Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to be part of an upcoming music vid "Dad was tough but not tyrannical," Smith told Essence. [He] wouldnt give me a damn inch, said Smith in a 2018 interview with podcast Rap Radar. He and Uncle Phil embrace each other crying, as the camera zooms in on Will's present: a statue of an African father holding his young son. People were crying for a long time when it was over, doing their best not to make noise before the director said cut.". I ain't need him then and I don't need him now. "How come he don't want me, man?" Directed by Shelley Jensen with a script from David Zuckerman and Bill Boulware, "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" is about Will's father, played by Ben Vereen,. Ain't like I'ma be sitting up every night asking my mom, "When's Daddy coming home? However, Philadelphia is a large city and Smith is a common name worldwide. He loves dancing, especially to Tom Jonesand theSugarhill Gang. You might notice his hat coming off. Phillip however, makes no effort to be civil towards Lou, showing downright hostility towards him, in questioning him over what possessed him to suddenly return, and why he isn't sending any money to his wife and child that he abandoned, when he's clearly making some with his profession as a truck driver. : He showed up, did this scene in one take, then disappeared again. We went brick by brick for the entire summer and into winter and then back into spring. The young actor would go on to deliver one of the biggest emotional punches in Fresh Prince history. Just for a couple of weeks. I'ma get through college without him, I'ma get a great job without him, I'ma marry me a beautiful honey, and I'ma have me a whole bunch of kids. : I was actually at the taping. The first one went extremely well while the second album, not so much. The trend of very special anti-drug family sitcom episodes was inspired explicitly byNancy Reagan, to the point where she literally appeared in an episode ofDiff'rent Strokesto deliver her anti-drug screed, and the relationship between the Reagan administration, drugs, and the Black community is a vile one to study (making the interpolation of "Just Say No" as "Just Say Yo" feel particularly gross). : We're doing alright, huh? Philip Banks Will Smith described the scene where Will breaks down as one of his most difficult as a young actor, as he was unsure if he was able to properly convey the right emotions. Release Dates [3] And when it digs into this core, it doesn't need silly jokes. Will's father is a deadbeat who left him and his mom flat. You know what, you ain't got to do nothing, Uncle Phil. : Smith was known for his clean lyrics, and his hits were . Daddy-O! But Carlton is actually, literally Phil's son. Im messing up the lines because I wanted it so bad, Smith said in the podcast interview. Will Smith: Hey man, it's cool if you just call me Will, man. Young Ashley Banks (Tatyana Ali) is growing up. William 'Will' Smith: [shouts] To hell with him! Tells him he grew up on the streets of Baltimore. (Via), Smith: My father was in the military, so everything was really regimented.. Man, I'm glad you're here. In another interview with Reader's Digest, he explained that his father actually supported his dreams of pursuing a career in music. There had been a lot of interest in an episode about Wills dad, according to Fresh Prince writer David Zuckerman, given that the entire premise of the show was based on Will being sent to live with his rich aunt and uncle because his mother, raising him alone, wants him out of their rough neighborhood. The rest of the series includes commentary about Black relationships with the police (think DJ Jazzy Jeffinstinctually putting his hands up when a bailiff asks him to swear to tell the truth in court), but here, it did so explicitly and explosively. Or Hillarys Playboy spread? : He eradicates the box of one proper Black identity not with force, but with precision. The Fresh Princeis unbelievably silly, no doubt, with its oft-arch performances and willingness to surreally break the fourth wall ("How come we can't afford ceilings?" Co-writer Bill Boulware based this episode on his own life experiences growing up with a single parent, noting he was always interested in shows about fathers due to his lack of one growing up. The first time I held you, I didn't think I'd ever put you down. Having three Black male actors in an intensely dramatic scene on a comedic series only added to the power of the moment. Will and Philip subsequently get into a heated argument over this, with Will claiming in anger that he doesn't care what Phillip thinks because Phillip is not his father, leaving Phillip visibly upset and at a loss for words. Its already in there, you know what it is. Vivian Banks ignorant of such targeted frissons. : Everything I said, everything I did for James Avery was like nope, not good enough. Avery demanded absolute committed perfection from his young co-star, so when it came time to shoot the scene together, Im messing up the lines because I want it so bad, Smith recalled. Some of the episodes even made us cry. For six seasons, Will Smith and the rest of the hilarious cast made us laugh week after week with their shenanigans, but they also got our lives flipped-turned upside down whenever they addressed serious topics. However Vivian has previously stated that hers, violas, Helens and Janices maiden name is Smith. : Look no further than Atlantic Records' $125/Day Fort. Geoffrey Butler approaches the door and lets Will in. You know, if there was something that l William 'Will' Smith are heading to New England themselves to be closer to their family. But before all that, he was a sitcom star, someone who, it would not have been foolhardy to assume, couldnt handle more dramatic material. The three of them were like a range of Black manhood, Boulware said. It was almost like time stood still.. However, Smith revealed in his 2021 memoir Will that the relationship was occasionally turbulent due to his father's abuse of his mother. That year we won the first Grammy given to a rap artist. And yet. HD1080p WILL'S DAD EMOTIONAL SAD SCENE ON THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIRNEW 2013 OF. Zuckerman firmly squashed the rumor in a 2020 article, stating the entire episode and that scene in particular were tightly scripted, citing