Will Smith says dealing with the mortality of his father helped him prepare for his "Collateral Beauty" role

Record ID: 76680

  • Title: Will Smith says dealing with the mortality of his father helped him prepare for his "Collateral Beauty" role
  • Date: 8th December 2016
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 2, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID FRANKEL, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "It's been our date forever, you know, the moment I signed on they said this is - you're going up against 'Star Wars,' ok great. To me that's like playing in the major leagues, you know, I did 'Devil Wears Prada' we opened against 'Superman' and that turned out great."
  • Embargoed: 23rd December 2016 16:22
  • Keywords: Will Smith Collateral Beauty Helen Mirren Naomie Harris Edward Norton movie film
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
  • City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA00C5C0TKCT
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Love, death and time come to life in the new film "Collateral Beauty."
    Packed with an all-star cast that includes Will Smith, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet, the movie explores how people deal with life's difficult moments.
    "It's about the reality, and I know this in my life, the reality that in the darkest and most difficult of moments there is incredible, there can be, great beauty - and it's sort of one of the great miracles of life. And I'm not religious, but I do see this miracle occurring again and again," explained Mirren.
    At the center of the film is Smith's character who is dealing with a traumatic loss and is struggling to put his life back together. In an effort to reconnect and reengage with the world, his friends send him love, time and death embodied by people.
    "I just thought, 'Oh my God, this could be a disaster.' Because it was so unexpected, what the story is about is unexpected," said Mirren of the complex story.
    "The way in which the story was told was unexpected. The form of it was unexpected. And I thought this could either be kind of cool and kind of good or it could be an absolute disaster," added Mirren, who played death.
    Knightley took on the character of love and newcomer, Jacob Latimore portrayed time.
    Director David Frankel said the story is both surprising and uncommon and took extra care in getting it right.
    "Our biggest challenge in terms of making the movie was trying to find the right balance, you know, the right tone between humor and drama. I call it a screwball drama because it's this wacky story with these very dramatic moments."
    Co-star Edward Norton, who plays one of Smith's friends, said the story has a familiar feel.
    "This is a film in the tradition of things like 'It's a Wonderful Life' or "Terms of Endearment' things that just sort of grapple with what's hard, what's scary and make you feel pretty good in the end."
    Shortly after accepting the role, Smith's father was diagnosed with cancer and he was forced to confront his impending mortality while preparing the character.
    "It was a full wide open confutation with the harsh reality of death and loss. And was able to do it from an artistic place. So we were able to have conversations and if they got a little too heavy we'd shift to talking character. So it was such a beautiful way to deal with and develop the character," said Smith. His father died on November 7.
    The film opens on December 16 and goes up against "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," however the competition doesn't faze Frankel.
    "It's been our date forever, you know, the moment I signed on they said this is - you're going up against 'Star Wars,' ok great. To me that's like playing in the major leagues, you know, I did 'Devil Wears Prada' we opened against 'Superman' and that turned out great."
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