rich
family in the luxurious Bel-Air area of
Los Angeles they wanted Fresh Prince to
star in it and that’s why they gave him
an opportunity to audition right in
front of the guests at the party I don’t
remember much about the audition it’s
kind of a blurry collage of jokes laughs
punch lines and ad-libs Quincy then
Brandon Benny 20 magical minutes
culminating in Innovation from the
entire room
at the same party the producers in Smith
signed an agreement to shoot the pilot
previously called The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air will was delighted at this
opportunity to prove himself his new
screen family became James Avery whose
approval the young actor sought for it
in six years Janet Hubert Whitton who
fought tirelessly for a respectful image
of the black community on the screen
Alfonso Ribeiro who became his true
friend and advised him to name his
screen character Will Smith Tatiana Ali
an 11 year old who spent her teenage
years on the set and Karen Parsons who
rejected relationship with Smith without
spoiling the series will also persuaded
Jazzy Jeff to act promising that they
would write another album together later
Jeff’s character became one of the
audience’s favorites and he learned to
love the acting process too his most
memorable scene was when Uncle Phil
throws him out of the house during the
shooting of the pilot episode no one
knew that this bit would catch on Smith
said so we only had one shot of Jeff
flying out of the house the interior of
the Bel Air mansion and the exterior are
two different locations and we only had
a one-day shoot at the the exterior
location so we had to use the same shot
of Jeff being thrown out over and over
therefore anytime you see Jeff enter
with the brown and white Aztec pattern
shirt you know that he’ll be thrown out
in that scene the sitcom premiered on
September 10 1990 and was an instant
success debuting with the highest
ratings of the season five working days
were given for the production of one
episode on Monday the actors producers
and screenwriters sat down to read the
script on Tuesday and Wednesday there
were rehearsals the actors on stage
tried to breathe life into the woods
Thursday was a technical run day with
light sound and camera setup and on
Friday the shooting took place in front
of a live audience Friday nights on the
set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were
like being at the hottest club in the
city everybody who was anybody made
their way to our tapings
the entire cast of the sitcom could sing
and dance therefore in the breaks
between scenes the audience was
entertained with musical performances
the highlight of which was the band DJ
Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince music
education also helped and one of the
famous scenes Smith played Beethoven’s
Fur Elise on the piano the set went
silent the actor recalled as everyone
realized this show was about to be
special the whole point of the scene had
been to never judge a book by its cover
the producers were so inspired by this
improvisational moment that they kept it
and it became the defining thematic
premise of the entire series Prince and
Jeff returned to work on the fourth
album which was called home base but now
the music had to be done part-time at
night compared to the failed third album
for home base they wrote twice as many
songs in half the time and on a quarter
of the same budget and those songs were
much better that included summertime the
only song will wrote from start to
finish without correcting or changing a
single word it was his first number one
song on the hot r b hip-hop chart and
Number Four Song on the bill 100 the
band recorded the music video at their
home in Philadelphia with the
participation of family members and
Friends
here it is a cool slightly transformed
just a bit of a break from the norm home
base went platinum in two months and won
an American Music Award and a second
Grammy the boys boycotted this ceremony
as well I was positive we were going to
lose so I didn’t go Jazzy Jeff and The
Fresh Prince now had two Grammys and I
had yet to make an appearance anywhere
near the award show
at the same time the Network’s success
was growing will as an a student in life
prepared for each series with all
seriousness he studied lines obsessively
and was so afraid of making a mistake
that he memorized the entire script not
just his words but everyone else’s too
and therefore during filming he
subconsciously moved his lips to the
camera at the same time as other actors
in episode 5 of the first season during
the dialogue between the prince and ice
tray it is clearly visible that will
silently utters the friend’s lines so
you’re also a disadvantaged inner city
youth I hear
with him tan
of course colleagues on the set pointed
out his mistake to the rapper and he
tried not to repeat it again
however Smith’s recognition as a true
actor came later in the episode called
Papa’s Got a Brand New excuse or the
always cheerful will showed his dramatic
side you know what Uncle Phil I’m gonna
get through college without him I’m
gonna get a great job without him I’m
gonna marry me a beautiful honey and I’m
having a whole bunch of kids I’ll be a
better father than he ever was and I
sure as hell don’t need them for that
because ain’t a damn thing he could ever
teach me about how to love my kids
how come you don’t want me man
the abandoned son’s monologue prompted
his screen Uncle Phil actor James Avery
to whisper to his young colleague at the
end of the scene now you’re an actor one
day a young woman came to audition for
the role of the fresh Prince’s
girlfriend she did not Sue The Producers
because of her small height however
Smith really liked the young actress it
was Jada Pinkett by that time will had
already broken up with his girlfriend
Tanya Moore and was looking for new
adventures he sneaked into the set where
Jada was filming the sitcom a different
world in hopes of meeting her instead he
talked to the girl sitting next to him
in the audience Smith and Pinkett didn’t
get to talk that night as he went home
with Cherise and Pino a cute stranger he
managed to make laugh and three months
later will made her his first wife
Willard Carroll Smith III was born on
November 11 1992. the couple called him
Trey from birth because he was the third
Willard Smith In The Family the famous
song Just the Two of Us was a father’s
dedication to his son being popular
again and given a second chance in life
Will Smith didn’t want to risk his
future anymore he perfectly understood
that work in the TV series was not
Eternal and therefore began to look for
parts in movies will saw his main goal
in life as becoming the biggest movie
star in the world to do this his manager
JL began reading hundreds of scripts and
considering auditions for various roles
the actor was offered to star in the
movie eight heads in a duffel bag and a
fair pay of 10 million dollars but a gut
instinct told Will to turn down the part
and instead play a supporting role for
just three hundred thousand in the
Pulitzer Prize nominated adaptation of
John guere’s play Six Degrees of
Separation in it a young swindler Paul
Poitier rubbed off on the trust of a
rich couple and fell in love with the
housewife played by the Charming star Dr
Channing Smith took his first role in
the big screen too seriously he moved
his family to New York where the movie
was filmed besides the actor decided to
try the method that was full immersion
in his character as a result he became
so confused that he no longer understood
