Will Smith

By Kyle Buchanan Why He Could Move Up: Has an insanely devoted fangirl following that will freak out upon learning of his low placement, storm the offices of Forbes, and sic a vast and populous housecat army on the cruel editors who designed this survey.

By STV Will Smith officially Hollywood's most powerful jellyfish-battling star. [Forbes]

By Seth Regardless of what he calls it, however, Smith is clearly a man who approaches the politics of human interaction as a (highly contagious) quantifiable science—a concept more commonly known in Hollywood as "ass kissing." If you were wondering what all that fake-laughing is about, he's j...

By Kyle Buchanan Good news, America! The election of Barack Obama has finally freed Will Smith to say what he's always wanted to: that America is not a racist country. Except when it is? Yes, except that Hollywood? Still racist! Moments later, Smith is asked whether executives are too nervous to give him lo...

By STV · Favorite Male Movie Star: Will Smith · Favorite Leading Man: Brad Pitt · Favorite TV Drama: House · Favorite TV Game Show: Deal or No Deal And many, many more, viewable here. Congratulations (we think?) to the winners; may their Oscar/Emmy/Grammy campaigns steam forth from here.

By STV Though Hollywood reserves the holiday movie season for its annual harvest of ambition, prestige and clout, even the most painstaking Oscar husbandry can often fail. For three much-anticipated films in particular, the damage varies.

By STV Also opening: The acclaimed, brutal Italian mob-novel adaptation Gomorrah; Bruce Campbell's misbegotten paean to himself, My Name is Bruce; John Leguizamo's working-class drama Where God Left His Shoes; the Southern-fried ensemble piece (led by William Hurt) The Yellow Handkerc...

By Kyle Buchanan He also gave a combined $122,500 to the Church of Scientology, broken into these donations: $67,500 to the New York Rescue Workers Detoxication Fund, $50,000 to the group’s Celebrity Center in Hollywood and $5,000 to ABLE, another Scientology offshoot. Smith and his wife have also supp...

By STV This diabetes-inducing reunion with director Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness) also didn't score any nods from the easily persuaded Broadcast Film Critics Association, not to mention any awards from the L.A. or New York film critics (there were lots of snickers when somebody...

By STV Nikki Finke evidently thinks this will have some bearing on the presidential race; more usefully, she also passed along an open letter from a small army of showrunners including Tina Fey, Mad Men creator Matt Weiner and TV legend Larry Gelbart:

By STV A new kind of crisis recently befell the Church of Scientology, accusations serious enough to reduce those Suri-sippy-cup and Will Smith Brainwash Academy rumors to mere enturbulatory afterthoughts: An ex-member has filed a $250 million suit against the Church in Florida, invoking...

By STV However, in an even more revealing Forbes slideshow for the prose-impaired, we discovered that actresses fared much better in the "Ultimate Payback" category, which calculates the best gross-to-salary ratios in the biz. While a pre-Fred Claus Vince Vaughn ranked #1, Julia Roberts, N...

By Seth Realizing they'd have to turn away thousands at the DK doors, clever theater owners pushed Hancock as a viable superhero movie alternative, posting quotes from P. Diddy's glowing review of the Will Smith hit—"FUCK BATMAN, SUPERMAN, ROBIN WITH HIS BITCHASS, UNDERDOG AND THE MUTT MOTHER...

By Seth The wide-release of the Depression-era movie based on the wildly popular American Girl doll franchise managed only a disappointing eighth place. Audience feedback suggested most of the intended demo lost interest once they realized the narrative was essentially locked-in, and that...

By nickm Harsh! Has the king of the 4th of July weekend finally been dethroned? Probably not, because, critics be damned, I'm still gonna see it. Seems like the American thing to do. But perhaps Will Smith should spend less time founding robot-building Scientology schools and pay more attention to...

By nickm What the fuck is going on here? Has Will Smith learned nothing from starring in I, Robot? Here he is hell-bent on making these kids build robot after robot, yet he knows full well that they will rise up against humanity one day. Talk about irresponsible. I'd rather send my kid to the Scientolog...

By Seth As we noted last month, the New Village Academy is a private school in Calabasas set to open its doors Sept. 3, founded by Will Smith and wife/appearances-upholder Jada Pinkett Smith. It has become a source of much controversy for having several Scientologists on its staff, who espouse a nu...

