Jada Pinkett-Smith & Will Smith

[BobbyD 2]

Jada Pinkett Smith gives $1 mil to high school

 

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Jada Pinkett Smith has donated $1 million to the Baltimore School for the Arts, asking that its new theater be dedicated to classmate Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed in 1996.

 

The 35-year-old actress graduated from the high school in 1989.

 

"It means a lot when you're a teacher and your most famous alumnus comes back to give a donation," said Donald Hicken, head of the school's theater department since its founding in 1980 and Pinkett Smith's former theater teacher. "It really says a lot to the community that the school matters in people's lives."

 

The donation from the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, which is based in Baltimore, will be used for renovation and expansion. The school, which announced the donation Monday, said it will name its new theater for Pinkett Smith.

 

Pinkett Smith is married to Will Smith, who stars in the new movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" with their 8-year-old son, Jaden.

 

The couple had previously given $112,500 to the school.

 

When a $30 million expansion program is finished in the fall of 2007, the school will increase its enrollment from 316 to 375 students.

 

Karen Banfield Evans, executive director of the Smith Family Foundation, and Pinkett Smith's aunt, said the actress was moved by the school's advances since she graduated.

 

Pinkett Smith wanted the theater named for Shakur because of the friendship they developed at the school. The rapper died after a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

 

The actress has appeared in movies such as "Ali," which starred her husband, and "Collateral," and she was the voice of the hippo Gloria in the 2005 animated film "Madagascar."

 

"The Pursuit of Happyness," a Sony Pictures release, opens in theaters Friday.

 

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[sanlee 49]

panachereport.com

 

 

Will Smith recently made the following comment about his son Jaden.

"He really is his own kind of creation. Me and Jada want to take credit for it but we went to Mexico and got some tequila and nine months later he showed up."

Smith insists that he and his wife can't take credit for Jaden's talent.

[sanlee 49]

panachereport.com

 

 

Will Smith's son Jaden once wrecked his father's plans to throw a huge birthday surprise for his wife, Jada. Jaden found it heartbreaking to lie to his mother. The young actor was left confused and upset by the little white lies his father asked him to tell his mom-in order to keep her birthday celebration a big surprise. Will recalls, "I'm flying high school friends in, all of that stuff and we made a video for her birthday and she knew nothing about any of this. "The night before, Jaden comes in the room and he's crying and he said, 'I need to talk to you...Why are you making me lie to mommy? "I said, 'Well, what do you mean? and he said, 'Mommy asked me what we're doing tomorrow and I had to tell her a lie.' And I was like, 'Yeah, but that's a lie, right? Daddy, my stomach hurts and I can't sleep. I don't want to lie to my mommy. Can we wake her up? I have to tell her 'cause I'm getting sick.'

"I was like, 'Wow, how can you argue with that? He went and told his mommy everything. He's so deeply connected to human emotion."

[BobbyD 2]

'Happyness' delivers box office joy

By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer

 

LOS ANGELES - Not even a dragon or the world's most-beloved spider could deny Will Smith another first-place finish at the box office.

 

Sony's father-son drama "The Pursuit of Happyness," starring Smith and his own son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, debuted as the No. 1 movie with $27 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

 

Smith's latest topped 20th Century Fox's dragon fantasy "Eragon," which opened in second place with $23.45 million, and Paramount's children's tale "Charlotte's Web," which premiered a distant third with $12 million.

 

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Mel Gibson's Mayan saga "Apocalypto," fell to sixth place with $7.7 million, raising its 10-day total to $27.9 million.

 

The story of a struggling dad who becomes homeless along with his young son, "Pursuit of Happyness" joins a long line of No. 1 openings for Smith, including the action tales "Independence Day" and "I, Robot."

 

"Audiences around the world love him," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, whose past hits with Smith include the "Men in Black" flicks and last year's romantic comedy "Hitch."

