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Q&A: Jada Pinkett Smith chats 'HawthoRNe'! Monday, April 4 2011, 15:05 BST By Catriona Wightman, TV Reporter Jada Pinkett Smith is a very busy woman. The actress doesn't just star in the medical drama HawthoRNe, but she executive produces it as well. And of course she spends a lot of time with her rather famous family - Will, Jaden and Willow. HawthoRNe's premiering in the UK on brand new channel Sony Entertainment Television this week, so we popped along to the launch where Jada told reporters about the show, her character Christina, working with Will and looking after her children... What attracted you to HawthoRNe? "One of the reasons why I decided to participate in HawthoRNe was I really wanted the opportunity to show how ordinary people do extraordinary things. Even when they come into institutions like [the show's hospital] Trinity and have their own problems, their own obstacles to deal with, at the end of the day when we see people in need we all come together and do our best." Christina's quite strict with her daughter - are you a strict mother? "No! I really don't have that type of relationship with my children. The mother-daughter dynamic in HawthoRNe has pieces that I've taken from the dynamic that my mother and I had. She was a nurse as well and she was a single parent. I must say, I was a pretty difficult teenager - more so than the daughter in HawthoRNe! So a lot of the situations and circumstances are based on real life with my mother and I, and she was very much like that - 'do as I say'." So what is your relationship with your children like? "I really look at children as being little people and not necessarily things or people to control. I think it's important that proper parenting is helping kids develop to become individuals, because it's not our job to make them think how we think or do the things that we would do. It's about finding out who they are and enhancing their individuality but at the same token creating boundaries that keep them safe." Willow was getting style tips from Lady GaGa recently - how do you feel about that? And do you get any tips from Willow? "She is blazing. It's funny, I love that she has her affinity for Lady GaGa. Lady GaGa has a lot of affinity for Willow, and so she has her relationships that I think are very good for her development. She goes in my closet and steals all my clothes. It's to the point now where she can wear my pants and my jackets and then she tells me what things I need to get rid of that are old so I pretty much listen to that. She says, 'You should let me take this and then I can cut it up and do something with it'. So she pretty much takes my stuff and recreates for her. She doesn't really do anything for me!" Do you worry that she's growing up too quickly? "It's very interesting because I don't think of it as being an adult mentality. I think that's one of the things we have to start being careful of - what is childlike thinking and what adult thinking is, especially when it comes to being creative. She's just simply being creative." Are you similar to Christina? "When I believe in something, I'm very passionate. I don't take no for an answer. And when it comes to the team that I work with, I fight very hard for my group. I try to help people win. I hope I'm not as controlling as Christina! I have worked on that a lot." Can you relate to Christina, who struggles to balance work and family? "I think with Christina her biggest issue is that she's afraid of intimacy, so you have a woman who tries to connect to her patients in a more intimate manner than she's comfortable with connecting to people actually very close to her, like her daughter. She's had a lot of trauma in her life, which will be revealed much later and is why Christina has a very difficult time creating substantial relationships with the people who are closest to her. The difference with me and Christina is I'm very clear what my priorities are. Cristina's priorities are pretty much out of balance. My priority is my family and when you're very clear about what your priorities are, when the hard times come you already know the answer - there's no struggle." How do you manage being both the star and the executive producer of the show? "It's really difficult. I don't know that I'd ever do it again! I think I'd like to be just one or the other. As an executive producer you have to deal with a lot of the admin of the show... As an actor you really just get to focus on your role. So it's very difficult in balancing it, juggling those two hats and staying creative. At the same time, sometimes you have to put the suit on and figure out what's best for the show... I actually love them both... It's just difficult doing them both at the same time." HawthoRNe's been handed a third season, hasn't it? "What a blessing. It truly is a blessing, especially being an African American woman, because there aren't really any African american women on television with their own shows." Do you feel a responsibility to present ethnic minorities on TV? "In our second season we went really strong with it. I just want to have a television show that represents the world... That you could watch this show and no matter who you are - male, female, whatever nationality, whatever economic background - you feel like you're in the mix of this world somewhere. A lot of times when you watch TV it's one world of some kind. And hospitals are that way - it's a mishmash of everyone and everything - so I wanted this to represent that." You've described your husband Will as a 'ghost producer' before, haven't you? "Yes, my husband is a big time ghost producer! I had our head writer here just getting the first three episodes of HawthoRNe tight and [Will] just called me yesterday and he was like, 'OK, I need the head writer to fly to New York by Thursday because I have some more notes on the upcoming episodes, I've got the outlines'. He is a master structuralist as far as story is concerned - there's no-one better in the business than him in my opinion. He understands the pulse of what people want to see, how to create the maximum emotional impact. Starting last year he was very, very involved in HawthoRNe, so he's been my knight in shining armour." Are you good at working together? "Oh, it gets sticky! It's not easy working with your husband, I'll be straight up about that. But when we work together we always get great product. It's not easy in the process and as we go along it gets easier, but yeah, it gets a little sticky." How have nurses reacted to the show? "My mother's a nurse and she wrote me a five-page email on all the things that she felt needed to be adjusted in the first year! So I actually got new medical advisers for the second year, so I knew we had at least done our job as far as all the details of being a nurse. I went to visit a few hospitals and we had a lot of nurses that were very happy because they felt like they were sexualised a lot in television programmes and they weren't taken seriously and they felt like HawthoRNe represents them in a different way, so I was happy about that." Did you want to include the politics of healthcare in the show? "We're taking it a little further in the third season because that is one of the primary issues in the States right now. I felt like it didn't make sense to have a medical programme and not deal with those issues and have audience members who are watching it relating to what is happening with people in the medical industry every day. It's really sad and this year we're diving into it a bit more heavily." So will Cristina be coming under more pressure in the third season? "Cristina in the third season is going to be a heck of a ride! She's got a lot on her plate personally and professionally. We pull a lot of true life stories this year that we've actually heard that we found really represented the message that we were trying to get across this year. We've got some very, very strong issues to deal with." HawthoRne begins on Thursday at 8pm on Sony Entertainment Television. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/tubetalk/a312297/qa-jada-pinkett-smith-chats-hawthorne.html