By STV As nestled as Will Smith is in the so-called "Fluke Zone," where his stardom is bulletproof and his films are fail-safe, he wasn't taking any notoriety for granted last night on The Late Show. There, in a tender promotional moment for Hancock, the actor warmed to David Letterman's complim...

By STV The problem is the assumption that if I am selling the movie — because I'm selling me — that I'm being egotistical. If Will Smith did the same thing, it would be perceived very differently," he said. "You're supposed to be hidden if you're a director. That's a rule that who said in the movie busin...

By STV What would a week at Defamer HQ be without a Scientology scandal? To wit: What do you get when you cross closet case Will Smith and an old high school in Calabasas? Try the New Village Academy, which the star reportedly underwrote this week with an $890,000, three-year lease of the former In...

By Seth When it comes to location shooting, Angelenos endure an uneasy relationship: This is, after all, Hollywood, and if you don't work in the industry, chances are someone on either side of you does. But productions have a way of pushing their luck—say, for example, by pounding on the door of yo...

By Molly Friedman The last time we were allowed a brief glimpse into the mysterious lives of Tom Cruise's "other" kids, the news wasn't pretty. Harvey Levin and his TMZ minions were pointing out their awkward adolescence and homelessness, even going as far as to making a crack about their "frizzy" hair. But f...

By Molly Friedman As our source explained, it appears the folks at Sony weren't the only ones up in arms about the Smith and Scientology claims. Apparently Will and his family have been giving money to the Church for years, though they've done a fantastic job keeping their donations under the radar. Says our s...

By Seth Statements on being a non-partisan student of world theology notwithstanding, there's no doubt that Smith, in becoming a close friend to Tom Cruise, has been exposed to at least some of the sacred teachings, imparted via countless spiraling-pupil mind-meld sessions with the OT-VIII....

By Molly Friedman Earlier this month we discussed whether or not Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' double date with Forest Whitaker and his wife Keisha was less about baby talk and more about Xenu talk. And while we didn't rush to the race card, MSNBC is reporting that TomKat and the CoS are intent on luring more Afr...

By Molly Friedman Another day, another star lost to the more-popular-than-ever VIP club that is the Church of Scientology. But unlike Tom and Katie's previous predatory attacks on Jennifer Lopez and the Beckhams, this one really hurts. On Wednesday night, the Knights of Hubbard went on a double date with O...

By Mark Though Hitler-hating box office juggernaut Will Smith has long been cagey about whether the "introduction" to Scientology he says he received from Tom Cruise was merely a delicious, innocuous Sunday brunch at the Celebrity Centre, or a more in-depth primer including a grueling, thre...

By Mark While the WGA picket lines that have become important stops for local tour-bus drivers looking to show visitors to our fine city the stalled dream-making factories where their favorite films and television shows were once made have generally featured enough exciting musical perform...

By Seth 3. I Am Legend - $27,500,000 As we refuse to see this movie, we're left with nothing but Will Smith-loving-Hitler jokes. How many Hitler-loving Will Smiths does it take to change a lightbulb? Two! One to change it, the other to reprogram the broken one.

By Seth In the role of the charismatic former leader, undaunted by previous threats on her life in her mission to bring democracy to the South Asian country, we offer TV and TV-Film actress Kim Delaney. Besides bearing an uncanny resemblance to one another, both have faced their share of workplac...

By Mark 5. No Country For Old Men - $3 million We're just trying to come to grips with the fact that we live in a world where the best movie of the year was out-grossed by a Justin Long voiceover vehicle by a 15-to-1 margin. Weekend Box Office December 14-16, 2007 [Box Office Mojo]

By Seth In today's episode: David Hasselhoff; Will Smith; Sarah Michelle Gellar; Anna Faris; Frankie Muniz, Bai Ling and Kyle Brandt; Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green; Bob Odenkirk; Danny Masterson, Bijou Philips, and Bobby Lee; Robin Tunney; Gil Bellows; Joshua Gomez; and Erik Stolhanske.

By Mark Next year, there's going to be a plethora of bad movies -- movies that were rushed because of the supposed strike," said producer Todd Black, who has two films in pre-production at Columbia: "Seven Pounds," a romantic drama starring Will Smith, and a remake of the crime thriller "The Taki...

