Will Smith Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Though no one asked for a sequel to Independence Day (because didn't Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum use a computer virus to rid us of those damn aliens the last time?), that's not stopping special effects superhero Roland Emmerich from wanting to churn one out for the hell of it. Only problem is ... it's going to take a lot more than an arm and a leg to get Will Smith back in an alien fighting mood.

While speaking to Emmerich about 2012, Latino Review learned that there's a script and a story for Independence Day 2, but right now 20th Century Fox is delaying it because they can't come to terms with Emmerich, writer-producer Dean Devlin and Will Smith -- all of whom want to make sure they're paid, like, a trillion dollars for this thing. According to Emmerich, Fox wanted them to make the sequel without Will Smith, but the writer-director insists he star in it. "I said Will is essential for us, for this movie and actually for the audience too. And, so, it's in limbo and lately the studios are fighting. Like gross players, and Will is a gross player and is probably the only gross player right now who's worth his gross. So we'll see what happens. I would love to do it," Emmerich noted.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

Now that we've all had enough time to get used to the idea that Spielberg is about to remake one of the most respected films in history, maybe it will help a little to know that it might star Robert Downey Jr. According to the LA Times' Hero Complex blog, the announcement is imminent that Downey will be starring in Spielberg's update of the classic film, which marks a change from some of the other names that had been attached, including the obvious heir apparent to Jimmy Stewart (and long time Spielberg cohort) Tom Hanks and Will Smith.

Harvey was the story of a gentle soul by the name of Elwood P. Dowd, and his best friend, who happens to be an invisible six-foot rabbit named Harvey. The original play won the Pulitzer Prize, but most of us probably remember the 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart as Dowd. News of the remake hit back in August, and according to Complex, during a set visit to Iron Man 2, "the actor spoke with affection and awe about the late Stewart's nuanced timing and camera sense."

A few weeks ago, Hancock 2 went from being some enthusiastic Will Smith talk to hiring some scriptwriters to make it a reality. It was unknown if anyone but Peter Berg and Will Smith would return for a sequel, but according to Variety, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman will also be back for more strange super-heroics.

The news comes courtesy of Peter Berg, who let the news slip today while at the Toronto Film Festival. "Everybody's going to come back for a sequel." However, Sony stressed that none of the talent has been officially signed.

Berg also revealed some of the secret plot details -- and here we venture into spoiler territory for Hancock, so look away if you want. Theron and Smith will reprise their roles as "immortal gods," who lose their powers when they hang around each other for too long. Nevertheless, they must pair up to destroy a third "entity," which I'm guessing is either some kind of alien or another god. The movie will also explore their 3,000 year old home world which was only hinted at in the first film. Bateman will play the humble PR executive, though I wouldn't be surprised if he's revealed to have some kind of superpower at the end! No release date for Hancock 2 has been set, and the film is still in the early writing stage, but I bet you'll see this kick off just in time to compete with the next slate of Marvel films.

Face it -- it's Michael Bay's world now, and we just live in it. Weary of dominating the world with gigantic robots and Megan Fox, Bay might just be returning with the Bad Boys. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia has hired Peter Craig to pen a third installment of the Bad Boys series, and hope to get the old team back together in the truest sense of action movies.

The studio hopes that a strong script can lure them all back for another mission. Neither Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer, Will Smith or Martin Lawrence have a deal to return, and since this is still in the early stages of development, that's no surprise. However, THR notes that all have expressed an interest in returning if the story is strong enough. The potential hurdle is the massive salaries Smith and Lawrence now command, something that's proving to be a problem with many action movies these days.

So, what else can I say? Bad Boys 3 is coming. I'll make a shocking prediction and say that it'll take place in Miami, feature a drug cartel, some human trafficking, and a lot of explosions. Explosions with tanks coming out of them. There will be at least one smoking hot chick. At the end, Smith and Lawrence will sing Bad Boys with the wrong words. It's going to be Baytastic, but at least it isn't a Bad Boys reboot.

The superheroic team of Peter Berg, Will Smith, and Columbia have been bantering about a Hancock sequel since last July, so it's no surprise that it's gone and become official. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia has hired Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara to bring back the boozy immortal. Berg is expected to return as director,
though THR is mute as to whether Charlize Theron or Jason Bateman will be reprising their roles. (Given the way the last film ended, it could really go either way, couldn't it?)

While the plot is being kept under wraps, Smith already gave a few hints last winter. Smith says that the Hancock universe was "full of unexplored characters" and that we would meet them in a sequel. He certainly was a character with a long history, and a whole "last son of Krypton" thing going (I'm trying not to spoil anything), so I could see a sequel venturing into some kind of Phantom Zone territory. Or maybe they'll go downright Biblical with his immortal lineage. Who knows! It's too early to know!

