This Neo

" I woulda just messed it up"... Will Smith talking about how his maturity as an actor led him to turn down the Matrix( and make Wild Wild West).  Side brotha note before I get into this..... I always wonder how the pitch goes to executives and how movies get made.... "Ok. we are gonna make a black and white buddy flick set in the west based on an old tv show that was not really all that popular.  We got the stuttering dude from a Fish Called Wanda and the Fresh Prince!"  Give me money!"  Big I digress!


Those of you who know me well, know that I am a big Will Smith fan and I will bump for him on damn near all his movie choices....except for this

and definetly not for this

Its funny when even youtube knows this movie sucks and streams it in its entirety!




Oh and lets not forget about this

Beyond that, give me a Will Smith movie in action, drama, comedy, and I'm there for that opening weekend.  I even saw Men in Black 3- which is not great but I will support Will Smith.  Will Smith is the closest thing Black people have to pre-crazy Tom Cruise.  He is( was) a true A list movie star and made hit after hit out of movies that may not have been that great but are carried by the power that is Will Smith.

But lets go back to 1999 and speculate if Will Smith had become Neo.  How does that make the Matrix any better or worse?  In a sense, I can see what he meant about not wanting to mess that movie up.  1999 Will Smith was just becoming an actor and not playing the Fresh Prince.  His humor and personality may have overwhelmed a movie based upon levels of psychology that may have gotten lost with Will hamming it up.  But it would've added a layer to the Neo/Morpheus relationship if they are both African-American and take it from mentor/mentee to a father/son relationship which would make the belief that Morpehus has in "the One" stronger.

I also find it interesting that the super philosophical Will Smith now, may have really related to the philosophy of the Matrix and how it may have affected his future movie choices.  Do we get this version of Will Smith earlier than we did.

Hell maybe he coulda helped explain to me what the hell the Architect was talking about at the end of Matrix Reloaded

Side brotha note-- I have watched that movie about 12 times. I have watched it awake, sleepy, sober, not sober.... That scene still makes no sense and I fully believe it was the downfall of the movie and the franchise. But I digress( at least it wasn't Revolutions)

Will Smith has gotten to that point in his career where he has to make choices that will define or ruin his career.  It is no longer 1999 and turning down roles that may be risky...he may not be able to be so choosy.  He turned down the jamie Foxx role in Django because it "was not the lead". Myabe its time to take some risks.   Looking at his IMDB, his upcoming films make you kinda cringe a bit tho- Suicide Squad, a football concussion movie, Bad Boys 3... Maybe its time to take some risks but if the Wachowski's call for anything at this point, let that shit go to voicemail.