By Mark We'd been a little numbed by the seemingly endless "Ben Affleck seeks career redemption behind the camera" pieces over the past few weeks, but you know what? The guy can direct. Also: He's only the second-best actor in his family, but we've suspected that ever since Casey masturbated into...

By Mark · Will Smith re-teams with his Pursuit of Happyness creatives for Seven Pounds, the story of a guy who falls in love while trying to kill himself [Ed.note--Isn't it a little tacky to be announcing a suicide movie so soon after the Owen incident? Just sayin'.], hoping that audiences will shed...

By Seth · It was a TV Sitcom Dads breakfast at HOME on Hillhurst, yesterday morning (8/5): First up, James Avery, surrogate father to Will Smith, from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Then, Michael Gross slid into the booth next to ours. Apparently I said, "hey, that's Alex P. Keaton's dad!" a little more...

By Mark To celebrate the recent colonization of Los Angeles by imperial British tabloid powers David and Victoria Beckham, celebrity-barons Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and their Hollywood war brides feted their new masters with a massive "Welcome to America, Strangely Famous Foreigners!" par...

By Seth With a starting bid of a more than reasonable 99 cents, we'd argue that you can't afford not to make your best offer on the very sectional-seating which very possibly once propped superproducing Man of Ideas Brian Grazer as he pleaded with his artistic life partner to see the "Eminem is a na...

By Mark Anatomy episode that may result in a spin-off. [THR] · Exhausted network rivals take a night off from trying to fight off American Idol, flipping over and offering only token repeat resistance to their inevitable Nielsen buggering last night. [Variety]

By Mark The NY Times rounds up the highlights from yesterday's "The Business of Show Business" symposium, for which the MPAA took some of the entertainment industry's brightest little achievers on a field trip to Washington to lobby Congress, hoping sympathetic, star-struck reps will offic...

By Seth · "Oscars" has seen a 440% jump in search engine queries since the nominations were announced, with increases for nominees Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet, and, most popular, "Helen Mirren without underwear." [Earthtimes.org]

By Seth · Moments after a cloud of green smoke had dissipated, nominee and amateur illusionist Will Smith wowed red carpet photographers by successfully transforming his flamingo date into spouse Jada Pinkett-Smitt. [The Envelope]

By Mark Photo: Getty Images] Nominations List [Oscars.org]Oscar nominations unveiled [The Envelope]Academy Award nominations [Variety]'Dreamgirls' leads Oscar noms, misses best picture [THR]'Dreamgirls' Picks Up Most Oscar Nods [AP]

By Mark 5. The Good Shepherd—$14.251 million Spoiler ahead, sort of:] Sadly, Matt Damon's allowing himself to be urinated upon while muddy and naked doesn't seem to be generating the awards buzz he was hoping for. December 29-January 1, 2007 Studio Estimates [Box Office Mojo]

By Seth 2. The Pursuit of Happyness—$15 million History buff audiences turned away in droves after writing the film off as science fiction, due in no small part to Matt Damon's admission that his character is married to Angelina Jolie, yet the two don't engage in regular, unhinged monkey-sex.

By Mark For the three of you whose Hollywood offices haven't yet shut down for the holidays: Welcome! We'll be here with you all week. For now, take some of the sting out of your forced and largely senseless attendance with the box office numbers:

By Mark JASON LEE MONK BBC and WGBH Boston Prod. i.a.w. Deep Indigo MRS. HARRIS (HBO) Killer Films, Number 9 Films and John Wells Prod. i.a.w. HBO Films Granada and WGBH-Boston Prod. BLEAK HOUSE MRS. HARRIS ELIZABETH I THIEF ROBERT DUVALL MICHAEL EALY SLEEPER CELL: AMERICAN TERROR BEN KINGSLEY MRS. HARRIS

By Mark Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith set up two TV comedy projects, one at The CW about single moms "making lunch and making love" within the same apartment complex, and one at ABC about what happens when a pair of mothers-in-law move in with "an upper-class black man from a conservative famil...

By Mark September 6, 2006, Culver City, CA) — Amy Pascal has been promoted to Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and has extended her deal with the studio to 2011, it was announced today by Michael Lynton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

By Mark · Finding a love interest for Will Smith in Hitch wasn't easy: Go black, and the Euro's won't buy tickets; go white, and red staters would burn down the multiplex or propose some kind of constitutional amendment. Apparently, Eva Mendes was exactly the right shade, since the constitution s...