Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922

Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
1
The creation of an A list Hollywood star- Will Smith with a focus on The Pursuit of
Happyness
Presentation Script
Slide One:
PROJECTOR: The creation of an A list Hollywood star- Will Smith with a focus on The
Pursuit of Happyness.
PRESENTER: My focus statement which I will discuss in more detail throughout the
presentation.


Slide Two:
PROJECTOR:






PRESENTER:
This presentation focuses on the creation of a Hollywood actor and how he became
successful. My focus film will be The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). I would like to provide a
deeper understanding to how Will Smith has become so successful through his career. I will
also discuss his best and worst films and his first film using my other two films as examples.

Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922
Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
2
Slide Three:
PROJECTOR: Will Smiths background

PRESENTER:
(Read board for first point)
My grandmother once told me, 'Don't let failure go to your heart and don't let success go to
your head.' This suggests how his grandmother told him to not stop trying when he does
fail at things but also not to get over confident when success comes. This quote may be a
driving force towards Will Smiths success.
In Will Smiths biography it states that people would buy tickets just because they wanted
to see what he would do next. This relates to my statement which is the creation of an A
list Hollywood star. Will Smith has certain qualities which make him so popular in the film
industry. Also in his biography it says that people were going to see a Will Smith movie, not
a movie that just happened to star Will Smith. (Item 5)
The link talks about Will Smith from his early career throughout.

Slide Four:
PROJECTOR: VIDEO CLIP: Trailer for The Pursuit of Happyness










Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922
Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
3

Slide Five:
PROJECTOR: Topics:
Will Smith early career
Will Smiths first film
Films Smith has been in looking at Box Office figures
Will Smiths most successful film and how it became successful
Best and worst film
Will Smiths future in Hollywood
Will Smith Vs Jamie Foxx
Black identity
Conclusion
PRESENTER: In this presentation, I will focus on these topics which relate to Will Smiths
success.

Slide Six:
PROJECTOR: Smiths Early Career
PRESENTER: When smith decided to enter the movie business, as he told the television
programme 60 Minutes, he did so in a very deliberate fashion.
First he gathered the right data- information was current, accurate, relevant and sufficient
to make his decision. Second, he analysed it for patterns or insights, and discovered that the
top 10 movies included special effects; nine of 10 included special effects with creatures.
In the mid- 1990s, when the biggest movie actors were Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks, Smith
opted against making the same films as they did. Instead his strategy was to look at the top-
grossing movies and how they got successful. He used his research and applied it to his case
which contributed to him being successful.
(Item 9)

Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922
Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
4


Slide Seven:
PROJECTOR: First film- Where the Day Takes You 1992
PRESENTER: Where the Day Takes You is about a group of teen-age runaways who try to
survive in the streets of Los Angeles. Drugs, prostitution, and violence all pose threats to the
kids, who nevertheless prefer this harsh life to going back to their families. The first film Will
Smith contributed in was Where the Day Takes You. In one of the reviews by Roger Ebert he
says that the movie is effective, well-acted and convincing. However he also says that the
story is convincing up until the end. Most of Smiths movies that he has recently been in
have a great ending whether it is happy or emotional (Item 10). I believe that as the ending
in this film was not good is it the main reason why it was not successful. In another article by
Tambay A. Obenson he said that Will isnt the star of the film, but he gets his moments to
shine in a film (Item 11). Even though Will wasnt the star he was still engaging with the
audience.