where will ended and Paul began this
destroyed his relationship with his
young wife and shortly after that the
couple filed for divorce Cherie and I
were in the first few months of our
marriage with a brand new baby the actor
recalled and for sure I can imagine that
this experience was unsettling to say
the least she’d married a guy named Will
Smith and now she was living with a guy
named Paul Poitier and to make matters
worse during shooting I fell in love
with stalker Channing not as well but as
Paul
I couldn’t turn him off this nitwit
Chapman who shot John Lennon said he did
it because he wanted to draw the
attention of the world
Catcher in the Rye
and the reading of this book would be
his defense
young Hinckley The Wiz kid who shot
Reagan and his press secretary said if
you want my defense all you have to do
is read
catch her in the Rye
when will and his family returned to Los
Angeles he was not himself everyone who
worked on the series was also shocked by
the actor’s internal changes he could
not remember how the Fresh Prince walked
talked and behaved it lasted a full 10
episodes at the beginning of the fourth
season
Smith lost his sense of humor coolness
Charisma and ability to improvise I
immediately hired five or six of my
friends from Philly to work on the
writing staff on the crew and to
surround me on set while I relearned how
to play will
it worked Fresh Prince became himself
again and he never used the method again
in his life at the end of 1993 Six
Degrees of Separation got into the big
screen and received widespread critical
Acclaim reviewers praised the unexpected
choice of Will Smith for the role of
Paul from that time on he was considered
a serious actor and will while still
married finally got acquainted with Jada
Pinkett and after the divorce in
December 1995 she officially became his
girlfriend
Will’s next move was a tandem with
Martin Lawrence and the action comedy
Bad Boys Martin himself contacted will
and offered to read a script about two
Miami cops who needed to switch roles to
solve a crime one of them was married
with Children the other was a rich
Playboy a newcomer clip maker Michael
Bay who had never worked on feature
films before was hired as the Director
at the first joint script reading the
producers were disappointed by the
Primitive lines of the characters and
the papers went to the trash can you
might think that a big time Hollywood
producer slinging a screenplay into the
trash three weeks before a shooting
might be unsettling for two young actors
and a director who’d never made a movie
but the opposite happened due to his
extensive experience with video clips
Michael was used to unexpected obstacles
money was never enough time was always
short and he constantly had to improvise
will and Martin were from the world of
Television so they were used to coming
up with phrases just on stage they were
brought scripts five minutes before
filming and all the time they had to
change dialogues and lines so that they
had a spark the fact that one of The
Producers threw the script out only
inspired the actors they shot the film
in daylight and at night they prepared
for the next shooting day there was such
incredible Chemistry Between will and
Martin that the latter at some point
stopped worrying about the dialogues
because the actors were constantly
improvising on the set
[Applause]
think you were going to shoot me for a
minute I was
the whole process of shooting Bad Boys
was an extremely educational experience
although everything was done chaotically
and randomly the director also made
Smith who gained 11 pounds of muscles
for the role appear almost bare-chested
for the first time in the movie for the
same scene where his hero ran after the
car with the shirt unbuttoned will
prepared for four months with a trainer
from the University of California for my
whole childhood I hated how actors ran
in movies and I promised myself that the
first time I ran on camera I was going
to look like Carl Lewis I had trained
high knees High elbows for four months I
was ready
the scene was shot in a single take and
the director was delighted With It Bad
Boys was released in cinemas in 1995.
the success was not overwhelming but
quite good it was at the premiere that
Smith heard for the first time how one
of the female viewers admired his naked
torso it was the first time I had ever
experienced a woman having a sexual
reaction to my madness Smith recalled up
until this point in my life I had used
comedy to attract women and now I was
being objectified it was wonderful all I
could think was okay Michael Bay you
were right I was wrong thank you from
that point forward directors had to
argue with me to keep my shirt on
in the same year filming of the final
sixth season of The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air began there were talks about
continuing the series but one of the
guest stars John Amos advised will not
to agree to it and ended on a high note
the following week Smith gathered the
entire cast of the series and told them
that the sixth season would be their
last the last episode of The Fresh
Prince of Bel-Air aired on May 20th 1996
the hour-long finale that shooting week
was the most emotional one in Will’s
career and it was a decent goodbye to
his television family the same year the
legendary movie Independence Day
directed by Ronald emmerich about an
alien invasion was released the idea for
the plot came to emmerich when he and
Dean Devlin speculated about the
existence of extraterrestrial life in
1994 while working on Stargate one of
the journalists then asked the director
why he made such a film if he himself
does not believe in the existence of
extraterrestrial life emmerich responded
by saying that he was still fascinated
by the idea of aliens coming to Earth
and then asked their reporter how he
would feel if he woke up one morning to
find giant alien spaceships hovering
over every major city on the planet
afterwards Ronald returned to Devlin and
said that he seemed to have an idea of
what their next film would be about the
U.S army initially agreed to help the
authors of the movie with permission to
shoot on military bases Consulting with
actors who played soldiers Etc but after
learning that the film would contain
references to Area 51 they withdrew
their permission
Smith was cast in the lead role after
his role in Six Degrees of Separation
with a budget of 75 million dollars
Independence Day grossed 306 million
dollars only in the United States in May
1996 the themed restaurant Planet
Hollywood opened in Sydney three World
megastars Schwarzenegger Stallone and
Willis invested in it Smith was also
invited to the opening ceremony there
the actor asked his colleagues the
question that interested him the most at
the time what do you need to do to
become the biggest movie star in the
world to which Arnold replied you are
not a movie star if your movies are only
successful in America you are not a
movie star until every person in every
country on Earth knows who you are you
have to travel the globe Shake every
hand kiss every baby think of yourself
as a politician running for biggest
movie star in the world will later
admitted that the night Arnold had given
him the key which would become his
secret weapon for the next two decades
he understood that the movie’s success
depended on the worldwide box office he
and JL did the math and realized that a
movie that might make say only 10
million in Spain would easily make 15 to
25 million dollars if he got there in
