Encounters with the 'legendary' Smith

Author: Ricardo F. Lo
Column: Funfare

As you read this, I should be at a preview room somewhere in Manhattan with more than 50 other international journalists for the special press screening of Hancock, the new starrer of the "legendary" Will Smith (no doubt the No. 1 actor in the world today), released by Columbia Pictures (local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International) in the Philippines where it's opening on July 3. "It's my opening day," Smith once claimed, and rightly so because all of his blockbusters have been opening on that date since Independence Day years back.

The preview is a "must" during the Hollywood junket, held a day before the rounds of print and TV interviews. First thing the people behind the production will ask you the next day as you check in for the interviews is, "How did you find the movie?"

According to the production notes, "every superhero has a weakness. Hancock (Smith's character) just happens to be flush with them. "

Quote-unquote:

Hancock hates his job, loves his booze and would be pulled over for flying under the influence -- if anyone could catch him after he has plowed through a building or traffic sign. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic and misunderstood, Hancock's well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake.

Hancock isn't the kind of man who cares what other people think -- until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Batemen), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock's greatest challenge yet -- and a task that may prove impossible as Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron) insists that he's a lost cause.

We are told that Smith gets real in one scene in which he uses a harness and wires, not the usual green screen, in making his superhero-character fly, showing him suspended 20 feet above the ground (look, Ma, no net below!) and propelled at 50 mph. Smith is said to have remarked after the shoot, "The computer effects look great. But it's more fun to get your hands dirty. "

Interesting. I'm sure that you, too, are curious about Hancock, especially after Smith's recent hits, Pursuit of Happyness (for which he got an Oscar nomination) and I Am Legend. What I want to find out is how Cher Calvin (formerly of the ABS-CBN lifestyle show F and now co-host of Los Angeles' KTLA whose early-morning newscast she opens) fares in the movie. Yes, she plays a cameo.

Cher is also curious. The last time I talked to her, she said that she has been watching the movie's trailer and there's "no sign" of her yet, shuddering to think that she has ended up in the "cutting-room floor. " As soon as we finish with the screening, first thing I'll do is text to tell Cher what happens to her.

"I shot my part last year pa," said Cher who's appearing as herself, a TV newscaster. "No, I didn't have a scene with Will Smith but he was just incredible. He couldn't have been nicer and was, in fact, as real as they get. He's a true gentleman who made time to pose for a picture with little old me. It was a brief but great experience for me to be in such a big movie -- and to have met Smith in person. "

Same here.

The Hancock junket is my fifth encounter with Smith.

The first time I met him was in L. A., more than a decade ago, during the promo for Wild, Wild West. I still remember how Smith breezed into the function room of the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills for the round-table interview, dressed in sleeveless white shirt and beige slacks and smelling as fragrant as if he just stepped out of the shower room.

The second time, barely two years later, was in Seoul for Men in Black II (with Tommy Lee Jones as co-star). As usual, Smith was outgoing and friendly, as warm as the weather in Seoul was cold. During the coffee break, I literally rubbed elbows with Smith when we lined up for some snacks. It was an accident. I said, "I'm sorry!" and he smiled back, "It's okay, man!"

The third time, only about three years later, was in Miami for Bad Boys II (with comedian Martin Lawrence as co-star) and that's where Smith gave a memorable one-word answer to one of my favorite questions (to both actors and actresses, local or foreign, "Being a sex symbol, what part of your body is your favorite?" Without batting an eyelash nor missing a beat, he blurted out, "My p--s!" As the whole room roared with laughter, Smith laughed even louder and said, "You're asking me, so I'm telling you!"
On our fourth encounter three years ago during the Hitch (with Eva Mendes as his leading lady) junket in Honolulu, Smith took me by surprise when he recognized me, saying before we started the interview, "From the Philippines, aren't you?"

Cher was right: Smith is an incredibly nice guy.

Tomorrow when we sit down for our fifth one-on-one, I will ask Smith three "crucial" questions:

1. Being a Lakers fan, how does he feel that his team lost to the Boston Celtics?

2. Does his pursuit of "happy-ness" end with his being a "legend" and the world's most bankable actor?

3. What does he think of the possibility of America having its first Black president (not him even if he joked during an interview that he wanted to be the one, but Barack Obama)?

Stay tuned for his answers on this Sunday's (June 29) Conversations with Ricky Lo.

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar. net. ph or at entphilstar@ya-hoo. com)

Source: The Philippine Star