Will Smith has revealed that his "After Earth" co-star and son Jaden has asked to be legally emancipated for his 15th birthday.
Although this seems like it would be a difficult gift to put a bow on, Smith seems OK with the idea -– or at least cool enough to laugh it off. Smith told The Sun, "[Jaden] says, 'Dad, I want to be emancipated.' I know if we do this, he can be an emancipated minor, because he really wants to have his own place, like ooh…"
Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, are known for their laid-back approach to parenting. As Smith notes, "That's the backlash. On the other side, if kids just want to have command of their lives, I understand." Plenty of folks have tisk-tisk'd over the Smith kids and their choices, like Willow's punky style, but the method seems to be working well for the family. And they're definitely a successful bunch so far, from Jaden's acting career to Willow's music moves.
Jaden's acting career has mostly been under the tutelage of his father, Will. The two appeared as father and son in "The Pursuit of Happyness," and the elder Smith later produced a reboot of "The Karate Kid," which was Jaden's first starring role. They're reprising their onscreen relationship again in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film "After Earth," which opens May 31. Smith is also a producer on the film.
"After Earth" takes place in a dystopian future where humans live on planet Nova Prime; they left for mysterious reasons referred to only as a catastrophe. Cypher (Will Smith) is a commanding officer trying to bond with his less successful son Kitai (Jaden) by taking him on a mission to Earth. When they are the only survivors of a crash landing, they have to get to know each other better really quickly out of necessity.
Naturally, there are parallels between their onscreen and off-screen relationship, as Smith notes. "[Y]our father's the biggest movie star in the world, and you're struggling for your little piece of dignity in this extreme shadow."
Will Jaden soon be living on his own? Will their onscreen collaboration mean big box-office earnings? We'll have to wait until the end of May to find out about the latter, at least.
[via Herald Sun]
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