Will Smith constructed a profession out of blockbuster wins. However in a uncooked confession from his 2021 memoir Will, he admitted to creating one among his greatest private regrets. The film? After Earth. The fallout? It practically wrecked his bond along with his son, Jaden Smith.
At simply 15, Jaden discovered himself on the middle of a Hollywood flop that didn’t simply bomb however hit him the place it harm. Directed by M. Night time Shyamalan and starring each Will and Jaden as a father-son duo surviving a post-apocalyptic world, After Earth opened to brutal opinions and a brutal field workplace. It made solely $27 million in its debut weekend towards a $130 million finances.
Will Smith took the warmth in stride. Jaden Smith didn’t. “After Earth was an abysmal field workplace and significant failure,” Will wrote (by way of Folks). “And what was worse was that Jaden took the hit. Followers and the press have been completely vicious; they mentioned and printed issues about Jaden that I refuse to repeat. Jaden had faithfully completed the whole lot that I’d instructed him to do, and I had coached him into the worst public mauling he’d ever skilled.”
Earlier than the fallout, Jaden had been using excessive. He made his appearing debut in The Pursuit of Happyness alongside his dad in 2006. That movie crushed the field workplace and was Will’s sixth consecutive #1 opening. By 2010, Jaden headlined The Karate Child remake, pulling in $3 million and exhibiting he may maintain his personal. However After Earth modified the whole lot.
The stress and public backlash pushed Jaden Smith to a breaking level. In keeping with Will Smith, the younger actor critically thought of authorized emancipation. “We by no means mentioned it, however I do know he felt betrayed,” the Males in Black star continued. “He felt misled, and he misplaced his belief in my management. At fifteen years outdated, when Jaden requested about being an emancipated minor, my coronary heart shattered. He finally determined towards it, nevertheless it sucks to really feel such as you’ve harm your children.”
The request hit onerous. It wasn’t nearly contracts or artistic management. It was about belief. And Will, who thought he was guiding his son to greatness, realized he had as an alternative led him right into a storm. Regardless of the injury, Jaden rebounded. He selected to stick with the household and, years later, returned to the display with Life in a 12 months in 2020, starring alongside Cara Delevingne. Will, in the meantime, discovered success once more in Aladdin (2019) and Unhealthy Boys for Life (2020).
After Earth remained as a painful reminiscence. For Will Smith, it was greater than a flop. It was a tough lesson in parenting, fame, and fallout. And for Jaden Smith? It was the position that just about made him stroll away from all of it.
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