8 Days A Week

Friday 12.19

Trianglewide
Will Smith and Seven Pounds
Theaters Everywhere—Celebrity is newsworthy. It drew statewide media and roughly 1,000 fans to a Charlotte multiplex premiere of Seven Pounds—featuring the film's star, Will Smith. It encouraged those fans to stand in line in the rain, some for up to six hours, in hope of getting a ticket. And frankly, it's overwhelming. The lobby of the multiplex, packed to capacity two full hours before Smith's scheduled arrival, had its every vertical surface emblazoned with Smith's visage, giving the actor a Mao-like omnipresence in the room. A DJ played cuts from Smith's musical career—from "Parents Just Don't Understand" to "Just The Two Of Us"—while the crowd clawed at the air for free T-shirts.

The event benefited Second Harvest Food Bank in Charlotte, and when Smith finally walked into the room at 6:40 p.m., he announced he'd be donating 300 Christmas turkeys to local families, setting the tone for the premiere. "Part of playing this character has really shaken up that concept in my mind," Smith said of his stated belief that we're all responsible for helping each other out in hard times. In Seven Pounds, his character gives of himself as a method of atonement. In real life, it's promotion. And it'd be a lot easier to be cynical if Smith wasn't so likeable. But there he was, donning an honorary Panthers jersey and mugging for the crowd, beatboxing at the podium when the masses chanted his name, and greeting the damp thousand with handshakes, hugs and that million-dollar smile. It's the same easy charm that makes all of his movie characters relatable and empathetic to an audience. He's a movie star 100 percent of the time. "I'm very happy to be here," he said, smiling. "We've got a fantastic cause and hopefully a pretty good movie, too." —Bryan Reed

Independent Weekly, 12/17/08