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JJFP reunite for 50 years of Hip Hop December 10 ×
Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince Forum

Hero1

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  1. About 3 months too late Jim :3-laugh3:
  2. Theres 2 sides to every story... :sipread:
  3. nvision Power Board 2.2 contains a huge selection of new features ranging from low-end code improvements to new features designed to enhance your community involvement. New features include: Personal Profile Portal Invision Power Board 2.2.0 has a totally redesigned portal page with the following features: * Friends list - manage your friends for easier PMing, to see if your friends are currently online and display your friends on your profile * Profile comments - allow visitors to leave comments on your profile. You can set to moderate all new comments before they're shown. * Recent visitors - recent visitors are shown on your profile. * Your content - show your recent posts / blog entries / gallery uploads on your profile * Personal statement - add a short bio for others to read * Member rating - rate other members * Set your gender * Easy access to edit your location, age and IM details Note that you can optionally switch back to the old "classic" profile view in the ACP. New Text Editor New Style The text editors, both standard and rich text (WYSIWYG) have been completely rewritten to make them more intuitive and faster to load. Clutter has been reduced with the new dynamic menus. Switch You can now switch between the rich text editor and the standard editor without the need to reload the page or visit your User Control Panel. New Attachment System Upload without the reload IPB 2.2 has a new attachment system that enables one to upload attachments without having to reload the post screen. The new attachment area is directly below the text editor. New Style The attachment system has had a complete overhaul and is now styled along side the new text editor Monthly Directories IPB now saves uploads in a monthly folder, making FTP directory listings much easier. Extensible The new system is extensible via the attachments plug-in system. There is now one central attachments repository and plug in modules define space allowance and rendering options. New Thumbnail Design Attached image thumbnail previews now have information above and below the thumbnail offering original file size and original dimensions. Inline message system Invision Power Board has an on-the-fly message system to confirm actions taken place. This is an important new part to the user interface especially when using ajax when it's not always apparent that an action has taken place. Help & Support Tab In IPB 2.2 you will notice a new Help & Support tab. This tab adds some convenient methods for obtaining assistance, or troubleshooting Invision Power Board. We'll take a look at the links found on this tab below.
  4. All the mods dont work..arcade/army same with the skins.. have to wait for people to do them for 2.2 which came out today..
  5. we are now on to invision board 2.2! give me a few days to make sure everything is back working right..and check out the new features i guess..
  6. Sounds like Nas is really getting back to his roots.. I'm gonna be looking for this..
  7. Stay positive people. Seems everyones facing tough times at the moment,
  8. How do you know Ready was lied and cheated out of money? Will and Jeff didn't make any money from Jive or record sales.. They made their money from a 1-900 number that ready rock c had nothing to do with.. His beef has nothing to do with Will or Jeff..perhaps Jive or record labels.. I'm not talking about money to survive.. Ready sued for 2.4 million dollars.. He thinks he deserves that money.. He could have taken the 400-500, 000 dollars they offered to settle the case.. he refused and lost the case.. Well damn I would have loved 400, 000 in my bank account, but he made the decision to go after more money and lost..so he should deal with it. This is all over 18 years past when he was kicked out of the group.. I think its time to move on... Do you know the full story? Ready thought he was the whole group..and got a very big head when they were touring in 88. I think ready rock c is one of the greatest beat boxers of all time.. I think he made an important contribution to JJFP. I also think it was right for Will and Jeff to move on in 89 without him..unfortunately the time of the human beat box had passed. Ready rock says Will is "very smart and manipulative" I disagree.. I think ready's bitter, and I think he's chasing millions of dollars(which he's not gonna get, and he needs to forget about) That's just my opinion, you may disagree.
