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"Pursuit of Happyness"


bigwillfan

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thanks a lot Ash ..here is the video from the link , i am just starting to download :) http://streamingmovies.ign.com/filmforce/a...wmvhighwide.wmv

edit :

i just got it ..great quality .. oh and the video quality too :wiggle:

Edited by fresh_from_sofia
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yet another CG article to add to the masses :wiggle:

Chris Gardner: Through it All, Family and Happiness is What Matters

by Nakia Herring

Baltimore Times

Originally posted 9/1/2006

The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes has special meaning to Chris Gardner. It is a reminder of the journey that he and his mother have made through the ups and downs in their lives. With bouts of domestic, physical and mental abuse from his step- father, being homelessness and a single father, and not knowing where your next meal will come from, Gardner has finally achieved the life that movies are made of.

On December 15, 2006, Columbia Pictures will release “The Pursuit of Happyness,” which is also the title of his autobiography published by Amistad/HarperCollins.

The Pursuit of Happyness is the journey of one man, who experienced a demanding childhood, becoming a homeless single father, all the while holding on to his dream of making it big in this world. Today, Gardner is president and CEO of Gardner Rich & Company, a multi-million-dollar brokerage firm.

“I have gotten so many calls, letters and emails that validate something I have said from the very beginning - this is the story of my life, but it really is the book of us. I mean that all of us who had every opportunity to become what was right in front of us and chose to go the other way,” explained Gardner.

Gardner went on to explain that the strength he has and the person he became was all due to his mother. He called it spiritual genetics.

“You will hear about it everywhere I go. I am the person I am because of the spiritual genetics I received from my mother.

“I could not be in the position to now be accepting applause, awards and accolades and not acknowledge my mother. That would be disrespectful and I am not going to do that,” he said.

Gardner says the movie will focus on one year of his life.

“One very tough, challenging, dark year of my life - the year that made me who I am. The book talks about where did this man get this stuff from that allowed him to get through. It is a love story between a father and a son and how we made it,” he says.

Throughout the book, Gardner constantly shows the real meaning of being a father.

“Having never had a father, I made a promise as a little boy that I would never say to my kids 'I ain't your daddy.' The best way to do that was to always be there. To have that opportunity to be a father fulfilled something in me,” he said.

Gardner would only see his real father twice, once when he was 28 years old at their initial meeting and when he was dead.

As Gardner relived those days of pain and abuse for his book, he says that he now looks at things differently and is thankful for his stepfather.

“He helped me so much by showing me what not to be. He helped me by showing me I don't want to be an alcoholic, I don't want to be a wife beater, and I don't want to be illiterate. I made a conscious choice and commitment to go the other way,” says Gardner.

One very important point that he wants young people to take from his book is his love for reading and books, which he also learned from his mother.

“My mother told me the most dangerous place in the world is the public library, but only if you know how to read. If you know how to read, you can go in there and figure out anything. All these young people out here want to be down and bad, well I say go get a library card and go off in there. Go get you some knowledge,” he said.

The Pursuit of Happyness took about two years to write and Gardner says he would never do it again.

“If someone asked me to do another one of these again, I would say no,” he stated.

The writing process took place in Harlem, New York with help from Quincy Troupe (author of Miles and Me: A Memoir of Miles Davis). Gardner went on to explain that after being with Quincy all day, he would have to walk from Harlem to Mid-town to release the stress of reliving his life.

“I could not be around no people, don't talk to me, don't ask me nothing, just leave me alone. Once I got to Mid-town, I would have to go to the gym. That should tell you something,” he laughed.

In all, he is absolutely ecstatic about how the book and movie turned out.

“To my knowledge, I had more to do with the whole process of the movie than had been allowed to anyone who ever sold the rights to their life story. I was on the set everyday for 17 weeks. The reason I was allowed that kind of access was that I developed a relationship with Will Smith (who plays Gardner in the movie version) that will last forever,” he said.

Will Smith's real life son Jaden play's Chris Jr. (Gardner's son) in the movie.

“That little boy has more talent in his big toe than Will has in his whole body. After seeing his performance, people will see the Smith's as the new first family of film,” says Gardner. “It was such a joy to see them [the Smith's] in their first and most important role, mom and dad. Before the fame and money, they are mom and day - everyday.”

When it comes to his own children, Chris Jr. and his daughter Jacintha, Gardner is happy to report that they are doing absolutely fabulous.

“That is my gift to the world. I broke the cycle of men not there for their children. I am going to have a direct influence on generations of my offspring that I will never meet. I raised a young man who is responsible and I raised a young woman who understands how a man is supposed to treat her,” says Gardner.

Even though life is good now, it has not been without its bumps. Gardner says some family members changed once he became successful and saw him as their own personal bank account, plus, his life story has been compared to the now legendary James Frey, the author of A Million Little Pieces, which turned out to be pure fiction.

“Many reporters have asked me about him. I don't know James Frey and don't care about him. I put my life down like it happened,” says Gardner.

As he travels in support of The Pursuit of Happyness, he says, “Everywhere I go, I will be lifting my mother up and if folks don't understand, then that is on them. And bottom line; don't let anyone tell you you can't do anything. If you want something, go get it.”

The Pursuit of Happyness is in bookstores now. For more information on Chris Gardner visit www.chrisgardnermedia.com.

source via google: http://www.btimes.com/News/article/article...sID=72205&sID=4

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