 

"Everyone who sees Will Smith or meets Will Smith feels like he could be their best friend," Bruer said. "He has that type of charisma that resonates throughout whatever room he's in."

 

Combining live action and computer animation, "Charlotte's Web" had a soft opening despite an all-star voice cast including Julia Roberts, Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey in E.B. White's classic about a spider that befriends a lonely pig.

 

Don Harris, executive vice president of distribution at Paramount, said the studio hopes "Charlotte's Web" will follow the pattern of other pre-Christmas family releases such as "Stuart Little" and "The Prince of Egypt," which opened in the same range but held on through the holidays to become hits.

 

"The movie has every chance to get to $100 million off of this opening," Harris said.

 

Paramount's musical "Dreamgirls," starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson in an adaptation of the stage hit, opened to big numbers at three theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

 

Premiering with reserved seating and special programs at a premium ticket price of $25, the film took in $360,000, a healthy start to its nationwide release on Christmas.

 

George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh's latest collaboration, "The Good German," debuted solidly with $78,572 at five theaters. Clooney stars with Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire in a black-and-white tale of murder and intrigue in Berlin just after World War II.

 

Overall business was off, with the top 12 movies taking in $112.3 million, down 8.3 percent compared to the same weekend last year, when two blockbusters — "King Kong" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" — were Nos. 1 and 2.

 

This weekend's holdover films retained strong audiences, though, a sign that many current movies may have a long shelf life, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

 

"It's hard to say this is a positive thing that this is a down weekend. But the strength of this weekend has been the holdovers," Dergarabedian said. "There is a lot of depth to the marketplace. It's a direct reflection of audience satisfaction. That's more important I think than beating last year's competition."

 

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

 

1. "The Pursuit of Happyness," $27 million.

 

2. "Eragon," $23.45 million.

 

3. "Charlotte's Web," $12 million.

 

4. "Happy Feet," $8.5 million.

 

5. "The Holiday," $8.2 million.

 

6. "Apocalypto," $7.7 million.

 

7. "Blood Diamond," $6.3 million.

 

8. "Casino Royale," $5.7 million.

 

9. "The Nativity Story," $4.7 million.

 

10. "Unaccompanied Minors," $3.7 million.

 

___

[sanlee 49]

panachereport.com

 

 

Will Smith is drawing some of the strongest reviews in his career for his performance in "The Pursuit of Happyness," based on a true story about the struggle of a single father to work his way out of homelessness. Amy Biancolli in the Houston Chronicle observes that Smith has always excelled at playing the ordinary guy, but in this film "Smith brings the art of guyness to an apex of compassion and understanding; he blends into the part of a downtrodden single dad with such easy-bones naturalism that it's hard, for once, to remember that he's Will Smith, movie star."

Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer tersely calls his performance "restrained and nuanced." But here's Richard Roeper's take on it in the Chicago Sun-Times: "With his work in "The Pursuit of Happyness," Smith serves notice he is not only a genuine movie star, he's a four-star actor (even in a three-star movie).

It is a sublime, fully realized performance, and it is worthy of an Academy Award nomination." The movie itself doesn't receive the praise that is afforded Smith, but it does generally receive a warm reception.

Ty Burr in the Boston Globe describes it this way: "A quietly agonized drama of reaching and missing and reaching again, it takes place in the crack between the American dream and its nightmare shadow.

It's a fine film, with a portrait of fatherhood that feels scuffed and driven and real."

[Cutielb99 0]

Hot 'Pursuit' at box office

'Happyness' marks Smith's 10th top bow

By IAN MOHR, Variety

 

Holiday auds were in the mood for father-and-son bonding as Sony's "The Pursuit of Happyness," with Will Smith starring opposite his son, warmed hearts and landed atop the domestic B.O. over the weekend with a $27 million bow.

 

Pic's per-engagement average was a robust $9,467 from 2,852 over a pre-holiday frame in which it can be tough for non-tentpole pics to woo auds away from holiday preparations. No. 1 bow was Smith's 10th, and pic also marked a solid English-lingo debut for Italo helmer Gabriele Muccino.