person did the premiere talk to the
press and set up a couple meetings with
fans it also wouldn’t hurt to learn a
few phrases in the local language and
say them in the news multiply that say
by 30 and traveling to different
countries would effectively double the
potential Global box office the actor
decided to check this discovery in
emrick’s movie he flew to Europe gave
interviews held premieres and signed
autographs this approach caused an
incredible result a month after the
start of distribution in the world
Independence Day became the most
expensive film in history its revenues
exceeded 817 million dollars I had gone
from being poor to rich to broke with no
acting experience to starring in the
highest grossing film in the world and I
was only 27 years old
in between filming we’ll spend all his
time with Jada they got engaged but the
woman did not hurry to get married the
actress did not believe in traditional
marriage and was disgusted by the
conventional wedding instead she dreamed
of a simple but unusual ceremony she
imagined herself on top of a mountain in
a white dress alone with Will no priest
no family no Witnesses only two of them
and God Smith on the other hand was a
supporter of making traditional vows in
front of friends and family Jada’s
mother Gammy was on his side after
learning that her daughter was already
carrying her first child it was she who
became their traditional wedding planner
the ceremony took place in a historic
castle in the suburbs of Baltimore on
New Year’s Eve a hundred relatives and
Friends attended the ceremony the couple
said their vows in front of the priest
and officially registered their marriage
and six months later the newlyweds had a
boy named Jaden Christopher sire Smith
however a year before this wonderful
event in the life of the young couple
will got his hands on the script of
Another Science Fiction film about a
secret Bureau that regulates monitors
and controls the activities of aliens on
planet Earth of course we are talking
about Men In Black director Barry
sonnenfeld wanted Smith for this role
will did not even need to participate in
the audition he was immediately invited
to the role the actor read the script
the same evening however he was worried
that this was the second film about
aliens in a row will thought it would be
too much like Independence Day and due
to the fact that the latter was such a
huge hit there was a fear that the film
would turn out to be less successful it
seemed to me that at best this would be
a lateral move Bad Boys was a buddy cop
movie Independence Day was an alien
movie and this new script was a buddy
cop alien movie
after Consulting with his manager JL
Smith turned down this role however the
film producer Steven Spielberg was in no
hurry to give up he invited the actor to
his house in the Hamptons introduced him
to the director explained the film
concept and finally convinced will to
take part in the project Tommy Lee Jones
became Smith’s screen partner
passenger seat belt
see now we got to work on your people
skills you know you get a much better
reaction if you’re a little more polite
fasten your seat belt please whoa that
was good
when the filming began the script was
not yet finished this led to delays in
the filming process as some scenes had
to be reshot later to match the script
Men In Black was released on July 2nd
1997 exactly one year after Independence
Day the date was not chosen by Chance
the fact was that the days around the
4th of July were always considered the
most desirable premiere date of the Year
Studios were trying to release their
promising pictures at this time since it
was a long weekend people were willing
to go to the movies every day which
meant that the box office could be
double or triple compared to any other
week Will Smith could not help but take
advantage of such an opportunity I
decided I wanted to publicly lean into
the pressure in all of my press
interviews I began referring to the 4th
of July weekend as big Willy weekend he
recalled this phrase made all the
headlines in Britain the joke came out
with the double meaning the word Willie
in slang meant male genitalia besides
Smith recorded the soundtrack for the
album with the same title Men In Black
which was included on his debut solo
album Big Willie Style this album reads
the top 10 of the US billboard 200 and
went platinum nine times the symbiotic
relationship between movie song and
music video was a perfect promotional
storm the song works as a massive radio
promotion for the movie that is
essentially free the music video acts
like a trailer for the movie and the
movie sends fans to buy the album and
request the song and video
Big Willy’s weekend was simply Sky High
Men In Black grossed 51 million in the
first three days of release only in the
United States the worldwide box office
eventually exceeded 600 million dollars
the soundtrack had a circulation of more
than 5 million copies to make even more
money will release the album big Willy
style which sold more than 12 million
copies worldwide that’s how will turned
out to be the most successful actor
according to the results of a survey of
film industry professionals and the
rating of stars capable of providing
financing for projects success at the
box office attractiveness to different
Target audiences and influencing other
factors he was the only one of all to
receive 10 out of 10 points
and Jeff Blake president of Global
Marketing and distribution for Columbia
Pictures told the New York Times we can
say with confidence that Will Smith now
owns the Fourth of July weekend
since then the actor has officially and
unanimously become one of the biggest
movie stars in the world in 1998 Smith
starred in Tony Scott’s political action
thriller Enemy of the State as lawyer
Robert Dean the film grossed 250.8
million dollars at the global box office
and received positive reviews from film
critics many praised the script and
direction as well as the actor’s
performance
a year later we’ll refuse the role of
Neo in The Matrix in favor of the movie
Wild Wild West despite criticism of the
film Smith said that he did not regret
his decision claiming that Keanu Reeves
performance as Nia was better than what
he would have achieved and the main
movie soundtrack Wild Wild West topped
the Billboard Hot 100. it became the
lead single from the album willenium
which reached number five on the
billboard 200 and win double Platinum
during the shooting of wild wild west
The Smiths had a confusing family moment
will and his brother Harry decided to
fulfill their mother’s dream and bought
her a farm in Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania
digging through old boxes during the
moving out their mother found unsigned
divorce papers almost 20 years ago she
and Will’s dad went through the whole
process but for some reason they didn’t
sign the final papers Caroline had no
idea that she was technically still
married therefore she signed the
documents and submitted them to the
court when reviewing the papers it
turned out that Willard senior was
obligated to pay child support to his
ex-wife during these years with interest
and fine
it was about a hundred and forty
thousand dollars the mother strongly
insisted on paying the entire amount but
her ex-husband did not have it so Will
came to the rescue secretly transferring
the required amount to his father’s
account this made me the first person in
the history of Pennsylvania to pay their
own damn child support when Mom mom
found out that I had paid Daddio’s debt
