Tag: Will Smith

Will Smith banned from Oscars ceremonies for 10 years

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Will Smith has been banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years after he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Friday. Smith is also not permitted to attend any other events held by Hollywood’s top film group over the next decade, but the board did not decide to revoke the best actor Oscar he won last month […]

Oscars ratings bounce back as Will Smith hooks viewers

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The Oscars were in desperate need of a ratings boost — and, on a night when Will Smith stunned viewers by slapping Chris Rock on stage, some 15.36 million Americans tuned in. Preliminary audience figures, revealed by broadcaster ABC on Monday, represent a significant recovery from last year’s record-low 9.85 million live viewers, although they are still the second-lowest in televised Academy Awards history. The moment when Smith […]

Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock over Oscars slap

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – Actor Will Smith apologized Monday to Chris Rock for hitting the comedian during the live broadcast of the glitzy Oscar ceremony in Hollywood. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be,” the winner of the best actor Oscar wrote on Instagram.   View this […]

Will Smith wins best actor Oscar for ‘King Richard’

HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP) – Will Smith on Sunday won the Oscar for best actor for portraying Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard in the tennis biopic “King Richard,” taking home the trophy minutes after he went viral for slapping presenter Chris Rock onstage. “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said through tears. “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said, just like they said about […]

Will Smith strikes Chris Rock in viral Oscars moment

HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP) – Will Smith stormed the Oscars stage and struck comedian Chris Rock across the face for joking about his wife, in a moment at Sunday’s gala that immediately went viral and left stunned viewers questioning if it had been scripted or genuine. Rock, presenting the best documentary prize with a short comedy routine, had cracked a joke comparing Jada Pinkett Smith’s tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore’s appearance in the film […]

Johnny Depp, Will Smith, George Clooney on ‘overpaid’ Forbes list

CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — Johnny Depp and Will Smith topped a list on Wednesday (December 7) of Hollywood’s most overpaid actors, an illustration that star power does not always bring in dollars at the movie box-office. Fan favorite George Clooney also found himself on the annual Forbes list after the limited commercial appeal of films like “Hail Caesar,” “Money Monster” and the 2015 flop “Tomorrowland.” Depp led the list for the second straight year […]

Hype and the Squad – my review of “Suicide Squad”

QUEZON City, Philippines – Grossing $267.1 million worldwide on its first weekend alone, Suicide Squad proves the power of hype and the advantage of having well-edited trailers. I admit I have been waiting for it, too. Ever since Warner Bros. released the film’s first trailer in the San Diego Comic Con last year, I have waited with bated breath. And I am not alone, millions all over the world expressed the same sentiment. Then came the trailer […]

‘Suicide Squad’ beats ‘Bourne’ with huge debut: film industry group

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Defying a barrage of dismal reviews, the DC comics-inspired film “Suicide Squad” topped the box office with $135.1 million in sales this weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations estimates. Starring Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as a band of deadly criminals recruited to execute dangerous black-ops missions, the film has an average critical score of 4.7 out of 10 on the reviews aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. […]

Will Smith and Lennox Lewis to be Muhammad Ali pallbearers

LOUISVILLE, United States (AFP) — Actor Will Smith and former boxing world champion Lennox Lewis will serve as pallbearers together with six other people during Muhammad Ali’s funeral Friday, a spokesman said. The charismatic Ali, a dazzling fighter and outspoken civil rights activist who became one of the 20th century’s towering figures, died Friday at age 74 after health problems complicated by a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Smith, who played the title role in […]

Will Smith’s “Focus” tops box office at $19.1 million

Will Smith’s new action drama “Focus” booted the kinky sex tale “Fifty Shades of Grey” for its perch atop U.S. and Canadian weekend box office charts, racking up $19.1 million in ticket sales. Smith, in his first leading role since 2013’s “After Earth,” plays a seasoned con artist who meets up with an aspiring con artist, played by Margot Robbie, in the romance-caper film hybrid. “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, an adaptation of a popular comic […]