We love I Am Legend

Monday Night Conversation is our candid conversation with stars of the big and small screen, athletes, entertainers, politicians and other icons. In this episode, BlackTree TV Executive Producer, Jamaal Finkley, fills in for the host Ms. Brooke Christopher, and sits down with the Big Willie himself, to ask him about his new movie, family, and saving the world. Stay tuned for more interviews, including the NY Premier of the movie 'I Am Legend'. Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is a Golden Globe and a two time Academy Award-nominated American actor, and a multiple Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist. He is one of a small group of people who have enjoyed success in three major entertainment media in the United States. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet.[1] Smith's most notable television role was that of William "Will" Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In his film work, his notable roles include Agent J in Men in Black and Men in Black II, Muhammad Ali in Ali, as well as his role in the blockbuster Independence Day and more recently as Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness with his son Jaden Smith. Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime." They gained critical acclaim for winning the first ever Grammy in the Rap category (1988). He had a line in "Voices That Care", a 1991 Gulf War song by a celebrity group. Smith was nearing bankruptcy when in 1990, the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. The show was successful and launched his acting career. Although he made a notable dramatic film debut in Six Degrees of Separation while still appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith's film career took off with his role in the buddy cop action film Bad Boys (1995) along with co-star Martin Lawrence. Will Smith at 45th Emmy Awards in 1993 Will Smith at 45th Emmy Awards in 1993 After The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ended in 1996, Smith began a successful solo music career while simultaneously starring in a series of films. The first two films were hugely successful summer blockbusters: Independence Day (1996), in which he played a fearless and confident fighter pilot, and Men in Black (1997), where he played the comic and confident Agent J against Tommy Lee Jones's deadpan Agent K. Smith's acting in Men in Black won critical praise. He originally rejected the lead role in Men in Black, but wife Jada Pinkett Smith coaxed him into acceptance. The two films established Smith's commercial reputation as a bankable star whose appeal across age, race, and gender lines could "open" a film at the box office. Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West. After the failure of Wild Wild West and watching Keanu Reeves' performance, he suggests that he would not have been the appropriate actor for the role at the time, but still considers passing on The Matrix as a big mistake. He then gained lead roles in several box office successes including Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, Hitch, and I, Robot. Smith is one of only two hip-hop artists to receive an Oscar nomination in an acting category (Best Actor, Ali, 2001), for his portrayal of the boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay, in the biopic. He was also nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in another true-life movie, The Pursuit of Happyness where he played Chris Gardner in his rags to riches story. Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith created the UPN (later CW) sitcom All of Us, which was loosely based on their lives. The show debuted on UPN in September 2003 and aired there for three seasons before moving to The CW in October 2006 for one more season. The CW cancelled All of Us in May 2007. Smith appeared as himself in Jersey Girl delivering the Silent Bob speech that appears in nearly all Kevin Smith movies. The lead character's situation is due to the claim, "Will Smith is just a rapper". A BlackTree Media Production Produced by Jamaal Finkley Personality: Jamaal Finkley Footage of 'I Am Legend' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague--the Infected--lurk in the shadows...watching Neville's every move...waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered...and quickly running out of time. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Weed Road/Overbrook Entertainment Production, "I Am Legend," starring two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness," "Ali"), Alice Braga and Dash Mihok. The film is directed by Francis Lawrence. The screenplay is by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, based on the novel by Richard Matheson. Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, David Heyman and Neal Moritz are the producers, with Michael Tadross, Erwin Stoff, Dana Goldberg and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers, and Tracy Torme co-producing. The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Andrew Lesnie, production designer Naomi Shohan, editor Wayne Wahrman, costume designer Michael Kaplan, and composer James Newton Howard. "I Am Legend" will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. Digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience� with proprietary IMAX DMR� (digital re-mastering) technology, "I Am Legend: The IMAX Experience" will debut concurrently with the nationwide 35mm release in traditional theatres. FRANCIS LAWRENCE (Director) made his feature directorial debut in 2005 with the visually stylish thriller "Constantine," starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf and Djimon Hounsou. Growing up in Los Angeles, Lawrence wrote screenplays, shot super 8 movies and took a high school film class, which helped him decide to pursue a filmmaking career. As a Loyola Marymount University film student, he worked on his own productions throughout college, and, upon graduating, began to make music videos for a friend who owned a small record label. Lawrence has since helmed videos for some of the biggest superstars in music, winning nearly every possible award in the process. The young director was recognized in 2003 for his innovative work on Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" by the Music Video Production Association (MVPA), receiving the awards for Best Pop and Best Male Video. He has been recognized several times by the MTV Video Music Awards and received the Director of the Year Award in 2002 from the MVPA. He also won a Latin Grammy in 2002 for popular South American songstress Shakira's video "Suerte." The names of the artists with whom Lawrence has worked reads like a who's who of the contemporary music canon, also including Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Huston, Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Alanis Morissette, Black Eyed Peas, and many others. One of his most high-profile project was Will Smith's "Black Suits Coming" video for the movie "Men in Black II." The experience not only presented him with a welcome challenge, but also provided solid training ground for his smooth segue from videos to feature films. In addition, Lawrence has made his mark in the world of commercials, having created musically charged and visually stunning campaigns for major corporate names, including Gap and Coca-Cola. Produced by Jamaal Finkley Personality: Jamaal Finkley A BlackTree Media Production http://www.blacktree.tv