 

Last weekend's surprise No. 1, Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," dropped nearly 50% in its second frame into sixth place.

 

Subtitled pic added $7.7 million to its coffers to bring its cume to $27.9 million. Pic is playing in almost 2,500 engagements and posted an average of $3,133 per.

 

Fox's PG-rated "Eragon" took the second spot on the charts, with $23.4 million off 3,020 for a per-screen average of $7,765. Pic, based on the fantasy-lit phenom, played somewhat better with young males, but also brought in a young female demo.

 

Frame's other wide opener, Paramount's G-rated reinvention of "Charlotte's Web" -- which mixed live-action with CG f/x -- landed in third with $12 million. Studio said it's hoping to mirror the release of "Stuart Little," which opened slowly in the same frame in 1999 with $15 million, but wound up with $140 million by April as families discovered it. Both "Stuart" and "Charlotte" are based on books by E.B. White.

 

While Sony had a No. 1 with "Happyness," its romantic comedy "The Holiday" -- starring Cameron Diaz and Jude Law -- fell to No. 5 in its second frame, taking in $8.2 million off 2,614. Pic's cume after two frames now stands at $25.3 million.Warner Bros.' "Happy Feet" continued to play swimmingly. CG-animated penguin pic added $8.5 million off 3,335 to bring its domestic cume to just under $150 million. It was in fourth place for the weekend.

 

Studio's very different project, political actioner "Blood Diamond," dropped a slight 28% in its second weekend in theaters.

 

Pic took in $6.2 million off 1,910. Leonardo DiCaprio starrer has cumed $18.3 million, and Warners is hoping biz will pick up with awards nominations.

 

Other holdovers in the top 10 included Sony's latest James Bond pic, "Casino Royale," which crossed the $137.5 million mark in its fifth frame.

 

New Line's "The Nativity Story" found a ninth-place berth. Pic has taken in just over $23 million after three frames, having played to $4.7 for the weekend.

 

Warners also had its kid pic "Unaccompanied Minors" playing in 2,775 locations. Pic got lost in the shuffle with so much family fare flowing over the frame: It has taken in $10.2 million after two frames.

 

Par also released DreamWorks' bigscreen musical "Dreamgirls" in an unusual "roadshow" engagement. Pic played in just three theaters -- in Gotham, Los Angeles and San Francisco -- to $360,000 for 21 shows.

 

For $25, ticket holders got reserved seats and a special program. Pic sold out all of its shows at the sites for a per-screen average of $120,000.

 

Pic, from helmer Bill Condon, will widen out on Christmas to about 800 engagements.

 

Biz overall was off markedly compared with last year, when Universal's 800-pound gorilla "King Kong" roamed the same frame along with the first pic in Disney's "Narnia" franchise.

 

As a result, top 10 pics from a year ago combined for a potent $119.5 million as opposed to $107.2 million for the latest frame. But the combined perfs of "Happyness," "Eragon" and "Charlotte's Web" were encouraging.

 

And with "Happyness" -- along with "Casino" and "Holiday" -- Sony broke the record for domestic B.O. in a single year, hitting the $1.57 billion mark.

 

Looking ahead, Warner's holiday sked gets even busier next frame when it rolls out football drama "We Are Marshall," playing against MGM's boxing sequel "Rocky Balboa." Along with "Marshall," and the "Dreamgirls" expansion, other new openers entering the fray in time for Christmas include Universal's "The Good Shepherd" and Fox's "Night at the Museum."

[sanlee 49]

panachereport.com

 

Will Smith wants to add to his family but is struggling to persuade wife Jada Pinkett Smith to get pregnant.

The actor already has son Jaden, eight, and daughter Willow, six, with his wife and a son Trey from a previous marriage.

But he loves fatherhood so much, he wants to increase his brood.