  9. Long before he moved to the Philadelphia suburbs, acquired a beautiful wife and four rambunctious kids, was born again through Jesus Christ, and sued boyhood-friend-turned-superstar Will Smith for $2.6 million, Clarence Holmes, now 38, was simply Ready Rock C, the human beatbox. "I was always ready," he explains. "To do what? Rock. What's the first initial in my name? C. That's how it came about: Ready Rock C. Ready to rock a beat!" He's yelling all this while reclining in a plush leather love seat on a recent afternoon in his duplex's spotless living room. Ready's personal website lists his favorite color as "all of them"; he's just as magnanimous in person. Like most beatboxers, he discovered his unusual gift early in life. A shy kid from the black middle-class neighborhood of Wynne-field in West Philadelphia, Ready liked making funny noises with his mouth. One particular routine he became known for was the Sanford and Son television theme, but with a twist: He pretended he was underwater. "That came about, me just sitting home in the kitchen with a cup of juice or something," he recalls. "I was drinking at the time, blowing bubbles, you know? And then God inspired me. I just felt it in my spirit. Like, OK, that's cool, now lemme see you do it and make a beat." Ready tries to resurrect the tune, but he's nursing a nasty cold and only manages to cough out a few frustrated notes before giving up. Embarrassed, he scoots to the kitchen and grabs a box of Clorox disinfectant wipes. Around the time Ready's big mouth evolved into a booming beatmaker, he met a lanky rapper with big ears who called himself the Fresh Prince. "We played basketball together, went to the arcades, put change together to buy burgers from McDonald's," Ready recalls of his new friend Will Smith. The young MC needed to build his reputation as a freestyler, and it helped to have a mobile percussionist like Ready Rock C to supply the beats. Hanging out in West Philly, they were always looking to test their skills against other crews. "I mean, we would literally pull up on guys," Ready remembers. "If we seen them bobbing their heads on the corner or in a B-boy stance and it looked like they was rapping, Will was like errr!!, pulling over, out of the car, kachutt!! 'Yo, you wanna battle?!' And we're going at it." The scene is captured on the beatbox classic "My Buddy": up4 Tryin' to beat us, that doesn't make any sense He's Ready Rock C, and I'm the Fresh Prince In the rap industry we're ranked as first Ain't a better combination in the whole universe! up4 So if you wanna battle your future looks muddy up4 'Cause you just can't beat my buddy "That's when hip-hop was fun, you know?" Ready says. "You could just go head-to-head, display your craft to one another, and no one gets offended or pulls any guns." The duo eventually brought in local DJ Jeffrey Townes, and the rest was history. Unfortunately, Ready was largely left out of it�"My Buddy" appeared on 1988's wildly successful He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, credited to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Ready appears on a number of tracks from that album and claims to have conceived the idea for mega-hit "Parents Just Don't Understand." He says he didn't mind being left out of the group's name at first, because his beatboxing was often at the forefront. But over time the omission was telling. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince went on to sell millions of records, winning rap's first Grammy in 1988. At the awards ceremony Ready was asked to sit out the group's performance onstage, and shortly thereafter was booted from the group altogether. Ready blows his nose clear of mucus and spits in a small Styrofoam cup. "I mean, I was kept in the background. 'Cause to be honest, I was a threat, and Will wanted the spotlight all to himself." He creases his brow. "'My Buddy' was written by Will Smith and composed by myself. In spite of how Will Smith treated me in the long run, that's how I know he felt about me. That song was about our friendship." It's a friendship that's grown acrimonious over the years. A few years ago Ready filed a lawsuit asking for back royalties he contends never came his way. The case went before federal court but was thrown out due to the statute of limitations. Ready shakes his head. "He promised me and lied to me all these years, which is why I waited. He's very smart and manipulative." (Through a PR rep, Will Smith declined to comment.) Ready is wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with his own "READY ROCK C" logo stretched over a pronounced paunch. He strokes his close-cut beard and sits forward in his seat. "See all of this?" he asks, gesturing with his brawny arms at the comfortable middle-class possessions that surround him. "None of this is Ready Rock C money. I