VERY SCHMOOZER in Hollywood says to every other schmoozer that they should work together someday, and almost nobody means it. But a long-term, respectful industry friendship between Philadelphia natives M. Night Shyamalan and Will Smith did amount to something - their new sci-fi spectacle "After Earth," also starring Smith's son Jaden. "We just kind of knew each other lightly over the years. Will's been gracious, keeping in touch. We've met over the last four or five years in LA, we'll get a meal and talk about stuff, and he's always been super receptive to those kinds of meetings," said Shyamalan. "We'll just talk in general about movies, what we've done, what we've learned, what was tough, what was successful. We always felt a bond, and we always felt we'd do something together, if we got a chance, but never anything specific." One day, Shyamalan got a birthday call from Smith, and the two started talking about Jaden. "I had just seen 'The Karate Kid' two weeks before, and told Will what a wonderful job Jaden had done, showing emotion and charm, all the colors you'd want to see from anybody. So Will says, 'What do you think of this idea?' " said the director, who listened to Smith's pitch for "After Earth," a father-son adventure set on a wild, hostile and uninhabited (by humans) Earth 1,000 years hence. "And after two minutes of talking about the movie, that was all I needed. I really connected with it. Plus, it came pre-cast with Will Smith and Jaden Smith." Read more http://www.philly.com/philly/entert...a_film_legends_team_up_for__After_Earth_.html
