The "Fresh Prince" and "Bad Boys" Star Goes Supernova With "ID4"

      By Susan Lambert

                          His first claim to fame came as the fresh-faced half of the late '80s
                       comedy rap duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Will Smith then
                       forayed into comedy television with his hit sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of
                       Bel-Air." He gained film accolades by holding his own with the likes of
                       Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing in his feature debut, "Six
                       Degrees of Separation." It set the stage that Smith could do more than
                       just comedy and his sophomore effort, "Bad Boys," as a $66 million hit
                       established his movie star quality. "Independence Day" could catapult
                       him into the upper atmosphere of high-priced, A-list, blockbuster superstars.

         BOXOFFICE: "ID4" is your first big special effects movie. Did you find it a
      particular challenge?
         WILL SMITH: Yes, it's very difficult. If you're acting with an alien, it's a mark on the
      floor or something. And it's [filmed] in such small pieces you can never really get a good run
      at a scene. So it's difficult finding the moments.
         But what's fun about doing a science fiction movie is when you finally see everything put
      together, it's almost as if you weren't even there. It looks completely different. On the set,
      they'll say, "Okay, look to the left and just say your line to the left," and you're like, "What the
      heck is that for?" But when you see it all together it's amazing.
         BOXOFFICE: Do you have a preference between television or features?
         SMITH: Well, it's a trade-off. You get the immediate feedback of a live audience in
      television, which is really great—you know instantly whether it's right or wrong. The
      difference with making films is you have more of an opportunity to get it right. For the past six
      years it's been fun going back and forth. Now that the show is over, I'm sure I'm going to
      miss the immediate ego boost of the live audience.
         BOXOFFICE: Have you considered going back to music at all?
         WILL SMITH: At this point, I have no plans to record. Rap has kind of taken a different
      turn. It would take me a minute to figure out what I would want to do with it. It's not
      something that I'm paying too much attention to right now. At this point I just want to make
      good movies.
         BOXOFFICE: Your next project, "Men in Black," is also sci-fi. Was that
      planned?
         WILL SMITH: Yeah, I'm really drawn to it. I like doing science fiction. I like action. I
      like the genre of the "big-budget-Hollywood-blow 'em up-shoot 'em up" movies. That's fun
      for me. It's physical. You get to do stunts and all that. Making movies is kind of like choosing
      a sport. You know, you wake up Saturday morning and you want to go play basketball, or
      golf, or bowling. It's an enjoyable thing. My job is fun. So it just all depends on what kind of
      fun I feel like having today.
         BOXOFFICE: Comedies are an obvious choice that you seem to have avoided.
         SMITH: The show is in syndication, so people can see me do that two, three times a day.
      Going into the movies I wanted to do something a little different and then maybe down the
      line get back into the comedies. Robin Williams and Tom Hanks go back and forth, but I
      think from watching their careers it's really important to make it clear that you can do
      something other than comedies.
         BOXOFFICE: How do you feel about the recent discussions over racism in the
      Hollywood film industry?
         SMITH: I think there is racism in every aspect of American culture and life, so why would
      we think it would be any different [in Hollywood]? It's a part of living in our world and it's
      something that, unfortunately, we all have to deal with. I think it's a [pause] a cancer that
      erodes the very base of our existence [second pause]. Wow, that was good [laughs].
         BOXOFFICE: Do you feel any burden as a "black male" role model?
         SMITH: There is definitely a burden to carry, but I think that responsibility has always
      made blacks that choose to carry the burden stronger. Jackie Robinson, being the first black
      ever to play major-league baseball, he wasn't just a ballplayer. He had to be extra special.
      That's something to deal with, but it's almost a good thing. It makes you work harder.
         I want to play positive characters. I want to play characters that represent really strong,
      positive black images. So that's the thing I consider when I'm taking a role after I decide if it's
      something that I want to do. At this point, I don't want to play a gangster, unless it's a role
      that has a different or more positive message. It's a large part of why I don't rap now,
      because of the slant that rap music has taken.
         BOXOFFICE: Did the European Emmerich bring a different sensibility to this
      typically "American blockbuster"?
         SMITH: Well, that's the thing about the movie, it's not really an American blockbuster. In
      the film, we as a planet are about to be annihilated and if we can't put our prejudices—our
      racism and sexism and all our "isms"—behind us, then we will all be destroyed. So
      interestingly enough, the movie is about a unification of the entire world.

         "Independence Day." Starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum.
      Directed by Roland Emmerich. Written by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin.
      Produced by Dean Devlin. A 20th Century Fox release. July 3.
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