she was pissed and immediately wrote me
a check for 140 000 making her the first
person in the history of Pennsylvania to
pay her own child back the back child
support that they had paid for
themselves
on Halloween 2000 the Smith family had a
baby girl Willow shortly after her birth
will bought a 103 acre ranch 45 minutes
Northwest of Los Angeles there were five
houses a Lake stables Rich flora and
fauna on the territory
the actor recalled a gorgeous doe walked
up to the front door on my first tour I
took it as a sign I loved it I had the
perfect wife three beautiful children
and I was the Undisputed biggest movie
star in the world the final triumphant
brush stroke on my lifelong Dreamscape
would be her Lake a house with a name
however the wife did not like the house
she didn’t want to be alone most of the
time on a big ranch with kids and a lot
of people watching over the whole Farm
however she put up with her husband’s
extravagant purchase will later regret
not listening to Jada in his book will
he wrote to all of my young male readers
no means no nothing good comes from
spending your hard-earned money on a
family home that your wife doesn’t want
you’re putting a down payment on Discord
and for years you will be paying off a
mortgage of misery
the following year director Michael Mann
invited the actor to star in a Muhammad
Ali biopic Willow was very doubtful that
he could play this legendary personality
before that he had never boxed in his
life he did not have enough muscle mass
and he was afraid that his game would
disappoint both Ali and his fans around
the world then Muhammad called the actor
and offered to meet for this meeting
Smith went to Las Vegas where he met the
living Sports Legend and his family he
drew attention to the fact that they
both have a similar sense of humor they
were incredibly comfortable in each
other’s company Ali was a big kid just
like will and his heart was open so many
aspects of his life have been chronicled
right for for so many years that
everyone feels like we know the story
you feel like you know Muhammad Ali
you’ve seen him be funny you’ve seen him
be angry you you’ve seen the full
spectrum of emotions that any filmmaker
would try to to capture you’ve seen it
all so my question was what what are we
going to show what are we going to put
in into a movie that will be interesting
that he people haven’t seen already and
then after uh meeting meeting Ali and
the first time we met he told me uh I
was almost pretty enough after this
meeting will decided to agree to
participate in the Project Director Mann
took over the entire organization of the
shooting process he studied everything
related to Ali gathered a team of world
experts teachers and trainers he managed
the schedule and surrounded Smith with
people who were close to the boxer the
director also independently chose the
clothes assembled the cast and even
compiled a music playlist for the main
star will was only required to obey he
was introduced to coach Daryl Foster who
taught unboxing and brought the actor
into the necessary physical shape Smith
was delighted with the coach Daryl’s
style of training is full immersion he
doesn’t ask anybody to do anything that
he doesn’t do over the next year he ran
every mile jumped every rope lifted
every weight sparred as many rounds
every moment of training right by my
side he ate when I ate he slept when I
slept he worked when I worked they also
took real professionals from the boxing
world to play Ali’s Rivals it was them
who Smith improved his skills on however
for the first three months he trained
only with Daryl besides Michael Mann
brought in a neuroscientist to see put
it to help build new neural Connections
in the brain the scientists made a
looped 20-minute video of the typical
movements of Ali’s legs and arms twice a
day will would sit in a dark room and
watch this video staring intently at the
same movements until they were ingrained
in his brain now in the mirror the actor
began to remind himself of Muhammad Ali
he had 220 pounds of muscle and could
lift the bar weighing 365 pounds
The champ is here
ladies and gentlemen the heavyweight
champion of the world has arrived the
one year of training in the five months
of filming Ali was the most grueling
mental physical and emotional test of my
entire career but also the most
transformative will recalled ironically
the most difficult fight of Ali’s career
turned out to be the most difficult
scene to shoot it took two weeks Michael
Mann had remodeled an entire stadium and
hire over 20 000 extras to fill the
venue due to the lighting and humidity
the temperature in the ring exceeded 104
degrees Fahrenheit so after the first
day of filming Smith lost 10 pounds the
spirit of boxing camp and support became
practically a habit among the film crew
everyone started running five miles
early in the morning everyone trained in
the hall everyone ate properly everyone
read learned and offered new ideas
everyone lived according to the routine
to strive for a better version of
themselves this joint Mission the
purpose of which was to tell the story
of Muhammad Ali formed a qualitatively
new way of life for the group which
lasted long after the ending of filming
Ali brought the star’s first Oscar and
Golden Globe nominations and thus
Justified his new lifestyle in 2002
after a four-year break from music Smith
returned with his third album Born to
Reign which reached number 13 on the
billboard 200 and became gold the lead
single was a song from the movie Men in
Black 2 called black suits coming Nodge
ahead which reached number three in the
UK singles chart later that year Smith’s
first compilation album greatest hits
was released featuring songs from his
three solo albums as well as songs
produced with DJ Jazzy Jeff the
following year Smith returned the second
part of bad boys in tandem with Martin
Lawrence a lot of special effects were
used in the film however there were also
real locations for example the
underground morgue of a Cuban villain in
real life was a dairy with a fake facade
the Mansion blown up in Cuba was not a
pavilion set but a real house in Florida
sold by its owner specifically for the
movie despite receiving generally
negative reviews from critics the film
was a wild success at the Box office
grossing 270 million dollars worldwide
from the role of a cop of the president
Smith went to the cop of 2035 starring
the Sci-Fi Action film iRobot directed
by Alex proyas his character detective
Spooner who hated Humanity’s new metal
helpers investigated a murder case in
which a robot turned out to be involved
the movie was based on the collection of
Isaac asimov’s stories at first the
script had nothing to do with the work
of the famous American fiction writer
however after the initial script reached
the director and the film rights were
purchased the producers decided to
finalize the plot combining azimob’s
original story with an already developed
script with the working title hardwired
in this film for the first time in his
career Smith appeared completely naked
in one of the scenes you know see I was
I was um you know I saw Brad Pitt in
Troy you know and you know Brad Pitt is
is is 40. you know so I was feeling bad
I was like you know he’s 40 and you know
I’m I’m 35 and he’s in better shape than
me you know so I had to hurry up and get
myself to together and and get in shape
but you know every great actor needs one
nude scene an Audi RSQ concept car was
also developed specifically for the film
which was used as Spooner’s car in 2035.
