“I had coached him into the worst public mauling”: Will Smith Admitted Making One Big Mistake With Jaden Smith’s Acting Career
Will Smith, a prominent actor in Hollywood, has an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards to his name. He rose to prominence with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and has not looked back since then. His most prominent works include Men in Back, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, Suicide Squad, Aladdin, Hitch, and many more.
Will Smith made a significant contribution to shaping his son Jaden Smith’s career as well. When Jaden Smith expressed his interest in acting, Will Smith went out of his way to provide him with opportunities in his movies. It is not surprising considering how dedicated a family man Will Smith is. Despite his good wishes, he once made a mistake regarding Jaden Smith’s career that almost ended his career with vicious criticism and massive box office failure. It even went on to affect their relationship as father and son.
Will Smith nearly destroyed Jaden Smith’s career in Hollywood
Will Smith introduced Jaden Smith into Hollywood with Pursuit of Happyness, a film that was a smash hit and had raving reviews from the critics. Jaden Smith had quite a successful career for a while with his movie The Karate Kid, alongside none other than legendary Jackie Chan. So, when it was announced that the father-son duo would again reappear in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth, the audience was pumped. However, it turned out to be one of the biggest flops in both of their careers and almost finished Jaden Smith’s acting journey in Hollywood.
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When After Earth flopped, Jaden Smith’s self-esteem took a huge hit due to the barrage of criticism he received. According to Will Smith, it was his son who took the hit of all the negativity surrounding the movie. Jaden Smith even blamed his father for the criticism because he felt like he “faithfully did everything” Will Smith told him to do.
According to Will Smith’s memoir, titled Will (via. The Things) he felt like he was responsible for coaching Jaden Smith to face the “worst public mauling” in his career. The excerpt says:
“After Earth was an abysmal box office and critical failure. And what was worse was that Jaden took the hit. Fans and the press were absolutely vicious; they said and printed things about Jaden that I refuse to repeat… I had coached him into the worst public mauling he’d ever experienced.”
The situation escalated so badly that Jaden Smith asked to be legally emancipated when he turned 14, which is the age required in the state of California for emancipation.
“When Jaden asked about being an emancipated minor, my heart shattered. He ultimately decided against it, but it s*cks to feel like you’ve hurt your kids.”
However, Jaden Smith decided against emancipation and continued to stay with his parents. It is undeniable that After Earth put Will and Jaden Smith’s relationship under an excruciating trial.
Will Smith announces I Am Legend 2 production with Michael B Jordan
Amidst the craze for sequels and spin-offs, another sequel was announced by Will Smith, and it is none other than I Am Legend 2. During the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Will Smith opened up about the upcoming production and said that it is in the very early stages of development.
“I have a call with Michael B. Jordan tomorrow. We’re really close, script just came in. You have to be a real ‘I Am Legend’ buff to know this, but in the first, theatrical version, my character dies, but on the DVD there was an alternate version of the ending where my character lived. We are going with the mythology of the DVD version. I can’t tell you anything more, but Michael B. Jordan is in.”
(via. Deadline)
He also philosophized and talked about the fickle nature of fame. He praised Saudi Arabia and its film community for being connoisseurs of “global storytelling” and coming so far.
The Red Sea Film Festival will continue until December 9.