worked hard, got an education, and made this through my IT company. Will hasn't done this�pulled himself up by his bootstraps, I mean." The burly beatboxer is a seesaw of emotions. "But I'm blessed� children clothed, roof over our head, meat in the fridge . . . " His voice fades out as his face tightens into a grimace. "Even though I pray for Will, I need my money. I need to get paid!" By now he's almost growling, but quickly laughs it off. "Ready Rock C's a cat who got hurt," Lucky says. "No doubt." He's been trying to bring his childhood hero out of retirement for some time now. "But it's like he's trying to recoup all his lost dollars�crazy dol lars� at once. We can't do that, but we can give him a mic and a stage." http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0649,john,75213,22.html -------- some advice for ready.. if you are a man of god..you shouldnt be chasing money :eusa_naughty:
  10. For the Fresh Prince, films are family business Like father, like son: On the set of The Pursuit of Happyness, opening next week, Will Smith was "always in character. Always," says son and co-star Jaden who beat out 100 kids for his part. Enlarge By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Like father, like son: On the set of The Pursuit of Happyness, opening next week, Will Smith was "always in character. Always," says son and co-star Jaden who beat out 100 kids for his part. WILL BY THE NUMBERS Domestic box office receipts for Will Smith's films (in 2006 dollars): -Hitch (2005): $182.6 million -Shark Tale (2004): $170.8 million -I, Robot (2004): $153.8 million -Bad Boys II (2003): $150.9 million -Men in Black II (2002): $212.3 million -Ali (2001): $65.9 million -The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000): $36 million -Wild Wild West (1999): $137 million -Enemy of the State (1998): $137.3 million -Men in Black (1997): $313.3 million -Independence Day (1996): $391.4 million -Bad Boys (1995): $86.6 million -Six Degrees of Separation (1993): $8.9 million Source: Nielsen EDI; USA TODAY analysis by Anthony DeBarros By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY NEW YORK — Will Smith doesn't stroll. He strides. His every step has a purpose, his every word a point. "I planned every movement of my career up until this point, starting with probably midway through The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when I started choosing movies," he says, leaning forward, his brown eyes beacons of intensity. "What we call luck, what we call chance, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. If you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready." Smith has meticulously plotted his ascent and today is the person least surprised by where he finds himself: as perhaps one of Hollywood's most bankable and appealing leading men. If money talks, then Smith, 38, delivers the numbers. He commands more than $20 million a movie, and the last three films he has headlined — 2003's Bad Boys II, 2004's I, Robot and 2005's Hitch— have grossed more than $400 million total in the USA. With his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, by his side, the father of Trey, 13, Jaden, 8, and Willow, 6, has soared up the A-list without the slightest whiff of scandal and with a burnished all-American image. "He has such a definite personality, and it transcends issues of complexion or culture or ethnicity," says Michael Mann, who directed Smith to a best-actor Oscar nomination for 2001's Ali. Smith mixes the popcorn with the potent, as in The Pursuit of Happyness, which opens Dec. 15 amid positive buzz and an endorsement from Oprah Winfrey. This time, Smith plays the real-life Chris Gardner, a single father with big dreams of becoming a stockbroker. He interns at a brokerage by day and sleeps in homeless shelters, subway stations and motels with his son at night. Despite Smith's multimillion-dollar paychecks, he says he related to Gardner's single-minded drive to make something of himself — with one crucial variation. "When I was broke, it was different, because I was by myself. It is a completely different world to be broke by yourself than to be broke with a child." Like Gardner, who in the movie has his bank account garnished by the IRS, Smith had a run-in with the tax man when he was starting out as rapper the Fresh Prince with his sidekick Jazzy Jeff. "When the IRS came and took all my stuff, I was by myself. Jeff and I had one of the first 900 numbers. We made a lot of money," Smith says. "We didn't purposely not pay taxes. You get paid in cash, and you forget those things. But being down in that situation was so different from the feeling of walking in Chris Gardner's steps, that feeling of ultimate parental failure." The victim of Gardner's life is his son, Christopher, played in the film by Smith's own offspring Jaden. Playing his dad's