UNITED KINGDOM: Will Smith and Charlize Theron hit the red carpet in London for the premiere of 'Hancock'

Record ID: 219262

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Will Smith and Charlize Theron hit the red carpet in London for the premiere of 'Hancock'
  • Date: 26th June 2008
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM JUNE 17, 2008 (REUTERS) DANCERS AT HANCOCK PREMIERE IN LEICESTER SQUARE (2 SHOTS) CROWD AT PREMIERE DJ ON STAGE WITH 'ARE YOU READY FOR WILL SMITH' BEHIND HIM CLOSE UP OF DJ WILL SMITH ARRIVING PAN FROM PHOTOGRAPHERS TO SMITH MORE OF CROWD SMITH WALKING OVER TO FANS SMITH POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS, THEN WALKING OVER TO MEDIA SMITH TALKING TO MEDIA
  • Embargoed: 11th July 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA760ZGXPG50J8THAYAX1UBOSZG
  • Story Text: London's Leicester Square quickly filled up with thousands of screaming fans thanks to superstar Will Smith, who was joined by co-stars Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman for the UK Premiere of Hancock on Wednesday (June 18).
    In the film Smith plays perhaps the most hated superhero of all time.
    While the cranky Hancock fights crime and saves lives in Los Angeles, he apparently cares little for the people he rescues - or how much damage he does in the process. As a result of his offensive personality, and the cost of his crime fighting crusade to the city, Hancock is treated more like a pariah than a saviour.
    When he saves the life of an idealistic public relations agent, played by Arrested Development's Jason Bateman, the grateful rescuee decides to help give Hancock an image makeover.
    Smith, who almost always plays a nice guy, even when he's playing the tough guy, said the alcoholic, apathetic, mean tempered, destructive Hancock was an interesting turn for him.

    "It was a little different for me," he said. "It took a couple of weeks for me to get into it because that is the total opposite of my personality, totally politically incorrect and all of that, but after a while it began to be a little sneaky fun."
    But while Smith denies he is anything like Hancock, his wife, actress Jada Pickett-Smith apparently disagrees.

    "You know, Jada said, Jada-- we were watching the film together and she said: 'You know, people don't know that's how you would be,' she was like, 'you are Hancock, that's the guy you suppress inside you but you are Hancock'," Smith told Reuters.
    Smith is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars at the moment, whose name usually equals automatic box office success, but the actor remains philosophical about his success.

    "I'm just going to keep making movies while that's the case, because all things that rise must fall," he laughed.
    Charlize Theron, who stars as Jason Bateman's wife, and the woman who has a relationship with Hancock that is a secret even to him, said she liked the idea of doing a super hero film where the main character may be able to fly, has super strength and is bullet proof, but is far from perfect.

    "You know I think it's been more than a year since we've had a new super hero, so just based on that I thought you know what, this is going to be interesting and I like that Akiva (Goldsman - producer) was brave enough to talk that image and turn it upside down and do something new with it,"
    she said.
    Hancock opens in UK cinemas on July 2.
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