When I last reported on a return to Hancock, a lot of you were intrigued by the idea of a prequel exploring his illustrious and godlike past than a sequel starring a reformed and purposeful hero. I guess all hope of a true origin story is shot, but maybe they will cater to your comments, and fill it full of flashback sequences! After all, Smith has The Last Pharaoh on his slate, so they'll have plenty of ancient sets and costumes available!

So many comedians don't really play well with others. They're mostly scene-stealers with little regard for anyone who gets in their way. So it's always a treat to find some that click together. If they click, their connection usually passes on to the audience. Two mega-comedians, Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, team up for the first time in this week's Funny People. It remains to be seen just what kind of chemistry they'll have, or if it deserves to be repeated, but in any case, it's a good time to revisit some of cinema's greatest comedy team-ups. [Note: I thought I would stay modern and therefore exclude Martin & Lewis, Laurel & Hardy, Fields & West, Abbott & Costello, Hepburn & Grant, Hepburn & Tracy, etc. Just because it goes without saying.]

For all that I Am Legend imploded with that awful doctored ending, it was actually really interesting for a while -- mostly because both Will Smith and director Francis Lawrence were willing to go surprisingly far in suggesting that isolation had actually driven Smith's Robert Neville to no-kidding insanity. It's the kind of bold move that can make an otherwise frivolous summer blockbuster into something special.

It's promising, then, that Lawrence and Smith are looking to team up on a project that reads like one enormous bold gesture. The City That Sailed, which Lawrence has signed on to direct and develop for Smith to star in, is about a father and daughter who live on different continents, he in New York and she in England -- until the daughter's wish for a reunion is granted in the form of the island of Manhattan breaking off from the U.S. seaboard and carrying dad across the pond.

Maybe I just follow far too many movie nerds on Twitter to get an accurate reading on this, but did Independence Day turn around and become an honest-to-goodness movie staple over the Fourth of July holiday while I wasn't looking?

I mean, I get that it was huge when it landed on said weekend back in 1996, and I know that President Pullman's speech (embedded below) is quotable as all get out -- though extra points to the pal who instead posted "Eagle-20! Fox-2!" -- but I usually see war movies and TV show marathons as go-to fodder for the 4th, however less fitting their titles may be.

So how many of you actually did watch ID4 yesterday? How long had it been since you watched it? How fond of it were you thirteen years back? Did you watch it because it harkens back to a big, loud, relatively healthy level of cheese that we used to get from our blockbusters, back when we could see what exactly was going on in any given action scene? Or was it simply a more welcome/convenient option than going to see a third Ice Age or a two-and-a-half-hour gangster drama, or perhaps a memorial to the late Jeff Goldblum?

Comment away!

Will Smith, his production company Overbrook Entertainment, and Sony have bought the rights to the life story of Hurricane Katrina hero, John "The Can Man" Keller. While John Lee Hancock will be writing the script and directing The American Can, Sony has also bought a spec script about Keller from writer and producer Adetoro Makinde. Keller himself is also one of the associate producers.

Keller, who was a resident of the American Can Company at the time of the storm, helped the other residents of the building -- many elderly and/or handicapped -- and a few refugees stay safe while the flood waters raged outside. Keller also documented his story with photos and videotape. He told The Times-Picayune in 2007, "There were other people rescuing people. But they didn't hot-wire boats, hot-wire cars, swim to the grocery store, come back with food, cook for all those people, organize them, get the thugs off them." In the end, 244 people were evacuated safely with help from Keller.

Fans of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and haters of Will Smith may have cause to rejoice. Production Weekly is reporting that Johnson will be taking the helm of the Nautilus as Captain Nemo for McG's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea reboot/prequel. As Disney appears to own Johnson's soul, this does have the ring of truth to it, and it's also the proof you need that this will be a shameless popcorn prequel, not a Pirates sort of risk that could launch a guy like Naveen Andrews, Oded Fehr, or Alexander Siddig into becoming a household name. (See, I read the comments!)

However, I do like Johnson and I have shared the dismay of action fans everywhere by his startling addiction to kiddie fare and tutus. It would be nice to see him kick ass again, and he certainly has the charisma and swashbuckle to play the Captain. Complexity probably isn't going to be an issue, especially given the official PW synopsis: "A fugitive whaler teams up with a naturalist, a mysterious woman and a captain of a futuristic submarine, to search for a lost underwater civilization that holds libraries of vast knowledge and a weapon with the power to destroy mankind."

Production is set to begin in Australia later this year and with McG set to do the final round of Terminator: Salvation press, maybe we'll get an official cast update. It has potential to be something fun if they get a good ensemble, but your cynicism may vary.