Will

by Will Smith

After Earth was set one millennium in the future, after humankind had rendered the planet uninhabitable. Father and son crash-land in the most dangerous place in the universe: Earth. The interiors of the film had been shot in Philly, and the exteriors would be captured in Moab, Utah, and Costa Rica. Jaden’s character, Kitai, would have to make his way through jungles, rivers, plains, canyons, and volcanic streams in order to save his injured father. I was determined to create a joyful and loving environment for Jaden on set. Costa Rica was hot (slangily and temperature-wise). I had giant, air-conditioned tents set up at every location so Jaden could chill between shots—ping-pong tables, food, music, somewhere he could take a nap. “What the fuck is this tent shit?” Darrell said, pulling me to the side. “It’s hot, D, I just want him to be comfortable.” “Comfortable? You gon’ make this little nigga soft. Your character is the top general in the universe. How he supposed to save your ass comin’ out of a fuckin’ tent? Let his ass wait in the sun like everybody else.” Darrell had been my mentor, my coach, and confidant for a decade now. He had prodded and pounded and propelled me into my wildest dreams. He knew how to build winners; he had been there with Sugar Ray versus Marvin Hagler; he knew how to design soldiers. I’m not sure why I didn’t just tell him what I was going through and what I was doing; I was probably embarrassed, or maybe I just concluded that he wouldn’t under...