the company’s bosses liked the new model
so much that they decided to put it into
mass production despite mixed reviews
the film was a box office success and
became another victory for the actor in
2004 Smith voiced the ambitious fish
Oscar who accidentally became the shark
storm and the animated film Shark Tale
worldwide box office of nearly 375
million dollars made everyone talk about
Will’s Lucky Star again during this run
my team was on fire nobody moved how we
moved people in Hollywood were trying to
figure out how we managed to be so
productive and so successful so
consistently
in 2005 Smith tried himself in the role
of Alex Hitchens a professional dating
Guru in the romantic comedy hitch his
character earned a living by teaching
men how to woo women but one day
something went wrong and it made Alex
change his perspective on love and
business Will’s colleagues on the set
were Kevin James and Eva Mendes whose
character would be played by Jennifer
Lopez by the way if you want a video
about this fiery singer or someone else
write to us in the comments we are open
to suggestions the movie was quite
warmly received by the audience and even
now it is included in various tops of
romantic comedies at the same time
Smith’s musical career did not stand
still his last album lost and found was
released in 2005 peaking at number six
on the billboard 200 with lead single
switch reaching the top 10 of both the
Billboard Hot 100 and UK singles chart
that same year Smith was listed in the
Guinness book of records for attending
three premieres in 24 hours the actor
was on fire he had a number of the
greatest successes in the history of
Hollywood he worked 70 to 80 hours a
week holidays weekends even vacations
were his opportunities for promotion
Smith spent whole days preparing for the
next role rewriting the script or
reading books and seeing friends
occasionally he organized Posh Christmas
and New Year celebrations because Jada
and her children could invite all their
friends and relatives for a week of fun
in the mountains and will not forgetting
about work for a minute use this time to
make deals with business partners whom
he also took with him to ski resorts all
expenses paid the star did not consider
himself a talented actor he explained
the secret of his success as follows
while the other guy is eating I’m
working while the other guy is sleeping
I am working while the other guy is
making love well I’m making love too but
I’m working really hard at it
in the 2006 biographical drama The
Pursuit of Happiness Smith first
appeared on the set with his son Jaden
when the boy overheard their phone
conversation with the Italian director
Gabrielle machino about the upcoming
project he asked his dad to let him be a
part of it the choice fell on Gabrielle
after will watch his picture The Last
Kiss although Machina did not speak
English and their first meeting almost
turned out to be a disaster the
director’s phrase thrown during the
conversation finally made up Smith’s
mind he said if you don’t choose me to
direct this film please don’t choose an
American filmmaker because Americans
don’t understand the beauty of the
American dream after these words will
and his manager JL had no doubts and
michina was entrusted with the work on
the project by the way the film plot
came to Jail’s mind when he saw a story
about a man named Chris Gardner on the
news at first he was homeless and lived
on the Streets of San Francisco with his
little son and then became a successful
stockbroker this was the real path of
the hero and therefore Smith willingly
agreed to transfer this incredible story
to the big screen green Gabrielle could
not find the perfect actor for the role
of Gardner’s son he had rejected 500
boys before Will and Jada decided to
take Jaden to an audition muccino was
delighted with the kit but the studio
decided that this would be the film’s
biggest failure they thought that people
would not be able to follow the plot if
a Hollywood star and his six-year-old
boy played on-screen father and son they
were also afraid the audience would
think it was nepotism and they would put
themselves in a bad position from the
beginning but Gabrielle insisted that
studio agreed to audition Will and Jaden
to test compatibility what’s that say on
the back of your bag my nickname
we picked nicknames
oh yeah what’d you say hot rod
as a result the boy was invited to
audition as many as nine times it was an
unprecedented case at each audition he
appeared in all his innocent
six-year-old glory and demonstrated that
he was perfectly suited for the role but
after the ninth audition the studio
appointed a tenth Jada lost patience she
notified Gabrielle in the studio that
Jaden was no longer available for the
role at that moment the director decided
that he could not make the film without
Jaden the studio relented and finally
offered the boy the role of Christopher
Jr for me this was Perfection on the set
at work with my son that was how I
wanted to parent on the battlefield of
life real Stakes real outcomes real
hunting I could correct errors in real
time and I could teach in real life
scenarios this is how I Define parental
love
the pursuit of happiness was released in
- it was a box office and critical
success earning will his second Oscar
nomination if I felt Invincible before
and now I really felt it I just made a
movie about a homeless black guy who
gets a job in the 80s and still crushed
every other movie The Box Office That
season I couldn’t miss
on December 10 2007 Smith was honored at
Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood
Boulevard he let this hand and
Footprints outside the theater in front
of many fans later that month Smith
appeared on the big screen in I Am
Legend the script was based on Richard
Matheson’s novel The Project could
appear as early as the 90s then Arnold
Schwarzenegger claimed the lead role of
lonely Robert Neville one of those who
remained alive in the post-apocalyptic
world and Ridley Scott was supposed to
be the director however after the
estimated future budget grew to
incredible proportions both considered
it better to engage in other promising
projects in the end Francis Lawrence
became the director of the movie
producer Akiva goldsmen decided to move
the film’s location from Los Angeles to
New York to further enhance the feelings
of emptiness because he said New York is
never empty since it was impossible to
film in a busy Square the filmmaker shot
Will Smith in his Studio using a blue
screen there were no decorations except
for a small booth and grass spread on
the studio floor more than a thousand
extras as well as various military
equipment were involved in the shooting
of the scenes on the Brooklyn Bridge
they were shot during six days and cost
the studio about 5 million dollars
single person that you or I has ever
known is dead
dead
there is no God in the film a couple of
hidden messages were left for Smith’s
fans for example throughout the film his
character sang Bob Marley’s song Three
Little Birds he also sang it as a little
Oscar in the Shark Tale and when Robert
was attacked by zombies he drove over
the same bridge that his character Agent
J jumped from in Men In Black negative
critics reviews were not at all
reflected in the world box office I Am
Legend became the highest grossing
December film in history it was a movie
that featured me on screen alone with a
dog and it grossed around 600 million
dollars the actor said the commercial
success of the movie proved Smith’s
first position at the box office in