The 38-year-old says, "I definitely enjoy having kids. I'm trying to get Jada pregnant now, but she's not having it!"

[WiLdFiRe 0]

So happy that Will's movie was # 1 at the box office!! They couldn't have picked a better time of the year to release this movie!

[mf'smom 0]

So happy that Will's movie was # 1 at the box office!! They couldn't have picked a better time of the year to release this movie!

Did you see it yet,Wildfire? It looks really good, but sad...I want a review!

[princess 1,712]

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jaden Smith Visit the "Late Show" (12/14/2006)

 

concreteloop.com

[Cutielb99 0]

UP, UP AND AWAY!

 

Will Smith nearly gets carried away by his The Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino while promoting the film in Rome on Thursday. Smith is expected back in the States to attend Monday's Golden Globes, where he's up for a best actor award.

 

[sanlee 49]

panachereport.com

 

 

Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith make sure their son Jaden doesn't watch the TV news, because otherwise the eight-year-old has nightmares for weeks. The Smiths are amazed by how Jaden, who co-stars with dad Will in “The Pursuit Of Happyness,” can identify with everything that is put in his way. Will explains, "We call him empath. He has the power to empathize with situations he has no knowledge of beforehand. "We can explain it to him, he will ask a question and he will take it in. If you explain it clearly he is emotionally transported to that space. "We have to be careful with the stories we let him hear. He doesn't watch TV too much anyway, but the news can ruin his whole month."

[nsmallaz 0]

Is Will sick? He is so skinny. He's looking like a Nicole.

[BobbyD 2]

Will Smith Meets Japan's Prime Minister

 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his countrymen could use a piece of advice from Will Smith's new movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness," the story of a homeless man and his young son who make good.

 

"I think we should treasure the idea of not giving up dreams," Abe said.

 

Smith and Abe met at the prime minister's official residence Thursday. The 38-year-old actor is visiting Japan to promote the film, released by Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures.

 

"The Pursuit of Happyness" is based on the rags-to-riches story of Chris Gardner, played by Smith, and his 5-year-old son, who find themselves homeless.

 

"We are aiming to create a society that is full of chances and allows people to take up a challenge again," Abe said. "The movie presents us an example of such society."

 

Abe said he wants to see the film, which opens in Japan on Jan. 27.

 

Smith's screen credits also include "Ali," "Independence Day" and the "Men in Black" films. His 7-year-old son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, plays the part of Gardner's son.

[WillyWonka 0]

Jada gives off such a strong bitch vibe to me. She looks like she's tiny but mean. I don't get what Will Smith sees in her. Everything you read and hear about him says what a nice guy he is.

[BobbyD 2]

Jackson Moves Into 'Lakeview Terrace'

Will Smith will produce with Kerry Washington co-starring

 

Producer (and occasional actor and rapper) Will Smith has recruited Samuel L. Jackson for the lead role in the thriller "Lakeview Terrace."

 

Kerry Washington has booked the female lead in the film, which will be produced by Smith and James Lassiter's Overbrook Entertainment.

 

The David Loughery-scripted film focuses on an interracial couple that moves into a lovely new house only to swiftly run afoul of their neighbor, a racist LAPD officer. The Variety story doesn't make it clear which roles the actors will be playing, but since Washington and Jackson would have difficulties playing an interracial couple, he's presumably playing the bigoted cop.

 

The trade paper says the third lead role has yet to be cast and a director is still being secured.

 

The film will begin shooting for Screen Gems in May.

 

Jackson was most recently seen by a few people in a little film called "Snakes on a Plane" and by even fewer in "Home of the Brave." His latest project, "Black Snake Moan," is playing at Sundance and will open wider in late February.

 

Credits for Washington include "Fantastic Four" and "Ray" on the small screen on "Boston Legal."