Slide Eight:
PROJECTOR: Some films Smith has been in with figures from Box Office Mojo
PRESENTER: As you can see these are some of the films Smith has been in. Where the
Day Takes you was ranked 21 which was the lowest in the Box Office Mojo. Also the lifetime
gross of the film was very low, $390,152. The reason behind this could be that the studio
behind the film was not good. Another reason can be that as Smith was not the main
protagonist of the film, Where the Day Takes You may not have appealed to many
audiences. (Item 16)
Slide Nine:
PROJECTOR: Some films Smith has been in with figures from Box Office Mojo
PRESENTER: These are also more of the films Smith has been in. I Am Legend was ranked
number two in the Box Office Mojo and the lifetime gross was quite high, $256,393,010. The
studio behind this film was the warner brothers which could be a reason why the film was
so successful in the film industry. (Item 16)
Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922
Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
5


Slide Ten:
PROJECTOR: Will Smiths most successful film and how it became successful.
PRESENTER: One of the most successful films produced by Will Smith was I am legend
2007. Theres something about making movies that just really gets me excited, said the
star of Independence Day and I Am Legend, who has been Hollywoods most bankable
star of the past two decades says Ben Child from the guardian (Item 12). I Am Legend was
said to be one of the toughest one Will Smith has done since Ali as stated in empires
greatest winter preview ever! (Item 6)
Smith also said I love people being wrapped in a story and being able to deliver that
emotional punch line at the end. I believe that the reason why Smiths films become
successful is because of the emotion that is delivered throughout his films. (Item 12)
Smith decided not to rely on his gut feeling, rather he looked at what the customer wanted
and responded with a product to suit them. This is one way in which his films become
successful as he always takes on the audiences perspective on board. (Item 9)
Slide Eleven:
PROJECTOR: Best and worst movie
PRESENTER: Smiths best movie that made the most lifetime gross was Independence Day
which made a lifetime gross of $306,169,268. Independence Day followed the model of
Smith looking at other top 10 movies and seeing what they consisted off. For example
special effects and love stories. Both Independence Day and Men in Black grossed $1.3
billion combined.
Smiths worst movie was actually his first film Where the Day Takes You which only made a
lifetime gross of $390,152. The reason why this film may not have been successful is
because Smith himself was not the protagonist and was shown very little times throughout
the film. The film may not have engaged with the audience much compared to if he was the
protagonist.



Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922
Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
6



Slide Twelve:
PROJECTOR: Will Smith Vs Jamie Foxx
PRESENTER: Smith has taken over Tom Cruises mantle as the surest thing in Hollywood. Hes also
got the chops, with two Oscar nominations (Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness). Foxx, however, also
has two nominations (for Ray, and a supporting nomination for Collateral). (Item 15)
You could also say that Will Smith is a better actor as he is able to take on other peoples roles
quickly. For example in the book 21
st
Century Lives Film Stars it talks about his acting style, star
quality and top awards. The book also has a quote from Muhammad Ali in 2002 which refers to
Smith taking on Alis role. This suggests that Will Smith is able to do many roles which would
contribute towards him being an A list Hollywood star. (Item 4)



Slide Thirteen:
PROJECTOR: Will Smiths future in Hollywood
PRESENTER: This 12 minute extract talks about Will Smiths success. Will became a millionaire
at the age of twenty (Item 8). This relates to him being a star in Hollywood as made a lot of
money in his early life. He is a highly motivated individual; this would play a part in his
future in Hollywood. In one of his documentaries he stated that when the other guys are
sleeping and eating he is working. This proves that Smith is very committed to his career
and would like to go very far. (Item 7). At this stage in his career, Smith says, he is less
concerned with big-budget films, and more interested in exploring his creativity and artistic
nature (hence doing family projects for the past three years or so.) (Item 13)
Avneet Sandhu Candidate Number: 7240 Centre Number: 12922
Presentation Script
Word Count: 1564
FM3 Research Project
7


Slide Fourteen:
PROJECTOR: Will Smiths future in Hollywood
PRESENTER: Will Smith is thinking about going into politics- Jada said. He once said he
could imagine becoming a US president. He wasnt joking; he was quite serious about it.
Will and I want to leave traces on this planet and with that I mean more important traces
than just films, she said. (Item 14)

Slide Fifteen
Conclusion:
Overall I believe that Will Smith got very successful because of the strategy he used
throughout his career. Smith planned his career out by looking at things like other top
grossing movies and what they consisted off. He looked out for things like special effects
and the themes of movies. If Smith did not have a strategy that he followed he may not
have been as successful.