Hollywood and in December 2008 TV Guide
named him one of the 10 most attractive
people in America the next film in the
star’s collection was the superhero
Blockbuster Hancock based on the script
of Vince Gilligan the creator of the
famous Breaking Bad series the film
script passed from one Studio to another
for 10 years but no one dared to bring
it to life during this time many famous
actors were considered for the main role
among them were George Clooney Ben
Affleck Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio
after various script rewrites and
Personnel reshuffles Peter Berg became
the film’s director Smith’s colleagues
on the set were Charlize Theron and
Jason Bateman
I hate to burst your little crazy
ladybug but it must not have been all
that great because I don’t remember
call me crazy
one more time
originally the film was to be called
tonight he comes it was later renamed
John Hancock and then shortened to
Hancock the name of the main character
appeared due to an error in the original
Will Smith character explained that when
he woke up in the hospital a nurse told
him to put John Hancock on one of the
papers the fact was that John Hancock
was an American congressman who gained
great popularity for a particularly
large signature placed under the
declaration of independence of the
United States later his name became
nominal and meant a person’s signature
the film was shown at a U.S military
base in the Middle East a week before
its U.S Premiere it was free for all U.S
military personnel at the base despite
mixed reviews from critics for both the
plot and Smith’s performance the story
about the drunken superhero grossed more
than 600 million dollars in just six
months after the success of I Am Legend
it was the Will Smith era but the wealth
popularity and fans undeniable love
still could not fill the actor’s void I
was trying to fill an internal emotional
hole with external material achievement
will recalled in his Memoirs ultimately
this kind of obsession is insatiable the
more you get the more you want all the
time never quite scratching the itch you
end up with a mind consumed by what it
doesn’t have and what it didn’t get and
in a spiraling inability to enjoy what
it has however the whole world thought
that fortune smiled to Smith his family
was considered exemplary will was the
biggest movie star in the world the
Karate Kid the first feature film in
which Jaden starred grossed almost 360
million dollars at the global box office
the first season of Jada’s new series
Hawthorne just aired Willow has signed a
contract with Roc Nation to record her
first album Trey was the star of his
high school football team and the former
wife together with the current one
jointly raised all the younger Smiths
nevertheless the truth about Will’s void
remained unknown to the audience and so
far the drama seven pounds has been
released besides the director Gabrielle
machino and the lead actor at least 30
other people who previously worked on
the pursuit of happiness participated in
the film create Nation including actors
and crew members this drama raised the
issue of time for each person on the
path to Redemption are some sins really
so big that they simply cannot be
cleansed how Justified will
self-sacrifice be and what will happen
to the most valuable gift and the person
who dares to accept it despite the Deep
content and great plot the film received
generally negative reviews from critics
Todd McCarthy from variety described the
film as an endlessly sentimental fable
about sacrificing Redemption that aims
only at the heart at the expense of the
head
and what do you think about this movie
we really liked it and you write your
impressions in the comments we want to
find like-minded people in 2012 Smith
reappeared on the big screen as Agent J
in Men In Black 3. after the film’s
released will was pleased to have
finished his work on the franchise
saying I think three is enough for me
three of anything is enough for me we’ll
look at it and we’ll consider it but it
feels like that it might be time to let
someone else do that
Men in Black 3 released 10 years after
the second part grossed more than 624
million dollars worldwide adjusted for
inflation it became the highest grossing
film of the famous franchise however
despite Will’s success in the movies his
family slowly began to fall apart to
prevent this the actor decided that they
needed a family project that’s how the
idea of shooting the movie After Earth
was born which was supposed to restore
their connection one day Smith saw the
program I shouldn’t be alive about
terrible deadly ordeals and incredible
situations where people found themselves
on the verge of death one of the stories
was about a father and son who got lost
in the wilderness far from civilization
a father was injured after an accident
and his teenage son had to walk alone
for miles to find help and save his dad
as I watched the actor recalled I kept
imagining myself injured and helpless
and Jaden climbing through the
Wilderness trying to get to civilization
to save me the scenario is stuck in my
mind a coming-of-age story about a young
man trying to save his father the idea
morphed into movie it would also be
about a father learning to trust and
depend on a son
it would be a metaphor a means to heal
their relationship he sent the episode
of I shouldn’t be alive to M Night
Shyamalan who really liked it and also
thought that it could make a good movie
filming took place in Utah Costa Rica
and Philadelphia will it never worked on
a film in his hometown before he agreed
to teach Jada’s brother Caleb Pinkett
how to develop scripts because he was
very good at history and historians
usually find it easy to write plots and
characters Smith considered him an ideal
student Will’s manager JL didn’t share
his optimism about the film he did not
like the script at all as well as the
idea itself as well as the time chosen
for filming will didn’t care he thought
only of his family and was determined to
surround Jaden with love and comfort it
was hot in Costa Rica so Smith ordered
huge air-conditioned tents set up in all
locations so Jaden could rest between
scenes play ping pong eat and listen to
music thanks to this Jaden felt the
support he needed and on the set of
After Earth Father and Son really got
closer but not for long
After Earth was a magical bonding
experience for Jaden and me
he was fresh into his teens the
mythological timing was perfect
I had succeeded in illustrating the
depth of My caring concern but the
Father and Son honeymoon was short-lived
After Earth was in abysmal box office in
critical failure
and what was worse was that Jaden took
the hit
Jaden had Faithfully done everything I’d
instructed him to do that’s why I wasn’t
going to do this bird tonight
Jaden had Faithfully done everything I
had instructed him to do and I had
coached him into the worst public
mauling he’d ever experienced after such
criticism the relationship between
Father and Son cracked and relations
with the family were not getting better
either it was at this time that Jada was
supposed to celebrate her birthday to
please his beloved wife Smith decided to
arrange a real extravaganza
I love planning events orchestrating
spectacle and emotion in my mind the sum
total of a happy life is the quality of
your memory so I’m always looking for
the most vivid memory that I can create
as a child Jada had a very close
relationship with her grandmother
unfortunately she passed away a few
years before her granddaughter’s 40th
birthday will secretly contacted Jada’s
