His renewed commitment to the city came after he once flirted with departing. Perry said he had considered leaving Atlanta for good after neighbors complained about noise and traffic at his old studio in a neighborhood close to downtown.

“Even though it was a studio there for 15 years, there was a lot of resistance in everything I was doing,” Perry said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press earlier in the week. “I was thinking about leaving at one point, but this is home for me.”

His new Tyler Perry Studios contains more than 200,000 square feet of studio and office space in an area that once housed Delta Air Lines’ finance, reservation and computer center. It was vacant when Perry found it.

The guest list included Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Hank Aaron and Whitney Houston. R&B singer Mary J. Blige was to perform.

GALLERY LINKS:
• Appearances from 2008 - Unveiling of Tyler Perry’s New Studio in Atlanta

Perry, 39, said the studio features five sound stages that will be named after Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Cicely Tyson — with one still unnamed. He will shoot his TBS sitcoms “House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns” along with other film projects at the studio.

Perry said he knew the new location would be an improvement. His old building was on property zoned commercial, but the street next to it is residential.

“I knew spiritually I was in the wrong place,” said Perry, whose projects include “Tyler Perry’s the Family That Preys.”

“You can never be upset with the people who forced you into your dream or up higher,” he said. “They forced me out into a higher situation. It’s worked out much better for me.”

Perry drew criticism from the Writers Guild of America, West, after Perry fired four writers from “House of Payne” earlier in the week. A guild spokeswoman said in an e-mail Saturday that the four, along with supporters, planned to picket Sunday morning at Perry’s Atlanta home.
Source: AP

And yet, I’m intrigued. Maybe that’s the point of leaving most of the plot description out of the trailer, to let us get excited and speculating on our own. If it worked for me, it’ll almost definitely work for some others out there too. Seven Pounds comes out December 19.

Warner Bros. is ramping up development on a prequel to the 2007 smash I Am Legend, which will see Will Smith reprising his role as one of the lone survivors on a zombified Earth.

Director Francis Lawrence is expected to take the reins again in the story of how New Yorkers came to be stricken by a deadly plague that turned them into nocturnal, blood-sucking creatures.

I Am Legend raked in $256 million domestically but [spoiler alert!] didn’t really set up a Smith-starring sequel, prompting studio executives to start brainstorming other ways to keep the lucre flowing.
Source: E! Online

Sincerely,
The WSW Staff and all your fans!

The 37-year-old - who married Smith in 1997 - claims that several years ago she was accosted by a woman in Miami, Florida who was obsessed with her husband.

And Pinkett Smith reveals the obsessed fan made some serious threats against her life. She says, “You would think it would be Will who gets them, but I always get the crazy ones. There was a woman who had a total meltdown in Miami while I was there.”

“The police called my agent and said, ‘We have this woman who has plotted to kill Jada because she claims to be married to Will Smith, and that Jada stole him from her.’ So the police found this woman and locked her up.”

And Pinkett Smith believes that people must pick on her because of her small stature. She adds, “It’s because I’m little. Will is a 6 foot 2 inch, 14-stone black dude, who nobody wants to mess with. So instead they come after the little 4 foot 11 inch chick.”
Source: WENN

“With those guys? If everybody’s on board? Yeah!” Theron told MTV News. “Riding the Will Smith train is a really nice train to ride.”

While there hasn’t been any official talk of a “Hancock” sequel at this point, an unrated version of the film hits shelves this November with a long list of special features.
Source: MTv.com

The Hollywood couple has three children together, Trey, Jaden and Willow, and the actress admits she is the one who has to get tough with them.

She tells People.com, “He’s (Smith) so lenient on that stuff. Daddy tends to (say), ‘Yeah! Have chocolate cake for dinner! It’s all right with me.’ I’ll come home and it’s just, ‘Has anyone had lunch?’ ‘Yeah, I had some Frosted Flakes!’”

But the star admits it’s not a tough regime in the Smith household.

She adds, “We’re not strict but we definitely believe it’s a very important component for rearing children.

“It creates safety for them. They understand that they need guidance.”
Source: TelTela

GALLERY LINKS:
• Appearances from 2008 - 12008 Teen Choice Awards - Arrivals
• Appearances from 2008 - “Lakeview Terrace” - New York Premiere

“I am not a Scientologist,” Smith told Anonymous in response to concerns that his new school would be used as an indoctrination tool for the Church of Scientology.

Smith’s alleged involvement in Scientology was fueled by his public friendship with actor Tom Cruise and the couple’s large donations to Scientology-based charities such as the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project.

Smith has refuted any claims of participation in either Auditing or Purification, both critical components of Scientology.

According to Anonymous, Smith went on to explain that, while he has witnessed impressive results from Study Tech within his own family, he will not allow his school to be used as a conduit or tool for Scientology.

“If Scientologists or anybody tells me how to run my school, I’ll just do this,” he laughed, making an elbowing gesture. The actor began using the Study Tech methods for home schooling his children and has worked with faculty members to adapt those methods for use at NVLA.

Anonymous claims that the schools which use Study Tech curriculum must pay licensing fees to the Church of Scientology.

“This revenue stream is one of the many sources of income which the Church of Scientlogy uses for such tactics as invoking frivolous lawsuits and hiring private
investigators to intimidate critics”, one member explained. “It is much like buying blood diamonds.”

While unable to definitively say that NVLA is making no payments to Scientology, Smith did promise to research and verify the information. He then explained that he does not wish to pay a licensing fee to anyone because of his desire to maintain complete control over the teaching methods used at NVLA, an option not typically offered to licensees of Scientology “technology”.

Anonymous members point to an evaluation of Study Tech done by Carnegie
Mellon professor Dr. David S. Touretzky, which concluded that the allegedly non-secular Study Tech cites the same religious works otherwise used within the organization but with the word “Scientology” systematically removed.

“There is no reputable educator anywhere who endorses [study technology],” said Touretzky, a vocal critic of Scientology. “What happens is that children are inculcated with Scientology jargon and are led to regard L.R. Hubbard as an authority figure. They are laying the groundwork for later bringing people into
Scientology.”

Anonymous provided Smith with information about forced labor camps (RPF),
Disconnection and Fair Game, as well as founder Hubbard’s less than spotless background which has since been whitewashed by Scientology, along
with links to informational sites such as link and link.
Source: Monsters and Critics

“I gotta get the rights to the story,” Will told Access Hollywood on Thursday at the premiere of wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s new film, “The Women.” “I’ll make the decision in about two months as soon as he writes the ending.”

But it’s Barack’s wife, Michelle, that Will’s really interested in, Jada revealed.

“He has a crush on Michelle,” Jada said. “That’s his new crush. I gotta watch out because Will Smith loves intelligent women. Beautiful, intelligent women, that’s his Kryptonite.”

“Yeah I saw her on Larry King, she got me on Larry King,” Will admitted.

“She got you before that!” Jada said, laughing.

Jada stars in “The Women,” alongside Meg Ryan, Debra Messing, Annette Bening and Eva Mendes. The film is a remake of the 1939 classic.

“It’s a very modern approach to female friendships in this day and age so it really worked,” Jada said.

Her character, Alex Fisher, is a lesbian, an update that wasn’t in the original.

“Oh, it wasn’t in that version!” she laughed. “Definitely not.”
Source: Access Hollywood