Will Smith’s latest film, After Earth, which opened Friday didn’t hit the high box-office gross that it was expected to. As of Sunday morning, the film had grossed only $27 million dollars which put it third place behind Now You See Me and Fast and Furious 6.
In addition to Columbia Pictures, Will Smith’s entertainment production company, Overbrook Entertainment, was also involved in After 
Earth. This isn’t surprising considering Will and his son, Jaden, are in the film. However, Overbrook Entertainment has also done projects not staring any of the Smiths and the company ranges from film to television to music.
Taking this into consideration, there is a lot Overbrook Entertainment has the ability to do. Disappointing first-weekend numbers for After Earth aside, Will Smith has made incredible pieces of entertainment on screen and on wax time and time again, so why not do continue to do the same from behind the scenes as well?
And so, AllHipHop.com has made a list of 10 things we would want to see Overbrook Entertainment produce in the future.
10). Marvelous World
Given the popularity of book-turned-film-magic and superpower teen franchises (i.e. Harry Potter and Twilight), Overbrook Entertainment should continue the trend and adapt The Marvelous World Saga for the screen as well. The book chronicles the adventures of a teen and would be perfect for Jaden and the story, crafted by Troy CLE, has been praised universally!
9). More Movie Remakes
With the success of The Karate Kid remake in 2010, Overbrook should do another remake. This time though, perhaps they could take a more dramatic route? I think another classic 80s film that could be updated for this generation is Lean on Me. If Don Cheadle played Joe Louis Clark and Jaden Smith was Thomas Sams, that could be cool.
8). Dope Movie Soundtracks
Recently Overbrook’s musical endeavors have been limited to stuff by Jaden and Willow Smith, but the company helped put together a solid soundtrack for 2000’s Love & Basketball with music from the likes of Al Green and Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock. They did a good job before, and so they should definitely do it again for another movie. From Will’s history in rap to Jada’s work in nu metal via Wicked Evolution (formerly Wicked Wisdom), they clearly have the range and the interest to potentially put together some real interesting stuff.
7) More Philly Rappers!
Schoolly D. The Roots. Cassidy. Eve. Beanie Sigel. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Clearly, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has
made numerous contributions to the world of rap. It would be an amazing thing if Overbrook Entertainment (named after a neighborhood in West Philadelphia) helped give a new unknown Philly rapper a shot at the big-time.
6). Reality TV With A Positive Twist
In terms of television, it would be difficult to do a sitcom for a couple reasons. One being that there just aren’t that many sitcoms on television anymore and secondly it would be very difficult for anything associated with Will Smith to get out from under the shadow of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. However, maybe a positive reality show chronicling some of the efforts of Project Zambia could be done? Project Zambia, among other things, provides assistance for Zambian children orphaned by AIDS. Will Smith’s children are all youth ambassadors for it.
5). Produce Something With T.I.
As some people may or may not know, Will Smith was a producer on the 2006 flick ATL with T.I. Mr. Harris showed his dramatic acting ability there and then a year later held his own on screen with Denzel Washington in American Gangster. With the popularity of The Family Hustle as of late though, people may have forgotten or are not aware of T.I.’s skills as a professional actor. I think Will Smith and co. should give the King of the South another opportunity to demonstrate his dramatic chops in front of the camera.
4). Sharpen The Nu Metal
Jada Pinkett Smith has had a very versatile career. From a young mother in Menace II Society to a bank robber in Set it Off to a doctor on Hawthorne, and that’s just naming a few of her memorable roles. One thing though that still took many people by surprise was when she became part of a nu metal band. To assist in presenting herself in this light, Overbrook should do a documentary about the band on their next tour. It would make skeptics from all angles know that Jada and her band, Wicked Evolution, are the real deal.
3). Let Willow Blossom
Love or hate the digital age of music we find ourselves in today, it’s undeniable. And one person who has benefited greatly from this is Justin Bieber. And while his song with Jaden Smith, “Never Say Never,” helped promote a few movies, Justin has yet to do something with Willow Smith, Jaden’s younger sister. Her primary focus is music and although she did open for him on the European leg of one of his tours, the “Whip My Hair” star hasn’t yet officially recorded anything with Usher’s protege. If a collaboration were to occur, between the huge buzz that the young stars have on the Internet and the power of their respective camps, something could definitely happen that would take the pop world by storm. (Editor’s note: Willow has recently decided to go back to school to be a normal 12-year-old and devote more time to her friends and studies.)
2). Unite Very Distance Rap Relatives
Nas has written stuff for Will Smith and Will showed Nas and Damien Marley a lot of support for Distant Relatives. I think it would be amazing if these two Hip-Hop legends could rap together on a record. Even if it put each of them a bit out of their comfort zones, they’re both talented and creative enough to do something positively memorable.
1). Do Like Jamie Foxx
According to press reports, Will Smith turned down a part in Django Unchained because he wasn’t offered the lead by writer/director Quentin Tarantino. However, considering Tarantino’s is one of cinema’s most acclaimed filmmakers and Smith is a Hollywood superstar with range (i.e. he played a homosexual con-man in Six Degrees of Separation), it would be incredible to see the end result of these two working on a film together.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with these ideas? Do you have some of your own? Speak your mind in the comments section!