Recent tabloids suggest things are not going swimmingly for Will Smith at home, so constant work may benefit the former Fresh Prince’s good spirits. He’s got Concussion coming this Christmas, Suicide Squad still in production and now, in just a matter of months, he’s got the lead role in Collateral Beauty, the highly buzzed-about Me & Earl & the Dying Girl follow-up for director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, to keep his mind preoccupied at the moment.
Smith takes the role from fellow superhero star Hugh Jackman, who departed Black Mass and, while the filmmakers did court the actor at some point in time, he either turned it down or Smith edged him out.
Smith joins Rooney Mara in the drama, centered on a recently-depressed (hey, how fitting!) New York advertising executive (that part, not so much) befallen from a recent tragedy and taken through an unconventional plan from his colleagues to get out of his recent dour slump, although through a means they weren’t exactly expecting. Jason Segel, at least at one point, also became attached to the project, and though his name doesn’t appear in this trade he’s still expected to appear.
In addition to starring in the project, Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment is also on-board to co-produce beside Anonymous Content, Likely Story and PalmStar. The latter two paid $2.25 million for Allan Loeb‘s original screenplay and, though the writer isn’t necessarily known for his hits (his resume includes Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Here Comes the Boom and So Undercover, just to name a select few), there must be something with his latest screenplay to get this exceptional team of talent attached. Also a producer on the film, maybe this is his moment to shine.
Production is scheduled to begin this October, which means Smith will only have a handful of months to jump between productions and also get his affairs in order. Maybe this film will be a cleanser, emotionally and spiritually, for him. It looks as though things are fairly exhausting for him at the moment. [Deadline]
