WILL SMITH has bottled up a new movie project after optioning the film rights to wine saga THE BILLIONAIRE’S VINEGAR: THE MYSTERY OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE BOTTLE OF WINE.

Bosses at the movie star’s production company were won over by Benjamin Wallace’s chronicle of the auction house fight for a 1787 bottle of Chateau Lafite, which was rumoured to have belonged to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.

Wallace claimed that Jefferson was duped into thinking the wine was a rare vintage and as such the son of billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes bought doctored cheap wine for $156,000 (GBP78,000) – the world record for a single bottle.
Source: Contact Music

Best Buy Co. Inc. stores on Sun. will begin to offer a discount on Blu-ray disc titles starring Will Smith.

Blu-ray titles include The Pursuit of Happyness and Hitch will be price cut to $19.99, while titles like Enemy of the State, I Am Legend, Independence Day, and I, Robot will be discounted to $24.99.

Independence Day this week ranked as the No. 1-selling Blu-ray disc at Amazon.com following a new ‘Buy Three for the Price of Two’ promotion for select high-definition titles.
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My good friend Peter over at SlashFilm was just sent a new photo from the set of Hancock. That’s old news, right? Nope – it was taken in Times Square yesterday night. How is that possible when the movie comes out in about a month? Apparently Hancock was doing very late reshoots in New York City yesterday, most likely as a result of the ratings troubles they’ve encountered that were detailed in this chat with director Peter Berg. Good news? Bad news? Neither really, but definitely interesting and worth noting. I think my interest in Hancock is definitely starting to increase the more I hear about it.

The photo below, taken yesterday, shows Will Smith in his leather superhero outfit that appears at the end of the most recent trailer. The report sent to Peter says that Times Square was packed with extras wearing 1980’s-style brightly colored clothes. They shot for 12 hours total in order to get the updated footage that they needed. Principal photography actually finished last November and Peter Berg has been working on editing and the visual effects since then.

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I Am Legend didn’t seem like much until that first shot of a deserted Times Square. Loved the movie. Hated the trailer. Hancock looks to be following that same path. When the trailer is shown in theaters people tend to just look at in bored silence. You can hear the popcorn crunching five rows away. I will say this – comments on movie blogs are very enthusiastic. Lots of “can’t wait,” “sweeeeet,” and “kool”-aids. With a July 2, prime-time summer blockbuster position, it’s likely Will Smith will pull off another box office smash.

The first Hancock cast interviews are starting to leak out.

Will Smith talks about his regular guy, shorts and flip-flops, alcoholic superhero.

“Somebody made a good point that there hasn’t been a new superhero in 40 years. Spiderman and Iron Man and Batman, those were our father’s superheros. So it’s very difficult to create a new superhero. Part of the reason why Hancock will be successful is because of that little click of that.. father superhero relationship.”
Source: Whudat

The history of pop icons attempting to make it in Hollywood is a long and often sad one. Many have tried and failed.

The world of rap probably has the best record of producing film stars. Tupac caused a major stir before his untimely death, LL Cool J’s star is rising, as is Queen Latifah’s. And then there’s the biggest of them all – Will Smith.

Formerly known as The Fresh Prince he is surely the most successful crossover star of the modern era.
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The entire world loves Will Smith, but not Dresden Graham, a 65-year-old retiree who is waging a war against Smith’s latest film, the drama “Seven Pounds,” which is shooting in her Hollywood neighborhood.

The production is based just three houses up from Graham’s home, where she has lived in since the mid-’80s. Trucks line the street, crews are busy setting up and striking down, generators hum, and security and police officers patrol the area.

Graham, who has signs in her yard and on her house that read “Will Smith, Go Film at Your Mansions” and “Put Potty Toilets on Your Neighbor’s House,” has a litany of complaints. She doesn’t like the fume-spewing trucks parked running in front of her house, where the production has placed portable toilets. She’s not that keen on the planned night shoot that will go to 3 a.m., either, because it calls for bright lights, rain machines and Great Danes.
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