Will Smith – you love him or you hate him or you think he’s just okay.  But whatever your opinion on the man, he doesn’t look to be shutting down his movie career anytime soon.  As a matter of fact, he’s brought his son along for the ride, so we get a double dose of Smithy-ness with every other flick!  The latest project for this duo happens to be After Earth, the tale of a planet long abandoned, a crash landing by a father and son and the adventure that takes place as the pair try to get the hell out of there alive.

We’ve already had a chance to see a trailer for the show, but now we get a look at the first TV advert.  Check it out below:

If it looks delicious, make sure to get full helping of the Smith-burger when After Earth comes to theaters on June 7^th.

Thanks to Comingsoon for the heads-up.

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The newest M. Night Shyamalan flick, After Earth, is getting ready to hit theaters this summer.  Starring Will Smith and his actor son, Jaden Smith as the main two characters, After Earth is a classic space-man vs. wild story.  The father and son duo end up stranded on the future version of Earth, about 1000 years past the point of human migration away from the damaged rock.  Now, the planet has gone feral and they must figure out a way to survive and escape.

The second trailer for After Earth has just been released and you can check it out below:

The basic plot synopsis is as follows:

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

Check it out when it hits theaters June 7th.

Thanks to /film for the heads-up.

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There’s more production stills and a new website up for M. Night Shyamalan‘s latest film, After Earth. I haven’t figured out if Shyamalan’s trademark twist at the end will make it into this movie or if it will just be the standard crashed on a planet Sci-Fi survival movie.

Before you check out the gallery below you should know that the After Earth website for the movie is up and running. It’s got some interesting stuff to say about the movie and the worlds involved.

There’s three sections. The movie section that includes all the trailers, photos, etc . . . The second section is about Nova Prime, the planet of origin for Kirai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his father Cypher Raige (Will Smith). It tells about Kirai’s training, weapons, enemies and family past. The third is Project Next Generation, which tells the story of how and why humans left Earth. It also goes into why Earth is now considered the most dangerous place in the Universe.

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

Via: /Film

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One of the big question marks amongst next summer’s movies is the M. Night Shyamalan directed After Earth, and the question is which Shyamalan will show up, the one that made The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable or the one that made Lady in the Water and The Last Airbender?

Now After Earth does have some things going for it off the top. First is that Shyamalan got help on the screenplay from the likes of Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) and Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli), and secondly you’ve got the real-life father/son team of Will Smith and Jaden Smith headlining the film. The look of the film in the below trailer seems pretty epic, and I like the idea that post-apocalyptic Earth evolves to seemingly hate humans, so hopefully this is Shyamalan’s comeback, or at least not a total fuster cluck.

Check out the trailer below:

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

What do you think Bastards? Will to give this a try next summer?

Source: Collider

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It looks like Will Smith‘s about to add Biblical vampire to his list of films, as Sony Pictures has given the green light to The Redemption of Cain, a vampire interpretation of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel.

The project’s been kicking around since 2010 when it was called “The Legend of Cain.” The script, which is by Smith’s brother-in-law Caleeb Pinkett, was picked up by Smith’s production company Overbrook Entertainment. The original story of Cain and Abel, from the Bible’s first book Genesis, features the offspring of Adam and Eve: Abel who is favored by God and his jealous brother Cain who takes him into a field and bashes Abel’s head in committing the first murder.

[Interestingly, if you're wondering how this relates to vampire lore, in the World of Darkness role-playing games (like Vampire: The Masquerade), Cain was the first vampire, cursed to drink blood and take shelter from sunlight after being cursed by God for killing his brother. By the way, do you smell a lawsuit cooking?]

The Wrap is reporting that the studio is looking for a July 2013 start date for principal photography with plans to shoot in London, Jordan, and Morocco. It’s also reporting that Smith is still considering taking the director’s chair for himself. It’s still unsure whether Smith will even star in the film, although casting is set to begin in the next couple of weeks.

The Redemption of Cain is one of a number of Biblical themed films in development right now, including Warner Bros.’ Pontius Pilate film, Ridley Scott’s Exodus, and Paul Verhoeven’s Jesus of Nazareth.

More news as it develops.