Well, Trey "usually" doesn't go to these events, so it's not strange he wasn't there. And Jada.. I think she wasn't there either since there's no trace of her in these videos and pictures. Wonder where she was.

Some vids from the premiere.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qua3E4d6oo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCTwNxSTY5w

MSN Exclusive Interview - Willow Smith Watch MSN's Lucy Mapstone chat to rising pop sensation Willow Smith. http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/msn-exclusive-interview-willow-smith/2tyrprw5?from=truveo

Don't think this interview has been posted before.. Willow Smith Dishes on Shooting '21st Century Girl' Willow Smith is a "21st Century Girl" and she explains what it was like to film her new music video for the song. Willow's video for "21st Century Girl," her follow-up to her 2010 hit "Whip My Hair," is out today, and she's explaining what the title means: "To be a 21st century girl means that you're practicing at what you want to do, and that you're being adventurous, and you're being confident, and you're being yourself." She says of the video, "I want people to feel the emotions that I did when I was recording the songs," adding that she hopes people pick up her music's positive message. And that positivity spreads to her recollection of shooting the video. Her favorite part? "Being around friends and family," she tells ET, explaining, "I'm 10 years old and I can't do it alone." VIDEO! http://www.etonline.com/music/108503_Willow_Smith_Dishes_on_Shooting_21st_Century_Girl/index.html

Jaden Smith accepting his award! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FtZ5EIep-s

Willow Smith: KCA 2011 Performance! http://globalgrind.com/hip-hop-culture/willow-jaden-smith-rock-out-kids-choice-awards-photos-video

Some pics of Will at the KCA's: http://www.gettyimages.es/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=es&assetType=image&ebd=2011-04-02&p=will+smith Aww.. http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/8059/111471223.jpg

Singer Willow Smith and actor Jaden Smith arrive at Nickelodeon's 24th Annual Kids' Choice Awards at Galen Center on April 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, Pics! http://www.gettyimages.es/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=es&assetType=image&ebd=2011-04-02&p=willow+smith

I don't think 'Bad Boys 3' could be a risk since many people liked the second part (including myself). Michael Bay might not be the greatest director ever, but he sure knows how to make a good action movie. I can't say the same for Barry Sonnenfeld. This can be a flop just like 'Wild Wild West' or 'Men In Black II'. Let's hope not.

Funny guy Chris Rock talks about meeting Justin Bieber and wages a complaint against Will Smith on 'The Late Show':

More pix! http://www.fadedyouthblog.com/225046/will-smith-gets-some-fan-love-on-the-set-of-men-in-black-3

Kutcher teams with Bieber on 'Kenny' Sony developing comedy with Overbrook Sony's developing comedy "What Would Kenny Do" as a starring vehicle for Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber with Overbrook Entertainment, Kutcher's Katalyst Films and Motion Picture Corp. of America producing. Studio's aiming at a 2012 start date but hasn't greenlit "Kenny" and no deals have been signed yet with Kutcher and Bieber. Story, penned by Chris Baldi, centers on a down on his luck and troubled 17-year-old high school junior spends a week navigating his life with his 30-year-old future self. The script had been in development at MGM and was placed on the Black List in 2008. CAA assembled the package and reps Kutcher, Bieber and Baldi. Project's being developed as a PG-13 vehicle with Josh Adler and Mike Goldberg exec producing. Should "Kenny" go into production, it would be the first big-screen feature role for Bieber. His concert film "Never Say Never" has grossed $72 million domestically for Paramount. Overbrook was a producer on "The Karate Kid" with partners James Lassiter, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Ken Stovitz receiving credit. Kutcher was last seen in "No Strings Attached" and has been filming on "New Year's Eve." He and producting partner Jason Goldberg received producing credits on "Killers." MPCA, best known for the "Dumb and Dumber" films, is headed by Brad Krevoy Baldi recently sold Fox his "Scavengers" script, which centers on three brothers who have go on a scavenger hunt to find the father's treasure. Thor Freudenthal's directing with Emjag Prods. and 21 Laps producing. Baldi's managed by ROAR. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118034855?refCatId=13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAH6oVQ64Gw

