USA: Will Smith, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones talk aliens and how "Men In Black 3" brings back some of the verve of the original

Record ID: 860213

  • Title: USA: Will Smith, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones talk aliens and how "Men In Black 3" brings back some of the verve of the original
  • Date: 8th May 2012
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 4, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) English, WILL SMITH, "MEN IN BLACK 3" STAR, SAYING: "If you mess up Agent K, that's a little bit of a career assassination. It was one of the most iconic duos of American cinematic history, but the first time he opened up his mouth on set, he got applause. It was such an uncanny portrayal, and he's actually not going to get credit because it's so perfect, it just goes away. By five minutes in, you're just watching a young Tommy Lee Jones."
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2012 13:00
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  • Location: Usa
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  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA3LRO9QHPX0EIXIPSXDBTB76TS
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  • Story Text: Will Smith stars in "Men in Black 3," his first movie in four years, and spoke about aliens and Josh Brolin's extraordinary depiction of a young Tommy Lee Jones.
    "If you mess up Agent K, that's a little bit of a career assassination," Smith said. "It was one of the most iconic duos of American cinematic history, but the first time he opened up his mouth on set, he got applause. It was such an uncanny portrayal, and he's actually not going to get credit because it's so perfect, it just goes away. By five minutes in, you're just watching a young Tommy Lee Jones."
    The film is the third installment of the "Men in Black" series, and follows Smith's character, Agent J, back in time to change history and stop an alien from assassinating his fellow alien monitor and partner, Agent K.
    Brolin said he welcomed the challenge of playing a young Agent K after portraying George W. Bush in 2008's "W."
    "Tommy, to me, is a much more difficult cadence than W was, so it was a challenge that I think I would've regretted had I turned it down, and I don't want to regret anything," he said.
    Jones, 65, thought the first and most recent "Men in Black" movies had the most imagination.
    "When it works, it's funny and it's scary and it offers originality, which is a scarce commodity; that describes the first one," Jones said. "The second one was very successful but didn't work quite as well because we didn't find the requisite originality. I think there's some rather original thinking going on with this movie."
    Smith joked that if aliens did exist, they'd visit him first.
    "I think it would be arrogant of us as humans to think that we're the only living creatures in the universe," the 43-year-old actor said. "I haven't met any yet and I hope not to, but if they show up they'll probably come to my house because of all those alien movies I made. They're going to think I know something."
    "Men in Black 3" opens in theaters May 25.
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