son in the film wasn't a cheery cakewalk. Jaden has to cry, particularly in one ravaging scene in which he loses the one toy he has left and a stressed-out Smith gets rough. Jaden says he thought of "sad things" to bring on the waterworks but won't reveal details. And Italian director Gabriele Muccino, handpicked by Smith, says getting physical with his son proved tough for Smith. "A real father gets mad at his son. I wanted to push," Muccino says. "The scene was difficult for both of them, for Will because he has to be so mad at his son, and for his son because he has to cry." Jaden "really put himself into this kid's shoes. It took five or 10 seconds. He was ready, and he was crying." The Smiths had no qualms about giving their son such a high-profile role in a major studio release. "Anytime you can introduce your children to a business or a potential career and something that has fulfilled you and can potentially fulfill them, and it happens to be in your greatest sphere of knowledge, that's unbeatable," Smith says. Plus, "the world is going to be hard, no matter what he chooses to do. Being in a field that I understand is beautiful for me. I'd much rather he be an actor than a subatomic physicist." Jaden, who sits in on part of the interview with his father, sprawls across his lap. "Let's try to get settled," Smith says, urging his son to focus on the interview and not his PlayStation Portable. "You're at work, buddy. You don't play video games at work." His son lolls backward in Smith's arms, playfully punches his dad's palms and gets a kiss on his forehead. Intermittently, he throws in a few words, as his mom watches the interview from an easy chair nearby. Hollywood in their blood In a sense, Smith's children were raised to be on camera; Trey (from Smith's first marriage) was a special correspondent for Access Hollywood, and Willow stars as Smith's daughter in next fall's I Am Legend. It all started when Smith bought a video camera for one of Trey's birthdays and shot home movies featuring his kids. On the Happyness set, Jaden says, Smith is "always in character. Always." "We had a little bit of fun, right?" Smith asks. "We had night shoots one time when it was hard." Responds Jaden: "We played when it wasn't a scene." A late-night one involved a slice of pie. "I didn't want to eat that pizza," the boy says. "I don't even like the crust of the pizza, so I put the crust in my mouth, and I pretended like I bit it, but I didn't." Says his dad: "See, that was an acting trick I taught you! Where I took a bite out of the pizza for him and when they said 'action,' he just put his mouth over the bite mark, and he had a piece of crust in his mouth so he pretended like he was chewing it." The Smiths say Jaden came to his starring role by accident, not default, beating out 100 kids for the part. "He wanted to audition," Pinkett Smith says with a dismissive roll of her eyes. "So we said, 'All right.' " Jaden, who wants to keep acting and longs to appear on Disney's That's So Raven or The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, starts scribbling on a pad of paper. "Are you done?" his dad asks. "You're done. He's drifting." "Daddy, what's drifting?" Jaden asks. "That's drifting," Smith responds, holding up the sheet of paper with gibberish on it. "We're trying to let him find his own tempo." Jaden opts to be near his father and moves away to play video games under the supervision of his mom. Ask anyone about Smith's own tempo, and his co-stars make him sound like the Energizer bunny. Smith has "boundless energy. He's a real force of nature," says Thandie Newton, who plays his embittered wife in Happyness. When he's out, Smith hugs reporters, high-fives fans and beams that ear-to-ear grin of his. He exudes buoyancy and confidence and believes he could be president, although he denies any plans to run for office. And he could learn to fly the space shuttle. "I have no illusions, no doubts at all," he says. "There's a power in believing something that manifests itself in reality." Ever since the Philly native broke out as a rapper 20 years ago, ultimately winning four Grammys, he has never deviated from his clean-cut, upbeat public persona. At times, you get a peek behind his game face. When he arrives for a photo shoot earlier that day, his expression is serious and focused, that grin invisible. "Will's a smart man. When we work, we work really hard. But it's always fun, a lot of goofing around," Mann says. "On Ali, I'd have Will and Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight, all cracking jokes and basically doing standup for 1,000 extras." He always has been uncompromising, even when playing a goofy, gangly kid living with his rich relatives on NBC's hit The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. Even then, his co-star Alfonso Ribeiro says, Smith demanded "perfection. When people don't want perfection, that's probably the only thing that gets him upset." Smith also is a chivalrous actor, says Mann, who's also producing Smith's 2008 release Tonight, He Comes. "A girl on the set makes a move and winds up exposing herself, and out of the corner of your eye, you see Will look away." Eva Mendes, who co-starred with Smith in the 2005 comedy smash Hitch, says the actor is "a brainiac dork. He's an avid reader. When I met him, I thought, 'Oh my God, the Fresh Prince is an intellectual.' " The Smiths at home The Smiths, for all their bonhomie in public, remain a private couple. They rarely go out, opting for nights at home watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel or playing Monopoly or Crazy Eights. Perhaps Pinkett Smith and Willow might bake a cake or sugar cookies. "(It's) a whole lot of kids and a whole lot of just sitting around and kicking it," Pinkett Smith says. "We're a pretty boring crowd." The secret to their nearly nine-year union is a mix of the sexy and the cerebral, she says. "La Perla (lingerie) and communication. Gotta keep it right in the bedroom and keep talking, and that will handle everything," says Pinkett Smith. As parents, the Smiths view themselves as guides rather than disciplinarians. "We feel that we are partners in their life, but they are responsible for their lives," Smith says. "Something we noticed in our upbringing and specifically in the black community coming out of slavery in the United States — children were dealt with in the master-slave relationship. We're trying to break the cycle of 'beat them when they do something wrong.' If you get them used to a master-slave relationship, when they leave your home, they're going to be looking for a master. We want them to be looking for partners." They're home-schooling their three kids. "There are specific things we think our children need to know that aren't necessarily covered in the industrial-era traditional education," Smith says as his wife nods. "First and foremost is their ability to communicate with people. The quality of your relationships and the quality of the groups of which you are a member are more important than the Pythagorean theorem could ever be." Smith gets ever more impassioned. "I'm 38 years old, and I'm just getting an understanding of what life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness means," he says. "Kids need to know that in kindergarten. They need to be interacting with one another in a way that will further their group and their individual ability to survive." He's friends with vocal Scientologist Tom Cruise and attended Cruise's wedding in Italy. Although Smith has learned about the controversial religion, he has not converted to it. He says he's a connoisseur of all faiths. "I want to go on the hajj to Mecca," Smith says. "I don't believe in religious separatism. I love people, and I don't believe that the twin towers getting knocked down means all Muslims are bad. "I was raised in a resurrection Baptist church in Philadelphia, and my grandmother was a devout member of the church. The things that I believe are 90% morally what I learned growing up. But the additions that Jada and I have made — we've traveled around the world." They have been "to India, and United Arab Emirates, and to Jordan and to Jerusalem. We are students of world religions." He believes in the "power of the individual, of the human spirit to overcome." That's why you won't catch him playing a morally bankrupt Hannibal Lecter-type serial killer anytime soon. "It's the reason I'm attracted to happy endings. I really believe you can do that, you can will that into existence." Posted 12/6/2006 12:00 AM ET http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-1...htm?POE=LIFISVA
  11. Finally. This is good because most of the arguments levied here against the movie are shallow and contrived. If that's the best they can do, this movie really is going to be good. I just wanted to hear some of the arguments against it. Yeah it could be overdone..but his arguments are terrible..he actually gave Van Wilder 2: the rise of taj a abetter rating :nhawong:
  12. you have to select genre turntablism
  13. http://topartists.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...=music.topBands Jeff is the #9 top indie artist in myspaces top artists in the turntablism category :2thumbs:
  14. That is a great scene! :rofl: :rofl:
  15. awesome.. kill it! Will says "you women want me to tibbida tibbida tell you whats up" (you women want me to tell you whats up)
  16. I listen to those a lot..when i'm feelin like that
