It’s all over a movie you’ll probably never see called “Human Contract” — which Jada wrote in 2007.

In legal papers filed today in L.A. County Superior Court, the couple claims the guy who financed the movie is threatening to sue them because he believes Will and Jada “guaranteed” a return on an investment to get him on board. Will and Jada claim they “made no such representations.”

Long story short — the movie went straight-to-DVD and Will and Jada admit, “it is unlikely that it will ever make a profit.”

Will and Jada aren’t going after the investor for money — but they want a judge to declare that they are not liable for the investor’s lost cash.

In the meantime, the movie had some serious star-power — Ted Danson, Idris Elba and even Jada herself.

Too bad no one ever saw it.

UPDATE: TMZ spoke to a rep for the couple who told us, “Although we normally shun this type of controversy, we felt compelled to respond to the baseless threats and absurd allegations put forth by Mr. Grasso’s counsel.”
Source: TMZ

While the test viewers were undoubtedly picked to represent Sony’s preferred demographic, it’s rare for a studio to reveal test scores that are in the 97th percentile as this one was. This could mean that Sony has a genuine hit on its hands despite concerns from fans of the original film and possible confusion stemming from the use of THE KARATE KID title in conjunction with use of Chinese wushu in the film.

Coincidently, this news happens to drop on the same weekend that Chan’s family comedy THE SPY NEXT DOOR opens to near universal panning from critics. Rotten Tomato’s Tomatometer currently rates the movie at a low 9%. The film is currently in sixth place on its opening weekend with an estimate of just under $10 million earned according to Box Office Mojo.
Source: Kung Fu Cinema

The ‘Hitch’ star is joined by his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith in raising the money that will go towards providing food to more than 500,000 school children in Haiti.

The artwork will be sold by UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation on eBay.

The art is based on a map of world hunger. It is decorated with personalised silhouettes drawn by Smith, his family and the artists who performed at the concert, according to WFP.

“There can be no true peace in the world while there is hunger,” Smith, wrote on his silhouette on the map.

Along with his wife, Smith co-hosted the concert held in the Norwegian capital on December 2 to honour the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, US President Barack Obama.

The artists who participated in the artwork are Wyclef Jean, Natasha Bedingfield, Toby Keith, Westlife, Esperanza Spalding, Alexander Rybak, Amadou & Mariam, Donna Summer, Lang Lang and Luis Fonsi.

In his Nobel acceptance speech, Obama had said, “Security does not exist where human beings do not have access to enough food… where children cannot aspire to a decent education.”
Source: Business Standard

The news confirms weeks of speculation that the three would back the show.

A representative for “Fela!” did not specify the amount of the celebrities’ investment, but their endorsement alone gives the musical’s profile a significant boost just a week before its premiere.

“There’s going to be an enormous incentive for people to investigate Fela when they know that Jay-Z and Will Smith are all rabid fans,” Rikki Stein, Kuti’s former co-manager and executor of his estate, recently told Billboard. “It’s a sign that the underground is moving overground.”

“Fela!” will help find a larger audience for the music of Kuti, who pioneered Afrobeat from the sounds of James Brown and West African high-life music, became a political icon in his native Nigeria and earned the admiration of everyone from Paul McCartney to the Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil before his death in 1997.

“I have an abiding regret that Fela never achieved the recognition he deserved during his lifetime,” Stein said. “We have a long row to hoe in terms of general knowledge and acceptance.”

In addition to green-lighting “Fela!,” Kuti’s estate has licensed his catalog to the newly revived Knitting Factory Records. The well-timed deal will result in the reissue of Kuti’s complete catalog — 45 albums — during the next 12 years.

“The industry always talks about who the next big legacy artist will be,” said Ian Wheeler, label manager of Knitting Factory Records. “It should have been Fela years ago. We’re really trying to bring a new audience around the world, and particularly in the U.S., to his music.”

Up first is the October 27 release “The Best of the Black President,” a compilation of Kuti’s best-known material. The set is being sold at previews of “Fela!” and at Felabrations, a series of Afrobeat DJ parties organized by Knitting Factory Records and its marketing partner, Giant Step.
Source: Reuters

The Dec. 11 show — a day after the award ceremony — will feature performances by Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi as well as Amadou & Mariam, a blues and jazz duet from Mali.

