Straight off the successful opening of his movie "Hitch,"
Columbia pictures is in negotiations to finance a new movie being developed
for Will Smith titled "Tonight He Comes," a drama about a destitute
superhero.
The movie is about a superhero that crash-lands in Sheepshead
Bay, New York.
The main character drinks, smokes and has one-night stands to
ease his unhappiness. The superhero protagonist gets a fresh viewpoint when
he becomes attracted to a married woman.
Though "Tonight" has reportedly struggled to get going
because of its bleak storyline, it has appealed to film executives for some
time now as one of the best un-produced films.
Smith has yet-to-commit to the film.
Smith’s recent success at the box office, especially during
opening weekend, was further incentive to jumpstart production of the film.
The Philadelphia native’s weekend opening average of $34.2 million is more than
any other actor, including Mike Myers and Jim Carrey.
Columbia hopes Jonathan Mostow, who is developing "Terminator
4," will direct the film. Akiva Goldsman and Michael Mann will produce.
Former "X-Files" writer and executive producer Vince
Gilligan wrote the current adaptation of the original script, written by Vincent
Ngo.
In related news, Smith is also set to host Nelson Mandela’s
"46664" AIDS awareness concert on March 16 in South Africa. The event,
which is named after Mandela’s prison ID number, features performances from
India Arie, Annie Lennox, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen.
The concert sheds light on disparaging statistics that place
South African women and girls more than six times more likely than men to become
infected with the AIDS virus, said Mandela.
South Africa’s first black president, Mandela has fought for
AIDS victims in Africa, where about 25 million of the world’s 40 million HIV-infected
people reside.
The former South African president’s eldest son recently died
of an AIDS-related illness.