Aunt who was in charge of the family
archives she kept photos videos and
letters as well as audio tapes on which
Jada’s grandmother recorded her thoughts
in the last weeks of her life no one in
the family has heard them yet they were
to become Will’s biggest gift for Jada’s
birthday so he decided to make a short
documentary about her life will hired a
team of researchers to study her
family’s genealogy and Trace her
grandmother’s lineage back to the
slavery era he then found a director who
compiled the information and made the
movie
however according to the star it was not
enough the thing is that jadel liked the
city of Santa Fe and New Mexico and the
artists there so Smith decided to make a
surprise and spend a three-day weekend
there he bought an entire hotel in the
city where he invited dozens of their
closest friends and relatives every
night they were supposed to have a great
family dinner and afterwards they were
all in for a surprise on Friday evening
there was a closed art show on Saturday
morning there was a spiritual Adventure
a hike to Picacho Peak National Park
apart from it the husband invited Jada’s
favorite artists to paint for them and
conduct master classes for the whole
family and the best thing of the weekend
would be watching a documentary about
Jada everyone really enjoyed their stay
in Santa Fe the first two days however
during Jada’s documentary showing to the
guests when all heard her grandmother’s
voice they fell silent the old woman’s
words were addressed to specific family
members many of whom were present there
for the first time since her
grandmother’s death
Jada heard her voice
I had seen the video a hundred times at
this point so I was only watching Jada
the entire place is in tears her family
my family everybody all except Jada she
sat motionless refusing to make eye
contact with me
returning to the hotel room the birthday
girl asked to cancel the further
celebration the argument turned into a
real fight until Willow ran into the
room and persuaded everyone to calm down
after this incident the couple decided
to take a break from their relationship
and will to spend a couple of weeks
alone no TV no phone no people and no
conversations he went to their home in
the Utah mountains far from civilization
the actor arranged for food to be
delivered to his door without any human
contact for 14 days he did not speak to
anyone let the house only for a morning
walk and the rest of the time he
remained in the house this experience
made the star take a good look at
himself and understand why he could not
save his family in the following years
Smith participated in not quite popular
projects together with Margot Robbie he
starred in the romantic drama focus and
played the role of an experienced
swindler who took over a young
attractive woman Smith was set to star
in the sci-fi thriller Brilliance an
adaptation of Marcus say he’s novel but
left the project to work on really
Scott’s sport drama concussion in this
movie Smith played Dr Bennett omala of
the brain injury Research Institute who
was the first to discover chronic
traumatic encephalopathy the actor said
that he had doubts about the film at the
beginning of production saying some of
my happiest memories are watching my son
catch and throw a football I didn’t want
to be the guy who did a movie saying
football could be dangerous
however doubts disappeared when he met
omala whose words about American ideals
touched the star to the core the movie’s
called concussion but it’s it’s really
about a whole lot more than that it’s
really about a man who was committed to
the truth and through his faith in his
God was able to make people’s lives
better you know so that was a deeply
inspiring Pursuit although the film did
not gain much popularity critics praised
Smith’s performance calling it sensitive
and understated in 2016 Smith played
Deadshot in the super villain team up
action film Suicide Squad turning down a
role in Independence Day Resurgence
which he said would have been like
clinging and clawing backwards however
although the film was a huge financial
success grossing over 700 million
dollars at the box office it received
negative reviews from critics later that
year Smith starred in David Frankel’s
drama collateral Beauty portraying a New
York Advertiser who falls into a deep
depression after a personal tragedy
during filming will learn that his
father was terminally ill he was given
six weeks every Sunday the son visited
Willard senior and supported him one day
after shooting one of the scenes at the
fantasy action film bright the director
David Iyer approached Smith and informed
him that his father had become worse
will immediately facetimed him it’s 2 am
in an empty downtown LA parking lot I
stand out of the brightest street light
I can find I want him to be able to see
me
we simply look at each other 20 minutes
of Silence
[Music]
they had one last laugh together
said goodbye and 45 minutes later
Willard senior passed away at his
father’s funeral will met Jada and they
decided to get back together
our time apart has helped us both to
discover the power of loving and freedom
Smith said we are simultaneously 100
bound together and 100 free we agreed
that we were both imperfect people doing
our best to figure out how to be in this
world joyfully what we needed from each
other was unconditional love and support
not judgment not punishment but total
unbending Devotion to each other’s
growth and well-being in the following
years Smith lived in harmony with his
family in 2018 he decided to try himself
in the Investments together with
football player kaisuke Honda will
started the Venture fund dreamers VC the
company invests in startups that solve
social problems but will didn’t forget
about movies either in 2019 he played
genie in the film adaptation of Disney’s
Aladdin directed by Guy Ritchie on the
Ellen talk show the actor told how he
found his character who was voiced by
Robin Williams in the cartoon
yeah Robin you know he he really smashed
this role he revolutionized you know
what you could do in these kinds of uh
of movies so I was listening and
listening and then uh I started playing
with the music and the music is where I
found my end and I was like oh I could
just use my sort of uh Fresh Prince
Persona the movie grossed more than one
billion dollars at the global box office
and became the star’s highest grossing
film surpassing Independence Day the
actor also appeared as an assassin who
confronted his younger clone in angley’s
Gemini man the film became a box office
bomb and received negative reviews later
that year Smith along with Tom Holland
voiced one of the main characters in the
cartoon spies in Disguise and in 2020 he
reunited with Martin Lawrence for the
third film in their franchise bad boys
for life before moving on to the last
chapter we suggest you subscribe to our
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the Stars
[Music]
when I was 11 years old my father
decided he needed a new wall on the
front of his shop
this is how Smith’s autobiographical
book will co-written with Mark Manson
begins it is about a person’s desire to
find Inner Harmony to overcome
weaknesses and fears it is a
kaleidoscope of humor iridition wit
wisdom experience mistakes work on
personality love for oneself love for a
family and wild success after the book
was published in 2021 Oprah Winfrey was
so delighted with it that she invited
will for an interview to discuss its
main ideas and I saw I saw my book and
she had it marked up she literally had
the Post-it note
