Will Smith

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I liked "Hitch," but Kevin James (I think that's his name) stole the film from Smith as far as I was concerned.

Uncool as it may be, I like Will Smith. I could even be called a Will Smith fan. I like his faux attitude, his goofy lines, all of that. I even think he's really handsome. I never tire of him saying, "Oh, hell no." I really, really hope he does not get sucked into Scientology. I want him to be smarter than that.

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I don't mind Will Smith, but the current buzz for Happyness is annoying, in the same way that buzz for every Jim Carrey movie (and, formerly, for every Robin Williams movie) was annoying. A former comic actor does a serious film and it's automatically an Oscar bid?

Why can't they just make a movie and the media not automatically talk about the role as an AMPAS contender?

That said, I've no interest in seeing his latest because I find his role choices uninspired and contrived. He just doesn't move me in any way whatsoever. I guess if his stuff plays on an airplane I'll watch it.

[buckdutter]

Am I being overly picky by being pissed off at a movie that's never done anything to me personally just because it's too stupid to spell its own name right?

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Plus I do think he genuinely deserves the Oscar nod for this performance. The film itself is enjoyable fluff, but hes fantastic. And his son's good too.

Before seeing the movie, I thought his nomination for a Globe was a crock, but now I see why he was nominated. The last moment in the movie is a real tearjerker. He truly was great in this. I never saw Ali, but this must be his best or one of his best performances.

Although I had no intention of seeing The Pursuit of Happyness, I ended doing exactly that last night as I was with a group of friends who outvoted me on what to see. I used to dislike Will Smith a lot, then caught Hitch on HBO earlier this year and warmed up to him a bit. So I went into this movie with low expectations and I was very pleasantly surprised by his performance.

The range of facial expressions he displayed in the last five minutes of the movie was simply incredible and so powerful. As far as I'm concerned, WS more than earned any award nominations for his acting in just those few moments at the end. He was sublime.

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I really liked him in "Jersey Girl". He was the only good part of the movie.

[lallybroch]

Am I being overly picky by being pissed off at a movie that's never done anything to me personally just because it's too stupid to spell its own name right?

There's a point made about the misspelling of happyness within the movie, so I don't mind it too much, but I wouldn't watch Numb3rs for the longest time because the title made me cringe to look at it. Will's performance was restrained but very good. Histrionics have their place in acting, but it's nice to see more subtle work recognized as well, so I think it would be great if Will got an Oscar nomination.

[berrybearie]

Dug him out from p. 31 ... For being as allegedly intelligent as he allegedly is, he seems to have a bit of trouble with his mouth. In addition to his recent comments on his buddy Tom and Scientology, now he went and gave away the ending to his new movie:

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Hollywood star Will Smith had the producer of his latest film holding his head in anguish on Tuesday after the actor gave away the ending of "I Am Legend".

Speaking at a Tokyo news conference, Smith inadvertently revealed the plot, prompting co-producer and co-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to shout: "Don't give away the ending!"

Goldsman then pretended to be surprised, but it was all too late, and press handlers asked all present to keep the ending a secret, so as not to spoil it for viewers.

True, he was in Japan, and it's based on a book and been made into a movie twice before, but he ought to know better.

[Wol]

He has SO drunk the Kool-Aid:

Smith's power marriage has begotten some power friendships, most notably with newlyweirds Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. "That's my man right there," says Smith. "We push one another to be better. We both homeschool our children, and there's a comprehension of what each of us goes through that everybody else can't understand, that's a really unique position that less than .0001 percent of people on earth will ever experience."

It is through Cruise that Smith—a polymath in a town of pedants—is learning about Scientology, and if there's anyone in the world who can make L. Ron Hubbard's universe sound less spooky, it's Will Smith. "I studied Islam for Ali, I grew up in a Baptist household, I went to a Catholic school," he reasons. "I've studied Buddhism and Hinduism and I've studied Scientology through Tom. And nobody's saying anything different! Look, I use the Bible to explain the ideas of God, and life, and love, and relationships, and the life of Jesus Christ to teach my children how to defend their spirit. But in all of the experiences I've had with Tom and Scientology, like, 98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible. The Bible says, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And you know, there's a Scientology principle: Do not create experiences for others that they cannot comfortably perceive." Smith would rather stroll many paths to enlightenment than commit to one high road. "The Bible talks about your spirit being immortal, that you were created for existence beyond your physical body. Well, that's no different from Scientology! I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is thetan that the definition becomes any different."

[Smilla]

And you know, there's a Scientology principle: Do not create experiences for others that they cannot comfortably perceive.

Oh, sweet Lord. No. NOOOOOOOOOO.

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What does that even MEAN!?! Then again, this is a group that offers classes on "How to use a dictionary"...