[BobbyD 2]

Black Hawk flies over NYC for Will Smith film

‘I Am Legend’ is about vampires and a terrible mutant virus

 

NEW YORK - Vampires are coming to take a bite out of the Big Apple — in the latest Will Smith thriller about a mutant virus gone awry.

 

A Black Hawk helicopter flew over the city Wednesday for tests shots for the Warner Bros. film “I Am Legend.” Filming is expected to run until mid-March.

 

Smith plays the last human survivor in what is left of the city after a terrible virus is unleashed around the world, publicist Carol McConnaughey said.

 

The movie will feature a scene in which a Black Hawk lands on a barge near a Manhattan pier, according to the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, which promotes and licenses moviemaking in the city.

 

The film is due in theaters in December.

 

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Cutielb99 0]

Reactions to the nominations

Nominees spill on the thrill of being honored

By VARIETY STAFF

 

"The Pursuit of Happyness" actor contender Will Smith, who is on location in Gotham lensing "I Am Legend," said: "Congratulations to all of the nominees. It is a great honor to be considered among this caliber of performers. No competition, all celebration. Let the parties begin."

[BobbyD 2]

Will's Rap Holds Back The Chill

 

WILL Smith warmed up a crowd of about 1,000 extras huddling under the Brooklyn Bridge to shoot a scene for "I Am Legend" as the thermometer hit 11 degrees Thursday night. "So he grabs the microphone from the first assistant director and breaks out into a spontaneous rap, leading into a quick rendition of his hit 'Summertime,' " one actress told Page Six. "More than 1,000 extras sang along at the chorus. It was a pretty great moment - everyone was definitely warmed up by it." The movie features Smith as the last uninfected man on a planet swarming with vampires. The bridge scene, full of helicopters and ferries, is a flashback showing everyone in Manhattan trying to evacuate by getting past a military barricade onto an East River barge. Smith is running for his life with his wife, played by Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and their daughter, played by his real-life offspring Willow.

[BobbyD 2]

A sore subject for Smith

 

The leading man (right) is being treated at the Hospital for Special Surgery on the upper East Side, his rep confirms. "Will strained his shoulder on Thursday morning and after work immediately went to the hospital," his spokeswoman told us yesterday.

 

"He worked Thursday and Friday and was just having a little bit of therapy. It is absolutely not something major or life-threatening."

 

Smith is in town filming "I Am Legend," about the last normal human left in a world full of vampire freaks. City locations include Washington Square Park and Herald Square — and who hasn't felt like that in those places?

[BobbyD 2]

Will Smith cooks up another redemption saga

 

Emboldened by his acclaimed box office hit "The Pursuit of Happyness," Will Smith will revisit the rags-to-redemption motif.

 

He will produce a movie based on Jeff Henderson's drug dealer-turned-star chef memoir "Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, From Cocaine to Foie Gras," which was optioned by Columbia Pictures. It is not yet clear if Smith will also star.

 

"Cooked" chronicles the transformation of Henderson -- a.k.a. Chef Jeff -- from ex-con to executive chef at the Cafe Bellagio in Las Vegas. He learned the art of gourmet cooking while serving a prison sentence for dealing crack cocaine.

 

"Cooked" was published February 20 by William Morrow.

 

Smith will produce with James Lassiter, his production partner in Overbrook Entertainment, and with Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal of production company Escape Artists. The quartet also produced "Happyness," which earned Smith a best actor Oscar nomination and has grossed nearly $288 million worldwide. Columbia also distributed that film.

 

Lassiter praised Henderson as "truly inspiring." He added, "After meeting him, I knew we had to turn his story into a movie."

 

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[sanlee 49]

panachereport.com

 

Will Smith and his family are set to save a fortune on toilet paper after fitting their Los Angeles home with the latest Japanese restroom gadget.

The movie star reveals his new "toy" affords him a hands-free toilet experience, and cleans him up afterwards.

He says, "They've installed these toilets from Japan. They're paper free.

Wherever you sit on the toilet, somehow it hits the bull's eye perfectly. "It cleans and then dries you. It is just water and then air."