inside the book and it was
um you know it’s a little different than
my book in the same year the film King
Richard was released it describes the
life story of the two of the greatest
athletes in the world Venus and Serena
Williams There Will Smith played Richard
sister’s father and their first coach
the real Venus and Serena became the
film’s executive producers along with
her older sister Isha price according to
price their involvement helped keep the
film 100 real and act accurately portray
their father’s personality for King
Richard Smith was willing to sit in the
makeup chair for three hours to achieve
the desired look director Reynaldo
Marcus Green said that Smith and Warner
Bros initially had a makeup team put
Prosthetics on his face to make him look
like the real Richard they made him look
like Richard Williams it was straight up
shocking I was like look you guys did an
incredible job but I don’t want that
will has his acting coach who has been
with him for 30 movies he had a dialect
coach so he could speak similar to
Richard we have so much and it would
have been three hours of will being in
the makeup chair every day who wants to
do that Williams himself spoke warmly of
Smith in an interview with Good Morning
Britain the legendary Richard said I’ll
always stand by him I think he has done
the best that he needed to do Beyonce
was inspired to write a song for King
Richard called be alive speaking about
the powerful ballad Smith said the
marriage of a movie in a song is the
kind of magic that’s unmatched in
entertainment I was so happy when
Beyonce called
will admitted that he was scared to hear
what the sisters thought of the movie
so then I get to call that Venus and
Serena are walking into the theater to
see the film and it’s like it’s the
worst two hours you’re like the words
you spend so much time creating these
things and there’s literally only one
audience when you do I did it with you
know with uh Muhammad Ali and then with
uh Pursuit of Happiness and concussion
with people that were all alive yes
um and it’s just there’s that’s it’s the
only audience and you just hope to God
that you know you’ve spent a year to
tell this story and you hope that they
they like it and Venus and Serena cried
all the way through and they loved it
and one point fortunately they didn’t
just like the film they loved it and not
only them for his performance will won
an Oscar a Golden Globe award and a
Screen Actors Guild Award for best actor
and I accidentally touched his hand
and he stopped beating on me
he knocked me down his friends come over
they all start stomping them and beating
on me
however the Oscars that year had a
dramatic turn on on March 28th during
the presentation of the nominees and the
best documentary category comedian and
actor Chris Rock joked about the shaved
head of Jada Pinkett Smith who suffered
from partial baldness whether the
comedian knew about Pinkett Smith’s
disease is not known for sure the
actress reacted to the joke with obvious
displeasure and will decided to defend
his wife’s honor he walked up to the
stage and slapped Rock before returning
to his seat the ceremony continued as if
nothing had happened and Smith went on
the stage again about 40 minutes later
this time to receive the long-awaited
gold statuette in his speech he
apologized to the academy and the
nominees but not to Chris Rock
love will make you do crazy things
um
to my mother
a lot of this moment is really
complicated for me but to to my mother
um
she didn’t want to come out she had her
knitting friend she has a knitting crew
that she’s in Philly watching
watching with
um
um being able to love and care for my
mother and my family my wife
um I’m taking up too much time
thank you for this honor thank you for
this moment and thank you on behalf of
Richard and and oracine the entire
Williams family
um thank you uh hoping Academy invites
me back later that night Smith had fun
at the traditional Vanity Fair party
while the public suggested the
unpleasant accident soon Smith hadu
publicly apologized to the comedian who
in turn refused to file a police report
and did not provide any comments Jada
Pinkett Smith was also tight-lipped
calling this situation a healing period
on her Instagram at the same time the
academy made another statement that it
did not welcome violence and would not
allow it within its walls and began a
disciplinary investigation at the same
time the organizers of Oscar admitted
that they were completely unprepared for
what happened and behaved
inappropriately in this situation many
did not like that Will was not taken out
of the hall and the audience after this
unpleasant scene gave Smith a standing
ovation during his acceptance speech
however the actor was ahead of the
academy members and even before their
board meeting on his case announced that
he was leaving the academy calling his
actions shocking painful and
unforgivable all of us to all my fellow
nominees you know this is a community
it’s like I won because you you voted
for me and it it really breaks my heart
to have stolen and and tarnished
tarnished your moment due to Smith’s
prompt response the Oscar board of
directors had no choice but to announce
their decision Smith was removed from
all Academy events for 10 years
additionally several Studios have
shelved projects involving Smith
including Netflix and Sony which had bad
voice foreign development Smith’s
violent reaction to the failed joke
caused an even more violent reaction
from the public many were outraged by
this incident and the fact that it was
shown on television those who sharply
condemned the actor noted that he
completely deprived other nominees and
awardees of the opportunity to enjoy
their star hour and shifted the focus us
of attention from art to himself it is
worth noting that he was helped by
numerous mass media which were more
interested in covering the Scandal than
the awards also many rightly pointed out
that instead of slapping Rock Smith
could have mentioned the host’s
inappropriate joke in his acceptance
speech and condemn him for his
indiscretion moreover this was not the
first time that rock allowed himself not
very pleasant jokes about Pinkett Smith
instead the conversation shifted from
the actress and Rock’s argument to a
fight between the two men there were
also those who spoke and will support
and condemned the Academy’s verdict
considering its decision too harsh the
second participant of the incident Chris
Rock refused to comment on it for a long
time and only a year later the comedian
Finally Revealed his vision of the
situation in a stand-up performance
which was shown in a Netflix special
edition named Chris Rock selective rage
baby you will never see me on Oprah gal
crying
you will never see it
never gonna happen I couldn’t believe it
and I Love Men In Black who do you think
was right in this whole unpleasant
situation write in the comments well as
we can see Will Smith is a controversial
personality he adores his family but
often hurts relatives and Friends he
could not forgive his father for his
cruelty for a long time but he tries to
follow his guidelines all his life will
loves suffers loses and finds again his
whole path is not the path of a hero as
it might seem at first glance this is
the path of an ordinary person who with
the strength of his spirit and Titanic
work paved his way to World recognition
maybe we all have something to learn
from Will Smith don’t you think and if
you want to know even more about Will’s
relationship with Jada how it developed
who they met during their breakup and