Source: /Film

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It’s time for another edition of “Good Idea, Bad Idea.” Bad Idea: making a movie based on a board game (*cough*Battleship*cough*). Good Idea? Remaking a movie based on a book about a fake board game. Just ask Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad.

While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Belgrad talked about some of the projects on the books at his studio, including a potential remake of its 1995 adventure hit Jumanji. The original film starred Robin Williams as a guy who grew up trapped inside the titular jungle adventure game, and co-starred Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce as the kids who free him and release all manner or creature and animal on their small New England town.

“We’re going to try and reimagine Jumanji and update it for the present,” said Belgrad. The original Jumanji was directed by Captain America filmmaker Joe Johnston.

In other franchise news, Belgrad says he’s pleased with the $615.5 million worldwide haul of Men in Black 3 and is now looking at what might come next for the MiBs. “We’re very pleased with the financial performance of Men in Black 3, and we believe it is an ongoing franchise. We’re going to do [another one], but we don’t have clarity yet on how it should be done.“

And speaking of buddy cop movies, look for more 21 Jump Street in the not too distant future. “Yes, we plan to start shooting in the fall,” Belgrad explained. “There are very few actors — I’m going to quote Amy — who can do romance, action and comedy. We’re in business with two of them, Channing Tatum and Will Smith.”

So in other words, get ready for more sequels and reboots coming soon to a theater near you. Whether you like it or not.

Source: Coming Soon

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M. Night Shyamalan, Will Smith and Jaden Smith may not have been at Comic Con, but that actually hasn’t stopped their new film After Earth from making some news. A new viral video has been posted by Coming Soon which outlines the background of the film; a kind of pseudo-history of the last 100 years (not to mention the next thousand). Let’s role the videotape:

For a minute there it seems like Shyamalan is revisiting some of the same thematic ground as the much loved* The Happening. Of course, that’s all background and what really matters is the actual content of the film, none of which we have yet to see.

But until then, here’s the video from the SDCC panel featuring screenwriter Gary Whitta (Book of Eli) and director of photography Peter Suschitzky (The Empire Strikes Back) courtesy of Trailer Addict:

*Denotes Sarcasm

Plot Synopsis:

In After Earth, one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (played by Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.

Source: /Film

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J. Michael Straczynski has had his ups (Babylon 5, Clint Eastwood’s The Changeling) and downs (Captain Power and all post B5 spin-offs) in Hollywood, but it looks like JMS is on an upswing again with not one, but two TV projects in the works with some of Hollywood’s top-tier talent.

First off, Straczynski is teaming up with the Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, as well as Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter, to create a series called Epidemic, which, from the sounds of it, is about some kind of viral outbreak. Maybe Joe hasn’t gotten Crusade out of his system and is looking to tell another character-driven drama about trying to cure a deadly plague.

But the most compelling project on the plate is called Vlad Dracula. Guess what it’s about! If you said a historical-horror blending of the literary Count Dracula created by Bram Stoker and his real-life inspiration, medieval monarch Vlad the Impaler, then you’d be correct.

If you’re not hooked yet, Straczynski will be doing the series for Starz and working with the Spartacus team of Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Steven S. DeKnight. Roy Lee (The Ring, The Woman in Black) will also be involved in the production.

Here’s what DeKnight says of the project:

“The project is a unique spin of the classic tale, blending the historical facts of the 15th century Prince of Wallachia, with the fictional Dracula whose story is known around the world and continues to fascinate audiences.  “Vlad Dracula” traces his evolution from a revered ruler to the world’s most feared vampire, and his slow downfall as he struggles desperately to hang on to his humanity, his wife and his kingdom.”

Speaking of DeKnight, he seems to be doing his best to put Spartacus in the rearview after the recently announced cancellation of the sex and swords series. DeKnight is also at work on an epic space war drama called Incursion, which the writer describes thusly:

“Incursion, an epic science fiction action-thriller that follows a squad of soldiers caught in a war against a hostile alien race.  Each season the battle will be fought on a new, exotic planet as humanity punches deeper into enemy territory. Grittily realistic combat, darkly complex characters and intrigue on a cosmic scale will permeate the tale of fighting men and women facing the pressures of war and an enemy unlike any ever seen.”

