Would You Celebrate ‘Independence Day’ Without Will Smith?
You may remember Independence Day as the movie that helped launch Will Smith’s film career and solidify him as a legitimate box office draw. The movie, which saw Smith team with Jeff Goldblum to fend off a group of resource-hungry aliens, went on to gross $800 million. And as with all things Hollywood these days, you would have expected there to be a sequel by now. What’s the hold up? Well, it comes down to money. 20th Century Fox wants director Roland Emmerich and producer/writer Dean Devlin to proceed making the movie without Smith, something the team cannot do.
Gross Points for Will Smith
Actor Will Smith, who Emmerich called “…probably the only gross player right now who’s worth his gross” in an exclusive interview with Latino Review, wants his money up front. In studio speak, a gross point is equal to a percentage of the money the studio takes in regardless of whether the film has produced a positive profit after production and marketing investments. This has become the hard bargaining point the studio has to come to terms with if they want to see more than fireworks come the Fourth of July.
What are They Thinking?
Is it just me, or have studios finally gone crazy? Will Smith made Independence Day the success that it was, not the other way around. Without his over-the-top charisma and likable onscreen presence, we’d be left with nothing other than another cheap sci-fi, alien invasion flick. I mean think about it – the plot was commonplace. The aliens attacked, we found their weakness, then we attacked back. So how could Fox ever think about replacing an actor as essential as Will Smith? He’s one of the industry’s most bankable actors. You might as well have made Star Wars without Harrison Ford. Hopefully the guys doing Men in Black III will have more sense.
I don’t know about you, but an Independence Day movie without Will Smith gets a thumbs down. Would you be interested in seeing a sequel without him?
[Source: Latino Review]
