Will Smith has contributed tremendously to the entertainment industry with his first-class acting which has always resulted in remarkable works that never fail to captivate audiences worldwide. Some great examples of this include his 2006 classic The Pursuit of Happyness and his masterpiece sitcom television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Yet, it seems that everyone appears to believe that claim but the Bad Boys star himself.
Being his biggest critic, Will Smith refused to believe his 2007 movie, which earned colossal success at the box office with a whopping $585 million worldwide grossing, was a mega success despite getting the legendary Tom Cruise’s help for it as well!
Tom Cruise Helped Save Will Smith’s $585 Million Movie
Will Smith starred in the famous 2007 sci-fi/horror I Am Legend as the main protagonist Dr. Robert Neville, and that movie still ranks as one of his most successful movies to date. And a major hand behind the film’s massive success goes to the legendary actor, Tom Cruise.
Giving credit to the Mission: Impossible star for saving his movie with his constructive feedback, the Bad Boys star said,
“When I did I Am Legend, I sent him the script, and he sent me back four hours of notes and changes. He did more work on I Am Legend than I did. Now we’re looking at some projects to work on together because we have that basic understanding of each other.”
Yet, it seems that even getting Tom Cruise to save his movie did not stop Will Smith from being disappointed with his epic blockbuster and that too for a rather silly reason.
Will Smith Was Still Disappointed In I Am Legend Regardless
Talking about his renowned masterpiece more than a decade later in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith let out that he was rather disappointed in his movie. The reason behind this was the box office numbers at which the film opened, which was $77 million, also a record opener for a film released in December that wasn’t a Christmas movie at all.
Though not a bad number for an opening, Smith was still disappointed in the film for his own reasons. Recalling his conversation with his producing partner James Lassiter regarding the same, he said,
“I’m excited for 30 seconds, and then my mind drifts and I say to J, ‘Hey, why do you think we missed 80? He said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘No, it was 77, do you think if we would have adjusted the ending? Because I wanted the ending to feel more like Gladiator.’ He’s like, ‘It’s the biggest opening in history, ever. What are you talking about?’ I’m like, ‘J, I get that, I’m just asking why do you think we missed the 80?’ And it’s the only time he ever hung up on me.”
For what it is worth, Will Smith‘s epic blockbuster from 2007 was actually made on a budget of $150 million and went on to gross a gargantuan $585 million at the global box office, which is an immense success as compared to the production budget. But in the case of the Bad Boys star – to each his own.
As for the movie’s sequel, I Am Legend 2 is said to be in making currently and no plot details or release date has been announced till now. However, fans can hope to see the second film from the franchise by 2025, but only if its production begins by 2024, keeping the Hollywood strikes in mind.
You can watch I Am Legend on Vudu.
Source: The Oprah Conversation
