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LOS ANGELES: When the 1.89m-tall hunk of milk-chocolatey goodness bounced into the Four Seasons Beverly Hills hospitality suite and took a seat right next to me - famous grin, jug ears, infectious charm and all - all this reporter could do ... was worry.
In some cruel twist of fate, I had been presented - at the very end of a pretty good year - with the opportunity to break my 2008 New Year’s resolution.
The resolution: To remain calm, cool and collected, never giving in to star-struck-teenage-groupie shenanigans when interviewing Tinseltown’s A-list crème de la crème. And you don’t get them any more “de la crème” than Will Smith.
Somehow, I had to be absolutely professional sitting next to the Grammy-winning rapper turned TV actor turned bona fide big-screen movie star - the only actor in history to not only have eight consecutive films gross more than US$100 million (S$144 million) each at the American box office, but also the unprecedented accolade of having them all opening at No 1 in the US.
I pinched my thigh under the table and reminded myself to behave like any intrepid movie journalist worth her professional salt. But who was I kidding?
Because when Willard Christopher Smith Jr answers every question sincerely and thoughtfully while looking straight into your eyes like he’s been your best bud since primary school, even hard-nosed, cynical journos find it impossible not to fall for the 40-year-old father of three.
I couldn’t help but listen transfixed as the two-time Oscar nominee explained how he prepared for his multi-dimensional lead character Ben, a man trying to right past wrongs by helping seven strangers in need, in his new film "Seven Pounds".
I couldn’t help but laugh uproariously when he went all Fresh Prince and egged on two female journalists fighting over who got to ask the next question. (“Girl Fight! Girl Fight!” he chanted. “You should take your tops off. Take your tops off!”)
And I couldn’t help but giggle like a teenage groupie fan when Will Smith agreed to take a picture with me (oh, and Rosario Dawson, too).
So there you have it - my 2008 resolution gone down the drain. Darn the intoxicating magnetism of a full-fledged movie star. Oh, well - there’s always 2009.
Seven Pounds opens in cinemas on Thursday.
Will Smith on Seven Pounds
The film’s foreign-language title varies from country to country, ranging from "Seven Lives" to "Seven Souls" to "Seven Gifts". What does the title really mean?
Well, it’s based on the Shakespearean reference – a pound of flesh. And it’s the idea of a pound of flesh for a pound of flesh. (My character’s) trying to replace seven pounds. It’s the idea and the concept of a life referred to.
What were some of the difficult moments in shooting this film?
The thing that was most difficult for me was ‘living’ the darkness and depression. As an actor you are ... actually feeling it and your body is actually reacting to that emotional space. The most difficult part is just living there for so many months and you just can’t control what you dream and all the dark thoughts that come in. It was awful.
Your character tries to fix mistakes. What do you think is the best way to fix a boo-boo?
There is an old saying that you can’t un-ring a bell. Once the bell has rung, it’s rung. Nature doesn’t move backwards - it moves forward. But you can get to a place where you can ring a new bell ... You have to change it from a mistake to a fantastic learning experience. You can’t allow it to be a mistake..
For me, I was divorced and it was a really painful divorce. But I would never ever call it a mistake because that divorce is a part of my successful marriage to Jada (Pinkett Smith). The fact that I got divorced, the fact that I went through the pain of making a co-parenting situation work has created the knowledge for me that I am not getting divorced again.
In these tough economic times, are you afraid that this is too serious and too depressing a movie for people to want to watch?
It’s interesting. It sort of works in the opposite. Almost. The opposite of fear is hope. If you embrace one, you automatically embrace the other. Hopefully a film like this will illuminate the positive things in your life, versus pulling you down.
That’s deep.
Well, the difference between depression and joy is purpose, right? That you have a reason beyond yourself to wake up in the morning. Somebody’s life is going to be better because you woke up. And if you can find that purpose, that is the elixir for depression. That pushes you closer to joy. And you know, this movie so revealed that to me.
I realised that a movie ... has to live in service to all of the people that come in contact with it. - TODAY/sh
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