Well, maybe I was a bit hasty in that assumption. At this point it seems that after a year of doing this the search engines like me, and some more than others (thanks, page one of Yahoo!) and are still bringing me traffic to this site regularly with fans of the actor looking for updates on his career and future Will Smith film projects. So while I am waiting for the internet to realize that my new Will smith movies website actually exists I might from time to time post both on the new site as well as on here. We'll see.
Anyway, I offer to you now a summary of the update that I recently posted on the other site. It was late last Summer that Will Smith announced that he was going to take a self-imposed sabbatical from acting in Hollywood of at least 8 months or so to spend more time with his family. Considering how busy his schedule has kept him for more than ther past year, this really should be no surprise to anyone. Smith is a parent after all and if your work situation affords you the opportunity to spend more quality time with your family why wouldn't you take it? So, there will be no new Will smith movie anytime soon. Interestingly enough, however, even with will smith taking some time off from hollywood, there is still a long list of film projects that have will smith's name attached to them. A quick look at the website imdb.com shows a list of over 20 film projects as currently being linked to Smith. True a number of those are just rumoured, but still, that is alot of movies to be linked to for any actor in Hollywood.
Here is the list as of the last time I checked it out:
1. The American Can
2. Untitled Will Smith/Chef Jeff Project
3. My Wife Hates Your Wife
4. The Long Run
5. Untitled I Am Legend Prequel
6. Cooked
7. The Billionaire's Vinegar
8. Angelology
9. The Last Pharaoh
10. Amulet
11. Old Boy
12. Greenbacks
13. It Takes a Thief
14. Welcome to the Sticks
15. Extra Protection
16. Unfinished Business
17. Time Share
18. Brushback
19. Newton's Law
20. Sisters of Mercy
21. Empire
22. Untitled Courage Crew Project
(list courtesy of imdb.com)
In addition, Smith's name has also been attached to an as yet unnamed film project about the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. It has also been mentioned in places that Smith was involved in securing the film rights to the project. Only a couple of the above mentioned films are getting any kind of buzz in relation to Smith being attached. The I Am Legend prequel has been discussed by fans a lot but I don't get the feeling that Smith is very excited about doing a prequel to a movie which had a pretty definite resolution and which has to go a certain way to make it relate in any relevant way to the original that he starred in. As for any other film on the list that I personally think is a likely choice for Smith as being his first movie after returning to work, I would guess that the Last Pharaoh would be as good a guess as any, seeing as how it has been mentioned by Smith as a project that really interests him. Funny enough, the character he would be playing was not actually the last Pharaoh unless smith was planning on dressing up in drag to play Cleopatra - something I think it is safe to say none of his fans would want to see him do any time soon. lol
The idea behind the Last Pharaoh is basically that smith would be playing Taharqa, an Egyptian pharaoh who defended his land from Assyrian invaders in the 7th century BC. the movie is supposed to be written by Randall Wallace (Braveheart) for Columbia Pictures, based upon a story idea that Smith is reported to have wanted to see made into a movie for a very long time.now. I have not read anything about any director being attached to the project yet. If you are at all wondering why Smith is attached to so many projects at one time it is not hard to figure out the reason why: Hollywood is all about making movies. There may be many artistically-minded individuals involved with the studios out there but when it comes down to it Hollywood is really about making money and whoever is the best at doing that for the studios is the one that the studios want to hire. If the people they choose (both actors and directors) make them enough money with their movies more often than not, then they give the artist a little leeway but really it still comes down to making money for the studio. Will Smith is that kind of artist; an individual who has delivered enough times in the past that he has been given that leeway to be able to mostly pick and choose his roles/projects. Not surprisingly, he has probably expressed an interest in a number of the abovementioned projects because he can and because for every four or five scripts that he reads he likely only feels an interest in one or two. So many can be read but not necessarily be on his personal 'list' despite what others in Hollywood might say. Will Smith is one of those actors who so often can produce real Hollywood magic; his work has been in some of Hollywood's largest recent blockbusters and biggest moneymakers. There is a chemistry there - some might say that it is almost a kind of magic karma that he has to consistently deliver for the studios and still get overall positive reviews from the movie going public.
When it comes down to it, Will Smith makes movie magic and the big players in Hollywood all know it, that is why he is still making them when he wants to on his schedule. Funny enough, he has not yet to my recollection actually made any magic movies , or to be more specific, any movies dealing with the subject of magic. I just wish I had some kind of magic movies guide to tell me (along with so many other movie fans) when and where we will next get to watch Mr. Smith on the big screen again.