  17. As an actor, producer, composer and rapper, Will Smith's versatility has made him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. By Stephen Galloway Dec 1, 2006 In an age when the high-concept blockbuster seems to have relegated the notion of a movie star to the history books, Will Smith -- with his amiable persona and keen instincts -- remains one of the biggest draws in the business. With starring roles in such diverse films as 1996's "Independence Day" and 2001's "Ali," he has demonstrated remarkable range, and he also has become a successful producer, working with his longtime business partner James Lassiter through their Overbrook Entertainment. Smith developed his current film, Sony's "The Pursuit of Happyness," after seeing a TV profile about the movie's real-life hero. And along with his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, he executive produces the sitcom they created, the CW's "All of Us." He even manages to write and record music for some of his projects. In short, he is one of the most versatile showmen working in the industry today. "What's unique about Will is his ability to be funny and serious -- that contradiction of humor and straightness," says Tony Scott, who directed him in 1998's "Enemy of the State." "That's very rare in an individual, and he's brilliant at both." That rare combination of star power and business savvy is perhaps one of the reasons why he was selected to receive his latest honor: The Museum of the Moving Image will honor Smith during its 22nd annual black-tie salute Sunday in New York, where he will join the ranks of previous recipients Robert De Niro, Sidney Poitier and Steven Spielberg. Advertisement MORE COVERAGE: Will power: Versatility has made Smith a bankable star Dialogue: Will Smith Cinematic standouts: Noteworthy efforts in Smith's filmography "He's a great actor, and he's proved that," says Eva Mendes, Smith's co-star in 2005's "Hitch." "We all knew he was hysterical, but with 'Ali' he really proved he's a dramatic actor as well." Truth be told, though, Smith never intended to become an actor. Growing up in Philadelphia, the son of a former Army officer who had opened a refrigeration business, Smith fell in love with hip-hop during its "first wave" and teamed to create music with DJ Jazzy Jeff, who "was the best DJ in Philadelphia at the time," recalls Lassiter, who met Smith through Jeff and became his manager in 1986, when all three still were in their teens. "I remember meeting Will in Jeff's basement. He was by far the brightest and the most talented of the rappers to come through. He was just fun, all the time -- he always wanted to make everyone laugh and have a good time." His second album with Jeff, 1988's "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper," went triple platinum. But when the duo's next album flopped, Smith found himself in financial trouble, owing money to the IRS, and agreed to what seemed like the best option at the time: a situation comedy being developed for him at NBC. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" wasn't just a hit, it was a bona fide triumph. It yanked Smith out of the relatively limited world of urban music and plunged him into mainstream Hollywood. More than that, it gave him a chance to discover from an insider's perspective everything that was involved in the creation of an entertainment product, and he immersed himself in it. At the same time, he and Lassiter were attempting to figure out what Smith had to do to move to the next level, not to be pigeonholed as the brash young hero of "Prince" but instead regarded as an altogether more universal persona. Together, they formed their production company, Overbrook, named after the high school they both attended. Two movies helped broaden Smith's image. The first was 1993's "Six Degrees of Separation," the feature film adaptation of John Guare's play about a young man who insinuates his way into an upper-middle-class family by pretending to be Poitier's son. Guare says he and director Fred Schepisi initially were skeptical about Smith and only agreed to consider him because financier-producer Arnon Milchan was adamant that he would be a star. "Fred and I both said, 'Oh yeah? Give me a break!'" Guare says. "Then we went separately to meet with Will on the set of 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.' He was so great, and he told me why he wanted to do the part. He said, 'I'm an actor. I've got more in me -- I trust myself.' And he was so fearless. He did a bit of a scene for me. I was stunned. I felt I was seeing the part for the first time. "He is a man of the best kind of ambition, of not making things easy for himself but saying, 'There is more to me than this,'" Guare adds. Then there was 1995's "Bad Boys," director Michael Bay's action comedy that elevated its two stars, Smith and Martin Lawrence, to a new level of celebrity. Not that it was easy to convince the studio that Smith was the right man for the job. "He had real presence," producer Jerry Bruckheimer says. "He was tall and handsome and athletic