Will Smith shared new details about “I Am Legend 2,” which he stars in and co-produces with Michael B. Jordan, at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. Smith said the upcoming sequel is based on the alternate ending of the 2007 apocalyptic sci-fi film released on DVD, rather than the ending in which his character died in the theatrical version.
Smith, who was one of many Hollywood A-list guests at the third Red Sea Film Festival, also discussed Bad Boys for Men 4, in which he and co-star Martin Lawrence will reprise their roles in the sequel to the original 1995 hit Detective movie.
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“I’m on the phone with Michael B. Jordan tomorrow. We’re really close, the script just came in,” Smith said of “I Am Legend 2” during a conversation event at the festival. “You have to be a real ‘I Am Legend’ fan to know this, but in the first theatrical version, my character dies, but on the DVD there’s an alternate version of the ending where my character lives There. We’ll discuss the DVD version of The Myth. “I can’t tell you anything more, but Michael B. Jordan is on. “
Smith made an early self-deprecating reference to the 2022 Oscars scandal, when comedian and actor Chris Rock criticized Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, for shaving her head (due to hair- She was suffering from a loss condition) – he said that since childhood he had “always been good at math and science…and I loved problems and puzzles, so I started doing problems myself” before launching into an interesting take on his career analyze.
He told the audience of mostly long-time fans that his first love was rap. Later, he realized the power of performance to understand, shape and influence the human condition.
He said: “The movie is about people trying to figure out how to live here without suffering – how to make peace with life, how to not only survive but thrive amid the underlying existential tragedy that we’re all caught up in. ” Adding: “How do we find love and joy in all of this.”
When asked to name his main mentors, he said the key moments were working with Tommy Lee Jones and Gene Hackman.
“It was the first time I realized that I could use everything I needed in a project. These two actors made me realize that I was completely unmatched, and they inspired me to improve my craft as an actor,” Smith said.
As an actor with an astonishing box office record, he says he doesn’t care if he’s in a blockbuster or a more modest film – as long as it’s good and he learns from it: “For me, I’ve always wanted to To make a good blockbuster movie, or a good blockbuster. To me, the idea of a blockbuster is your heart – the barrier that is broken down is your heart, where your heart opens up to the experience of the film. That’s it What I’ve always focused on; even with a movie like I Am Legend, you have real acting at the center of a special effects movie.”
Going forward, Smith said he wants to be a mentor to a new generation of filmmakers and teach them their craft.
“What I’m really excited about right now is the transfer of knowledge. I really want to teach filmmaking.
“What’s exciting about Saudi Arabia is that it’s a whole new film community. There’s a style of global storytelling that has spread around the world. I understand how local stories can be taken global. I firmly believe that sharing our stories together has The power to help heal wounds. The next phase of my life will be dedicated to global collaboration and sharing our stories in a way that builds bridges. “I don’t think politics will bring about the necessary change. “
At the end of the hour-long conversation, Smith gave the audience a look at Muhammad Ali, Richard Williams (father of tennis players Serena Williams and Venus Williams), and his 2021 “The adversity of the past few years” has honed his perspective on what he wants to do in the next phase of his life: “I have to know who I am Who, and what do I want to do in this world, I can’t rely on “others applauding me for focusing on my mission.”
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