“The opportunity to recognize the laureate’s contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience,” the Smiths said in a joint statement. “We are both humbled and honored to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year.”

The winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced in Oslo on Oct. 9. The award is always handed out Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.

“We’re excited to have Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith join us as hosts for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert,” said Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. “Together they’ve had a global impact on the arts and philanthropy and will be excellent ambassadors for peace.”

Smith, 41, rose to fame in the 1980s as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince and as the star of a popular television comedy show. His many films include “Men in Black” and “Independence Day.”

His wife, 38, is an actress, model and singer-songwriter. Her film career has included roles in the “The Nutty Professor,” “Ali,” and “The Matrix Reloaded.”
Source: The Associated Press

“Everybody’s going to come back for a sequel,” Berg said in response to a question about the two stars, reports MTV’s Splash Page. There’s no word on the status of Jason Bateman’s sad-sack character from the original, however.

Berg will be helming the sequel, which he says will feature the appearance of at least one more of the super-powered, god-like beings portrayed by Smith in the first film.

“We have [someone in mind for the role],” Berg tells the site. “I’m not gonna tell you who, but we have!”
Source: IGN

The studio hopes to have a script that would reunite director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. At this point, with the project in the early stages, none has a deal to return.

The first Bad Boys was released in 1995 and grossed $66 million domestically and $141 million worldwide. The 2003 sequel grossed $138 million domestically and $273 million worldwide.
Source: Coming Soon.net

GALLERY LINKS:
• Candids from 2009 – 07-09 – Arriving at a Beijing Film Studio

While the plot is being kept under wraps, Smith already gave a few hints last winter. Smith says that the Hancock universe was “full of unexplored characters” and that we would meet them in a sequel. He certainly was a character with a long history, and a whole “last son of Krypton” thing going (I’m trying not to spoil anything), so I could see a sequel venturing into some kind of Phantom Zone territory. Or maybe they’ll go downright Biblical with his immortal lineage. Who knows! It’s too early to know!

When I last reported on a return to Hancock, a lot of you were intrigued by the idea of a prequel exploring his illustrious and godlike past than a sequel starring a reformed and purposeful hero. I guess all hope of a true origin story is shot, but maybe they will cater to your comments, and fill it full of flashback sequences! After all, Smith has The Last Pharaoh on his slate, so they’ll have plenty of ancient sets and costumes available!
Source: Cinematical

Are you drooling at the mere thought of this? Do you spend waking nights with fingers crossed just focused towards the mere possibility that we will revisit the vice-stricken amnesiac and ancient God-turned-superhero? (Just go with me on this one.) Well, as Berg tells Sci-Fi Wire (whose name, unlike its channel’s is still mysteriously spelled properly):

Caution: Spoilers ahead.

“There might be another god out there,” Berg said in an exclusive interview last month in Pasadena, Calif. “Might be another one.”

If you haven’t seen the film (but decided to read on, anyway), Berg is referring to the plot idea in which Hancock (Will Smith) is an ancient immortal being who loses his powers when close to another immortal (in this case, his love interest played by Charlize Theron.) From what we were told, they were the last two of their kind. The tragedy of their love, was that they could never be close, or they would eventually die, ending their race entirely.

The talk after the film’s initial July 2008 release and its ultimately $227.9 million domestic take, seemed to point to a sequel that may have even been on the way to being fast-tracked. Flash-forward to over a year later, and we are still discussing the project in the “loose rumor” context. While Will Smith is currently busy with other projects, (like killing The Karate Kid) it kind of leaves you wondering if there was some kind of behind-the-scenes game-changer that put the film on hold.

Personally, I don’t see many people clamoring for Hancock 2 in droves. Sure, the first film was somewhat of a solid action/comedy film, but it was also heavily conventional and could easily fall victim to being forgotten. If a sequel is going to happen, it probably needed to happen within a two-year window from the first film. (Which, at this point, it will not.) That is not to say that Will Smith’s star power couldn’t carry the film toward some profitability (realistically, it’s probably what got people in theaters for the first one), however, I can’t imagine that the story would be strong enough where your average moviegoer would look at a sequel and go “man, I HAVE to see THAT!” (Unless a sub-plot that Berg confirmed with Jason Bateman’s character starting a charity campaign happens to tickle your fancy.)

But hey, stranger things have happened at the box-office.
Source: G4