Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan talk Karate Kid
Jaden Smith, 12, appears alongside legend Jackie Chan in the remake of The Karate Kid. The Fan Carpet were lucky enough to talk to the stars of the film plus producers Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith (aka Mum and Dad) at the London Press Conference last Thursday…
What is it that makes The Karate Kid story worth re telling?
(Harald Zwart) Its a life changing experience seeing the movie. Life can knock you down and we need to choose whether or not we can get back up. My son is 7 years old and I have a 5 year old daughter and I thought they deserve to have the experience that I had when I was young so I thought it really deserved a chance to be told again.
Jackie, how proud are you to be part of a film made in China?
Really proud, thank you Will Smith family. I can choose my culture and my location, city, great wall and the martial arts. I remember when the original came out everyone wanted to train in martial arts so thank you Will Smith.
Why did you decide to produce rather than star in this movie?
(Jada Pinkett Smith) We knew that we had to participate in some way. Between us we have so much knowledge that we want to pass on to our children, so this was really important to us. There was a possibility I would playing Jaden’s mother in the movie but I knew he was really going to need his ‘Mommy” off camera so we felt like we had to be there as mummy and daddy and producers and make sure he was supported in every way possible.
When you watch your son, how much of yourself do you see and how do you choke back the emotions?
(Will Smith) Firstly I don’t choke back the emotions when I see him, I boo hoo every time. It was excruciating for Jaden to be squashed between Jackie and myself. He is so disciplined and so hard working its hard to not push him for more. There is no telling what this kid can do. In our private meetings we would discuss how to get around mommy. As far as having pieces of me – he is truly his own thing – the best of Jada and I. Its amazing how you can go to Mexico and drink some tequila and he shows up 9 months later. (laughs) Jaden is a fantastic disciplined young man, compared to other children, he is just a brick. He is really sensitive so he can capture emotion and has the mentality it takes to bare the weight of success this film will bring in his life.
(Jada Pinkett Smith) He is blessed to have worked with two masters, Jackie and my husband for his first film. When you think about the team he has, he can’t lose.
Jaden, How tough was it to do all the kung fu, martial arts stuff?
In the movie I did do a lot of that, but I had a lot of training before, so it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I just came to me and I could almost have fun when I was filming.
(Will Smith) We spent an extra month in China, so telling an 11 year old we were spending an extra month out there was tough. He would train every day for an extra two hours at lunch between takes. His level of commitment was unbelievable. Your my dog man!
Have any of you had any experience of bullying?
(Will Smith) I grew up in West Philadelphia, so I had some experience of bullying. It was actually more difficult for Jaden to get his head round it because he doesn’t exactly have any bullying experiences, apart from Willow, his younger sister.
Jackie, you give an emotionally powerful and poignant performance, do you think this is the beginning of a new film career where its all about the acting rather than the action?
Yes! In Asia I can do whatever but in Hollywood its no no no, Rush Hour 3, Rush Hour 4. They just don’t give me the chance. Two years ago I was in a restaurant in Japan and someone said look – its Will Smith. I said oh “Hi Will” he said “Hey lets do a movie together” and I was like yeahh ok, everybody in Hollywood says this, but finally he did call and I thought I was playing the Karate Kid (laughs). I asked, “you really trust me without action?” Now I have proved I can act. I want to be an Asian Robert De Niro.
You have both managed to balance a successful career with a happy home life, how have you managed to do that?
(Will Smith) For me its hugely important to keep reminding myself that winning at family is more important than winning at the box office. I have my son that I push really hard to achieve something but Jada constantly reminds me that we have to consider the family first and the project second. I’m so used to letting nothing get in the way, like I did “Ali” with a broken thumb. It’s that mentality of how do you win if you’re not willing to lose everything and gamble everything? It comes down to faith, you have to connect to a greater purpose, you have to have meaning that beyond today and this project.
(Jada Pinkett Smith) Its very simple. Love. That’s everything. When you love authentically then you can really connect to whats needed and to provide whats needed.
(Jackie Chan) I used to care about money and box office, and we are lucky when we travel around the world. After I remember education is important and I want to do something meaningful. I like to correct myself. I am not god, I do bad things and I learn. I don’t know how much our box office was for Karate Kid, the most important thing is when people call me and say “wow Jackie, that was great”. Do something meaningful, its not about the money.
How big do you think Jaden will get and what advice do you give him?
(Will Smith) Well, in terms of box office, it was bigger than any of my movies other than “I am Legend” and “Hancock” so I’m wondering if he even needs to live at our house. (laughs). Its about people. This business and what we do – a lot of people get lost – but its about people feeding people. This way we wont get lost and your goal is about assisting the next person rather than getting what you want.
You hear a lot about child stars going off the rails, how do you feel this applies to Jaden?
(Jada Pinkett Smith) I think of of the advantages that Jaden has is that his parents have been doing this for a long time so we understand the industry, the dos and donts and ups and downs, also when your dad is still one of the worlds biggest movie stars it kinda keeps everything grounded. Jaden wont be paying any bills anytime soon. It may seem strange for most people, but for him, he grew up in the industry and its not foreign to him, he understands that this is a family business.
(Will Smith) He didn’t have the shock or the radical life change that child actors usually have coming into the business. Its not his first red carpet or anything, there’s a little bit of a shift because the focus is slightly more on him but its not a shock and he’s not all of a sudden become the breadwinner. Child stars are generally broken by the pressure of becoming the breadwinner of the household and the energy of the parent interacting with the child is then pressured and you almost lose your power. I think and I hope we have a handle on it and focus carefully on his energy, desire and love for it.
(Jaden) I think you should let me stay out a little longer. Like – Jaden you have to be back at 3am (laughs)
Jaden, What was the coolest thing about going to China, did you like the food?
I had hamburgers the whole time. It was fun but no one spoke English so it was a little weird but I had a great time while I was there.
Did you have much family time in China?
(Will Smith) It was pretty much a working trip.
(Jada Pinkett Smith) It was interesting to submerge our children into the culture. I remember when Jaden filmed the chase scenes, he said he had no idea people lived like that and he wanted to donate some of his money to Jackie’s foundation. It gave him the chance to experience things he might not have otherwise seen. Our daughter, Willow fell in love with the language and is now learning Mandarin. It was really fantastic to have 4 months in China for the experiences and they have a lot of affinity for China now.
It couldn’t have been straight forward to film in China, tell us about the logistics?
(Harald Zwart) We were a big Hollywood production – we had 20 trailers. I knew we had to re think our structure if we were supposed to get these authentic shots. The scene where Jaden skateboards through the streets is just us hiding with a little monitor, we could never have done any of that, or the temple shots. Will carried Jaden up the steps to save his breath for the acting – Jackie carried sound equipment – we were like a student film crew. We knew we could only do this is we became like an independent movie. So they all gave up their trailers and everything was done with a small team. The Chinese were so welcoming, the doors at Forbidden City had not been opened since the last emperor died and we could not have done that if we were a heavy Hollywood production.
Will, has Jaden threatened to kick your ass yet?
He hasn’t made the full on attempt yet, but hes leaned his shoulder in to see what man meet feels like…
The Karate Kid Film Page (2010)
THE KARATE KID IS IN UK CINEMAS NOW