It's my pleasure ;)

Here comes the man in black.. 10 New Set Pics from ‘Men in Black 3′ Arrive Ten new pictures from the set of Sony’s upcoming action-adventure film Men in Black 3 have landed online. In the pics will can see an upbeat Will Smith as Agent J preparing for some of his scenes. While some may say the pics are boring, I’d rather point out that the pics are thrilling-diminished. Still any behind-the-scenes stills from Men in Black 3, I’ll take. Men in Black 3 features the return of Will Smith as Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K. Due out May 25, 2012, the film centers on a villain (Jemaine Clement) traveling to the American 1960s to kill young Agent K, which will, of course, kick off events that will end the world. Our alien crime busting duo travel travel back in time to stop him. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Men in Black 3 also stars Josh Brolin as young Agent K, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Nicole Scherzinger. Men in Black 3 was formally announced by Sony during the ShoWest convention in 2009. http://movienewsguide.com/620/news/10-set-pics-men-black-3-arrive/

Entertainment reporter Tim Estiloz chats with Will Smith at the height of his early popularity with DJ Jazzy Jeff as rap artists. This funny vintage interview shows Smith well before he became a worldwide superstar at the box office and also shows his clever wit as a confident performer. ----- "... first single is 'Summertime'!". Ahhh man, did they ever imagine that song would become a classic?

Jada Pinkett Smith says she's not a controlling parent Jada Pinkett Smith says she doesn't want to control her children, Willow and Jaden Smith -- she wants them to express their creativity freely. Jada told Closer Magazine, "I see my children as little people, not necessarily people to control. You've got to help them develop and become individuals. You have to find out who they are but enforce boundaries to keep them safe." Jada also said that she doesn't think Willow, who is 10 is growing up too fast. She said, "She's simply being creative. I'm not worried about her growing up too soon." Jada admitted that she loves being a mom and has found it easier to put family before work as she's gotten older. She said, "I'm very clear about what my priority is and that's my family. I used to struggle juggling work and family at the beginning. It's hard when you change from being single to being married to being a mother." She added, "But now I'm turning 40, I've found a peaceful compromise. I feel very content." http://www.kikn.com/news-a-info/entertainment-news/31137-jada-pinkett-smith-says-shes-not-a-controlling-parent.html

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HawthoRNe - Season 2 DVDs of the Jada Pinkett Smith Series Have Been Rescheduled 3-disc set is now planned for early June Posted by David Lambert 3/28/2011 A month ago we brought you the announcement from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for Jada Pinkett Smith's HawthoRNe - Season 2 on DVD. At the time the studio had scheduled the 3-disc set for May 3rd, but today Sony alerted retailers that the release date had moved back a bit, to June 7th. No reason for the change was provided, but the content we previously reported, including extras, seems to be the same. Stay tuned and we'll let you know if there are any further updates! http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Hawthorne-Season-2/15172

'MIBIII' resumes production...exactly when they said they it would "Men In Black III" is back in production, exactly when the studio said it would be. A source close to the production tells us that the movie, which stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve and Josh Brolin, resumed shooting in New York yesterday. The 3D threequel had a planned production hiatus coinciding with the Christmas holidays, and when word got out that the hiatus was being extended a month to do a production polish on the screenplay, an internet feeding frenzy ensued. Some sources actually reported that the movie began principal photography without a script. Our source did tell us that heavyweight screen scribe David Koepp did do a limited production polish on the "Men In Black III" script during the hiatus, but that work was "targeted and specific" and did not amount to a new draft. The production hiatus was planned and actually cost the studio little, as few people were on the production payroll at that time anyway. "Men In Black III" is still scheduled to be released on May 25, 2012. http://www.examiner.com/fanboys-in-national/mibiii-resumes-production-exactly-when-they-said-they-would

Willow Smith: Calabasas Camera Fun! Willow Smith checks photos on her camera on Monday (March 28) in Calabasas, Calif. The 10-year-old pop star, rocking a pair of yellow high tops, also grabbed lunch at a sushi restaurant. On Friday, Willow landed at LAX after flying in from Europe, where she had been touring with Justin Bieber Willow will be taking over the stage at Saturday’s Kids’ Choice Awards. “I’m so excited to be performing at the Kids’ Choice Awards. Really hoping I don’t get slimed!” she said. The Black Eyed Peas and Big Time Rush will also be performing, while Willow’s older brother, Jaden, is set as a presenter. http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/03/29/willow-smith-calabasas-camera-fun/

Man, I love these promos! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln9qtU3KcSc

According to the article, he's not gonna perform, he'll be a presenter.