[BobbyD 2]

The $4 Billion Man

Hanks, Cruise and Gibson used to be the top guns, but not anymore. Meet the new most powerful actor on the planet—Will Smith.

 

By Sean Smith

Newsweek

 

April 9, 2007 issue - A few decades ago, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould developed the theory of punctuated equilibrium, which states, in essence, that evolution doesn't happen at a slow, steady rate. It happens fast, in bursts, after long periods of stasis. Maybe he should be required reading in Hollywood.

 

For almost as long as there have been power lists, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise—"The Toms"—have jockeyed for first position, occasionally letting Mel Gibson sneak up on the rail, just to keep things interesting. But just like that, the race has changed. Gibson hasn't starred in a major film in five years. Cruise lost his cool on Oprah's couch, and it's unclear if he can get it back. And Hanks, while undeniably bankable, is, at 50, no longer viable for most leading-man scripts. In the past year, all three men have been eclipsed. With a worldwide career box office of $4.4 billion, Will Smith is now the most powerful actor in Hollywood, followed by Johnny Depp and Ben Stiller. Talk about punctuated (or maybe that should be "punctured") equilibrium. "The industry is going through a sea change, not just with actors, but in every way," says one industry insider who, like others interviewed for this story, asked for anonymity to prevent offending other stars. "Will Smith is the only thing in this business—the only thing—that represents a guaranteed opening weekend." He may be even bigger than that. "Let's put it this way," says one studio head, "there's Will Smith, and then there are the mortals."

 

An actor's power is determined primarily by opening-weekend grosses. The average cost of a studio film is now $100 million, and to get that back, you need a huge opening weekend. A star who delivers a first-weekend gross of $30 million or more can write his own ticket: $25 million salary, director approval and a two-story trailer with a flat-screen TV. It's a sweet ride, but it's harder to catch than it seems. Real power requires an understanding of the global market, and a talent for finding scripts that suit your persona and directors who can deliver the goods. Once isn't enough. You have to do it every time. NEWSWEEK's power rankings are guided—through interviews with studio heads, agents and producers—by that definition. The choice for the No. 1 spot was unanimous. At 38, Smith's worldwide box office is more than Adam Sandler's and Will Ferrell's combined. He's bankable in every genre, whether sci-fi ("I, Robot"), action-comedy ("Men in Black"), romantic comedy ("Hitch") or drama ("The Pursuit of Happyness"). It was "Happyness," a downbeat film that grossed an astounding $298 million worldwide, that opened the industry's eyes to Smith's reach. "He can do anything," says one top studio exec. "The audience has enormous affection for him—we're talking a Tom Hanksian level of likability." His appeal is so universal that it transcends race. "He's the black Jimmy Stewart," says an industry insider. "He invites the white community in, yet he's credible with the black community. That's a pretty hard trick."

 

Smith mastered that trick early. Almost every movie he's made since "Independence Day" (total gross: $817 million) has been a global blockbuster. But it wasn't easy. "People don't understand what a struggle it was," says his business partner, James Lassiter. (Smith declined to comment.) "There has always been an obstacle. It's either 'African-Americans don't sell around the world' or 'African-Americans can't have successful romantic comedies' or 'Will is not strong in drama.' It wasn't until recently that people finally looked at his numbers and went, 'Wow'."

 

Most crucially, that "wow" is coming from overseas. Since 2002, domestic box office has been essentially flat. Foreign markets, meanwhile, are expanding. Last year overseas ticket sales for studio films accounted for 63 percent of theatrical revenue. Black actors have had a tough time appealing to foreign audiences, because the films they're often cast in are specific to African-American culture or history—they are films about African-Americans, as opposed to films that happen to have African-Americans in them. But the roles Smith chooses are rarely race-specific. He plays men faced with obstacles, and moral choices. "Will doesn't do movies because he 'should,' but because they speak to him," says Amy Pascal, chairman of Columbia Pictures, which has released most of Smith's films. "He understands that these stories are global. He caught on to that before a lot of other people did." Starting with "Bad Boys," in 1995, Smith and Lassiter aggressively promoted Smith's movies overseas. Since then, Smith has shattered the ceiling for black actors. His foreign box office is now more than double Denzel Washington's.