and had all the attributes. He's got a great smile -- and smiles make movie stars. But even though I liked him, (initially) I couldn't sell him to Sony. Because he was a television star, the management didn't believe that he could be a movie star. They wanted Arsenio Hall (for the film)." Smith says that even now, Bay still teases him about the film. "Michael Bay tells me every time he sees me, 'Dude! You were a TV star till I made you a movie star,'" Smith says, speaking from the New York set of his current film, Warner Bros. Pictures' "I Am Legend." "It was that one scene in 'Bad Boys,' where I'm running with my shirt open -- which I didn't want to do. I have to give (credit) to Michael: He was trying to make me run with no shirt on, and I was saying, 'Come on, that is way too cliched.' Our compromise was, I would run with my shirt open. That was the transforming scene from being a tele-vision star to someone that could have a viable movie career." If "Bad Boys" did indeed give Smith a viable movie career, two other pictures confirmed his stardom: The sci-fi actioner "Independence Day" and the action comedy "Men in Black," the latter of which paired Smith with Tommy Lee Jones. Although they might have seemed like an unlikely duo -- a street-smart Philly native with a Yale graduate and one-time roommate of former Vice President Al Gore -- nothing could have been further from the truth. Together, Smith and Jones were comic dynamite, and they formed a lasting bond. "Will is very funny, and he's a real pleasure to work with," Jones says. "He keeps everybody laughing on the set all the time. And if there's somebody on the set that's not feeling well, Will will seek them out and work on them until they keep laughing. There's a generosity about him that's wonderful to be around." While Smith repeatedly demonstrated his ability to pull in crowds at the multiplex, it wasn't until he landed the lead in Michael Mann's biopic "Ali" that he had the opportunity to truly showcase his range as an actor. Playing Muhammad Ali had long been a dream of Smith's, and it was with great enthusiasm that he and Lassiter sat down with director Mann to discuss the project. "I went to talk to him about it, and I had a take on the material that required a major revision, which Eric Roth and I did," Mann says. "And then, more importantly was (the matter of) how to design a process by which Will would become Ali -- physically, of course, with the boxing -- but also (by getting familiar with) the period psychology, the history of race politics, the world in 1964 -- all of that." Smith embraced the project with unusual gusto. "What was stunning about Will was his commitment, which was total," Mann says, adding that Smith spent 10 months working out each day and burying himself in a wealth of material before shooting even got underway. Mann says he and Smith also dug into their own pockets to help finance the film. "We both felt really impassioned about the project, and so we accepted to be (part) financiers of the production," says Mann, who is now producing another film with Smith, Sony's slated 2008 release "Tonight He Comes." "This was just a fact of how much the movie would cost and how much the studio would put up. Will and I elected to fill the gap." The movie cemented Smith's reputation, landing him an Oscar nomination and plenty of critical praise. By the time the film was released in theaters, Smith's career again had risen to a new plateau. Since that time, he has returned to science fiction and action with films including 2004's "I, Robot" and dabbled in animation with that year's "Shark Tale." But it's his latest role -- in "Happyness," as a struggling salesman who takes custody of his son -- that is generating buzz about a potential second Oscar nomination. A self-professed workaholic and perfectionist, he is a role model for others, both inside and outside the business. "It goes back to his goodness," Mendes says. "You root for him because he is such a good person. He has got such an open mind, and he really wants to know about absolutely everything. He taught me, if you're going to do something, do it all the way. And he has lived that. He is one of the world's biggest stars for a reason: He puts 150% into everything he does." Adds Mann: "Here's the bottom line: You can't imagine having a partner as good as Will Smith, anywhere in life. As far as I'm concerned, he is the greatest." http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...508ba12bfecb906
  18. if you put your highest bid at 50.00 and someone else bids 20..then you will automatically bid 21.00 it will only go up to 50 if someone else bids the same high amount
  19. and then guy kept cursing! idiot :chuks:
  20. I didnt think sweet chilli would be a nice flavour..but it is :wiggle:
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