The Sequels Are Coming, Hancock Over Fist
They're ba-a-ack.
Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman are all onboard to reprise their immortal god and PR guru roles, respectively, in a sequel to last year's summer blockbuster.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the 3,000-year-old world from whence Smith's and Theron's characters came will be explored, with the dynamic duo teaming up to deal with a third ne'er-do-well.
Theoretically, anyway. No contracts have yet been signed, but director Peter Berg nonetheless made the hopefully not preemptive announcement at the Toronto Film Festival this week.
Fingers crossed he doesn't wind up eating those words.
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Check out who else has signed on the dotted line in our Casting Couch gallery.
Will Smith Takes Care of Business, Kardashians Keep Spinning Off
Hollywood's heaviest hitter is tending to some Unfinished Business.
Will Smith has teamed up with the Sci Fi Channel—which, after July 7 will be called Syfy—to produce a new crime procedural about an ex-cop who resolves to help the recently deceased tie up their earthly loose ends.
The cable net will kickoff the series with a two-hour TV movie that will double as the pilot episode.
Meanwhile, the mothership here at E! is prepping a double dose of reality, greenlighting shows that will respectively chronicle the tabloid-friendly lives of Lorenzo Lamas and his brood and the continuing adventures of Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian.
Looks like keeping up with the latter family just became a slightly more time-consuming endeavor.
Rise 'n' Shine: Keira Knightley Only Reads Snail Mail
• Keira Knightley might be getting a bit big for her britches...and you all know we don't mean she's put on weight. "I hate the Internet," she says, claiming she feels email and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are "dehumanizing." Funny, didn't Demi Moore just save a life by reaching out to fans?
• Does Gwyneth Paltrow really want another kiddo, or does she want the world to think she and hubby Chris Martin are still on solid ground?
• We would be doing you a great disservice by not introducing you to Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle.
• Drew Barrymore continues along her tour de exes and has dinner with Fabrizio Moretti.
• Someone buy Bobby Brown a pizza already.
• Dear Will Smith: We totally walk around singing Lady Gaga's "pa pa pa Poker Face" too! Love, Rise 'n' Shine
All the rays being caught in the Big Picture gallery today make it look like it's sunny everywhere!
Exclusive
Will Smith Calls Original Karate Kid for Advice
Will Smith gave Ralph Macchio quite the surprise recently, calling the Karate Kid star out of the blue to talk about his remake of the 1984 film. Smith's a producer on the updated kickfest, and his son Jaden is set to star.
"It was very cool," Macchio tells E! News. "He called and said, 'Would you mind getting on the phone with my son?' I felt like Yoda to young Skywalker."
The original Daniel-san, who currently has a guest spot on ABC's Ugly Betty, said Jaden was "adorable and completely respectful and excited. I just told him to have fun. That was my advice."
Macchio also says he might have talked a bit too "candidly" when he first spoke out about the remake in January...
Image Awards Reflect on Hudson, Smith, Beyoncé, Bees and Payne
Jennifer Hudson's ascension to stardom has been honored pretty much every step of the way.
The Oscar winner was somewhat anachronistically named Outstanding New Artist Thursday at the 40th NAACP Image Awards, which honors achievements by people of color in film, television, music and literature—and which, this year, happened to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the election of the United States' first black president.
Let's just say, it was quite the proud kudosfest.
Smith, Downey, Bale Shake Their '08 Moneymakers
As far as 2008 was concerned, it was Will Smith who banked the Benjamins Hancock-over-fist—the action hero has just been named the Top Moneymaking Star of the past year.
The A-lister with the most appeal was determined, per usual, by the annual Quigley Poll. The results are based on which stars movie theater owners and film buyers believe to be the year's biggest box-office draws—believe to be being the operative words.
While Smith unarguably banked a bundle last year, with grosses from Hancock and Seven Pounds earning a combined $271.8 million per Box Office Mojo, his total was mere chump change compared with a few ranked below him.
Robert Downey Jr., who came second on the Quigley list, had a total film gross of $432.7 million in 2008, $567.2 million if his cameo in The Incredible Hulk is factored in.
Even Christian Bale, who ranked third, made more money, with his sole 2008 release—The Dark Knight, as if you had to ask—lining theater owners' pockets to the tune of $530.9 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were the bankable likes of Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford, Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig.
Will Smith's Golfing Getaway
As the holiday season slowly winds down, many famous folks are winding down themselves by jetting off to various locales to chill out after a hectic '08.
Superstar Will Smith, for instance, who certainly kept busy this year with his hit flicks Hancock and Seven Pounds, broke free of the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for the leisure and links of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, this weekend.
Check out who else made equally great escapes in our Celeb Holiday Getaways gallery!
Jada Pinkett & Will Smith Snow Some Holiday Lovin'
Will Smith wants you to know that when he's missing in action over the holidays, you can blame his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
"Jada is a little crazy about Christmas," he said today on Good Morning America.
The Seven Pounds star wasn't just referring to trimming a tree and handing out presents. She loves snow, he explained, and begins researching—by watching the Weather Channel, natch—a location to spend the holidays three months in advance.
"It's all about wherever we can get snowed in," he said.
Smith also shared a little more about his wife's unusual stance on seeing her husband film a sex scene with someone else.
"I don't want anyone to think I'm taking this time for some legal cheating," he said.
Jada, he claims, feels that "whatever you give her is what they're gonna think you give me."
Will Smith's Karate Kid Ready for Remake
No (karate) kidding, Daniel-san: Nepotism is alive and well in Hollywood.
A year after Will Smith and his publicist shot down reports that the erstwhile Fresh Prince was working on a remake of Karate Kid starring son Jaden—"certainly not" was the official word—the project is now a go.
According to Variety, Columbia Pictures is waxing on for a remake of the 1984 classic, reworking it as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith, Will and Jada's 10-year-old progeny and his father's costar in The Pursuit of Happyness.
Hookup Alert! Smith & Spielberg Ready to Be Boys
Tom Cruise. Check. Tom Hanks. Check. Will Smith...
Steven Spielberg is about to shrink his A-list to-do list, with news that Mr. Blockbuster is ready to collaborate with Tinseltown's top director.
The superstars are in talks to team up for the thriller Oldboy, per Variety. Universal is remaking the acclaimed 2003 flick by Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park about a man who tries to figure out the mystery behind his abduction and 15-year captivity.
This would be the first collaboration for Spielberg and Smith, who have long expressed a desire to work together and, presumably, generate bucketloads of box office.
Meanwhile, Steve Carell and Keri Russell top the rest of the day's Casting Couch:
Will & Jada Get Tongues Wagging
When it comes to the pursuit of happiness, where there's a Will, there's a way.
Mr. Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, are so determined in this photo to express their infatuation for each other, they obviously don't have the patience to wait that one extra millisecond it would take for their lips to lock.
Granted, it's not as unsettling as, say, when Liza Minnelli sucked face with David what's-his-name, but it definitely got us thinking about other celebs who've managed to turn their PDA into LOL, like the ones in our Celebrity Makeout Mishaps gallery.
Burning Q's: Will vs. Blake & Dollars for Gaffers
Does A-lister refer strictly to movie stars, or can celebrities on hit TV shows also be included in the term?
—Jodi W.
Absolutely not. As I've reported in the past, the only true A-listers are movie stars who can, in old Hollywood parlance, "open" a picture. Will Smith is an A-lister. Blake Lively, despite that Vanity Fair cover that had her frolicking triumphantly in her underwear, is not. Onward, with more of your Burning Q's!
When will the Sex and the City DVD be released?
—Megan