 

Not that everyone is that calculated. Johnny Depp seemed to reach his No. 2 spot almost by accident; he made "Pirates of the Caribbean" for his kids, and it became a $1.8 billion phenomenon. Brad Pitt, ranked fourth, often picks roles that play against his looks, so his box office is spotty domestically, but internationally—especially in films like "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"—he's untouchable. "As much as he'd like to," says one studio head, "even he can't get in the way of being Steve McQueen." The biggest surprise on the list is Ben Stiller. American humor doesn't always translate to other cultures. But Stiller makes relatable comedies that reach beyond borders. In addition to the "Meet the Parents" franchise ($818 million), his latest film, "Night at the Museum," grossed $550 million worldwide.

 

Which leads us back to "The Toms." While no one debates that Cruise has box-office power, his sprint into the tabloid buzz saw has made studios wary. His last film, "Mission: Impossible III" grossed $150 million less than its predecessor. Most of the loss was in domestic ticket sales. "Even executives and directors want to buy into the movie star's mystique," says one top exec. "Once you've lost the cool, it's hard to get it back." Others believe it's only a matter of time. "Trust me," says one insider. "The minute he does 'M:I4,' everybody's going."

 

Hanks, meanwhile, didn't fall off the list so much as rise above it, to power emeritus. He can work whenever he wants, and the world still loves him. He can also take pride that Smith seems to be following his path. Both men lead lives that do not invite tabloid coverage, and both make only one movie per year. "The thing that Tom Hanks figured out is that the audience needs to miss you," says a top industry source. Smith will appear in only one film in 2007, the thriller "I Am Legend." He might want to save that title for his autobiography.

 

© 2007 Newsweek, Inc. | Subscribe to Newsweek

[BobbyD 2]

(IMDB.COM)

 

Will Smith Tops Power List

 

 

Two-time Academy Award nominee Will Smith is the most powerful actor on the planet, according to an annual list by America's Newsweek magazine. The Independence Day hunk has eclipsed last year's winner Tom Cruise and previous regular winner Tom Hanks. Newsweek spoke to a host of studio chiefs and film producers anonymously for fear of offending other stars. Smith was chosen because of his huge box office success and his ability to tackle any genre - sci-fi I, Robot, action comedy Men In Black or drama The Pursuit Of Happyness. Following behind was Johnny Depp at two, Ben Stiller at three, Brad Pitt at four and Cruise at five.

[leaivory 2]

Jada Pinkett Smith Goes on a Great Tomato Adventure

Filed under: Books , Jada Pinkett Smith , Kids

 

 

All for the sake of our children. Jada Pinkett Smith has written the forward to a new children's book, "The Great Tomato Adventure." The mother of three drew on her own experience when she wrote the forward, which touches on getting parents to educate their children about the dangers of talking to strangers.

 

Hollywood mum Jada Pinkett Smith no doubt drew on her experience with her own kids when she helped unveil a new children's book in New York this week. And with her expressive face and gestures Will Smith's multi-talented wife clearly made the story come alive for her audience of pre-school children. She says the book enabled her to talk to the children about the issue. "My kids are constantly around people they don't know, so this book was very helpful," she revealed.

 

The Great Tomato Adventure, wasn't 35-year-old Jada's first venture into publishing. She has already written and appeared in photo adventure Girls Hold Up This World, and says she's keen to do another - this time with her husband.

 

"Will and I have a couple of ideas," she says. "We love children and we have a couple of book projects we are thinking about."

 

 

Posted by: Jessica Marx

http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/03/jada_p...o_adventure.php