Sounds interesting. We all know TV is bereft of a good space drama so maybe DeKnight can fill the void. As for Vlad, I think we can all agree that a vampire series that has more in common with Spartacus than Twilight can be nothing but a good thing.

Sources: Blastr and Cinema Blend

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It may not be getting the best possible treatment at Comic Con, but considering his last effort, can you blame M. Night Shyamalan for wanting to duck out of San Diego and avoid getting any of that fan boy rage all over him? But The Last Airbender director isn’t the only participant of After Earth taking a powder on Comic Con, father-son stars Will and Jaden Smith won’t be there either. More’s the pity because the recently released plot synopsis, courtesy of JoBlo, actually makes it sound like something worth seeing:

In After Earth, one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (played by Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.

So no Shyamalan, and no Smiths. What will the After Earth panel look like?

Enter the world of After Earth with an in-depth panel that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the universe of the upcoming film and comic book. With the film now in post-production and set to hit theaters next June, screenwriter Gary Whitta (Book of Eli) and director of photography Peter Suschitzky (The Empire Strikes Back) will discuss the making of the film. They will be joined by comic book artist Beni Lobel (Spanish horror comic anthology Cthulu; G.I. Joe comic books; Torchwood: Web of Lies motion comic), and writers Robert Greenberger (Iron Man, Batman, and Hellboy novels) and Michael Friedman(Star Trek and X-Men novels) — the creators of the comic book After Earth: Innocence, which will introduce Kitai and Cypher Raige (played by Jaden and Will Smith in the After Earth film). Also joining the panel is Eisner Award winner Peter David (Star Trek novels and comic books; The Incredible Hulk), who is writing the After Earth prequel novel and also created theAfter Earth bible with Greenberger and Friedman.

Well at least the movie sounds interesting. More news as it develops.

Source: /Film

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Though Will Smith is presently headlining the third movie in the Men in Black series, a film that recently passed the $500 million worldwide box office threshold, he apparently is losing his taste for sequels, telling BBC News:

“I don’t want to be the sequel guy. I figure I’ve got about six or seven more years where I can run and jump a little bit and then I’m going butt and gut for the rest of my career. Butt and gut.”

Smith then immediately added a “Wooooooooo!!!”, because he sounds exactly like Jay Pharoah.

In keeping with his new-found sequel bias, the Bad Boys 2 star, who has previously been loosely linked to sequels for Independence Day and Hancock, also told the BBC the cold hard truth about the proposed I Am Legend sequel… eventually.

“Producers are working on it,” Smith said, adding, “I’m not actually working on it. If it’s great, I’m into it.”, before finally admitting that he probably wouldn’t reconsider and, I suppose, actually work on it.

Spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Fans and other general viewers of the 2007 Francis Lawrence helmed sci-fi/horror epic will no doubt recall that Smith’s Robert Neville character died at the end. Those who also read the Richard Matheson novel (also titled, I Am Legend) that the film was based on, will no doubt recall that the film veered wildly from the source material, not in Neville’s end, but in the way the story concludes.

Smith‘s “death” in the film prompted many to speculate that his involvement in a future Legend project would indicate a need for any future film to be a prequel, despite the numerous flashbacks that detailed both Neville’s back story and the way that the virus spread —  but now I have to wonder if we could be in a for a sequel.

In the novel, Neville begins to more fully witness the humanity of the vampirish creatures and realizes that he is now the “new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever”, the new “legend” prior to his death. Producers could visit that revelation with a new protagonist pivoting off of the original film.

Lets be honest though, the alternate ending to the movie starts down this path, and it’s actually a vast improvement on the Hollywood-sacrificial-hero-porn that went out to the masses at first in the theatrical cut. So any hope that a  truer, more bleak ending might be fleshed out is likely just rabid hope, spun off into a void, never to be seen again. But then again, these people are allegedly working on another I Am Legend film sans the warm light of Will Smith‘s presence, so perhaps they’re a gaggle of dreamers and fools hell bent on chasing rainbows… or something.

Sources: BBC News via Blastr, Box Office Mojo, MTV, IO9

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