Smith's acting ability as a testament to it seeming spontaneous. It was 1994, and he had just come off Six Degrees of Separation, a dramedy about a young con man who charms his way into a rich White family. Published Mar 12, 2022. All of the Banks are planning on leaving their palatial Bel-Air estate, which we've gotten to know and love over six seasons. I agree so much . Will runs up to him to give him a big hug. I'ma get through college without him, I'ma get a great job without him, I'ma marry me a beautiful honey, and I'ma have me a whole bunch of kids. Lou Smith This pages comprises the full verbal transcript of the first episode of Season 1 - The Fresh Prince Project . She expresses her worries for Janice "as an African-American woman" for whom life has already stacked the deck against. I was honored to be there at the launch.. During filming, the studio was completely silent a rarity for a comedy with a live audience. William 'Will' Smith: You know what? Where does that leave Will? Here's the Tumblr version of events that we've come to believe as the truth: After more than a decade of being absent from his life, Will's father Lou (Ben Vereen) returns, eager to spend time with his son Will here in the fancy hills of Bel-Air. Instead, he laser-focuses on cleaning the house, taking care of everything except himself, feeling genuinely, scarily haunted. Will has grown and learned immeasurably from his new circumstances and familial compassions, and these growths came so organically that he didn't even notice them happening. Lou Smith Then, the waterworks. : Whew, that was deep, Vereen said. It's a scene even the most casual ofFresh Prince fans have committed to memory, effectively staged and played without a studio audience to give us any emotional relief. William 'Will' Smith Uncle Phil, however, thinks Lou will again disappoint his son. The most effective and illuminating emotional reaction to this doesn't orient around Will, however at least not directly. At least he said goodbye this time. During the episodes final scene, Smith was struggling to bring it all home. Lou awkwardly admits that he's got to take care of some business so the planned trip is going to have to wait a week or two, but most likely longer than that, and he promises to call to work it out. Those qualities are all self-weaponized, manifesting in self-destructive ways. They were all pretty the same: the dialogue would get cheesy (well, cheesier) and the music, sappy (sappier). : A powerful, teachable, simple lesson. You probably remember the goofy dancing scenes and guest appearances from DJ Jazzy Jeff, but every so often, The Fresh Prince would attempt something legitimately poignant. Is Viola's reaction mere prejudice, plainly spoken? In that final scene, when Lou disappoints Will for the final time, Vereen himself broke down off-camera. Philip, for God's sake. Papa's Got A Brand New Excuse is the 24th episode of Season 4. Okay? It's purely powerful stuff, the kind of moment that immediately casts the rest of the episode in a better glow. Will Smith: Oh, okay, well uh, cheerio and all that Walter now. Philip Banks Philip Banks: [after Lou cancels his trip with Will and leaves] I'm sorry, Will. Vivian and Carlton are excited to see their Uncle Lou, and Ashley (who was a baby when Lou walked out) and baby Nicky get to meet him for the first time. That Will Smiths character was actually supposed to brush off the whole thing, but Wills father actually had left him when he was younger and he just fell apart on the set and the hug at the end was from one actor to another, not one character to another. He's my father. I learned how to drive, I learned how to shave, I learned how to fight without him. So what's the real story behind the tear-jerking scene, you ask? Those qualities I assigned Carlton regarding the previous episode? Philip Banks : This version of the character was received poorly by Will Smith at the initial table read, and so Lou was rewritten as a somewhat more sympathetic character, who at least had a legitimate job as a truck driver. Phillip understands, and wishes Will the best. Filming & Production Look at me, use me. (Video: The Washington Post). : Jensen said Avery, who died in 2013, was a driving force on set. I wanted him to want me. In 1990, when "Mistaken Identity" first aired on NBC, a gurgling of tensions and resentments between the Black community and the police, founded on an entire history's worth of subjugation and explicitly race-based violence, were churning nearly at a breaking point. (Via). It was not one of our best moments, said Zuckerman. William 'Will' Smith And Will sets himstraight. Beyond its visceral, gut-punching thrills as a theatrical sequence, this moment is a stark reminder to Carlton, and to everyone watching: We can lose faith in systems that resort to violence, rightly so. Will then, becoming a touch of a father figure himself, must set his cousin straight. Zuckerman described Lou as "a guy that just wasn't cut out to be a father.". Carlton, however, self-weaponizes and assumes too much responsibility again, and his faith in an inherent sense of decency in the systems of life is shattered again. The episode title is a reference to the James Brown song. Will and Carlton are determined to stop their female family member from having sex, using intercoms and interrogation tactics as devices to get in the way, to claim ownership over Ashley's body, to inherently view a young woman's sexual exploration as robbing her of her "purity." Published Feb 2, 2021. Will, as he is wont to do, acts a fool; and Carlton, as he is wont to do, hops over every task with a double front-flip, cleaning up the joint while he's at it. When my father got out of the Air Force, he started his own refrigeration business. He also recalls that unusually for a sitcom with a live audience, the audience was entirely silent during filming, comparing the average taping as like a football stadium but this taping like "being in a church.". Will said that. This film was the first movie he ever worked on, and this really helped him make the giant leap from being a TV actor to a film actor. The two later return to the Banks mansion, where Vivian is less than happy to see Lou, but maintains a civil presence around him for Will's sake. Speaking of "Will's father is out of the picture". Smith gave his first highlight-reel performance, and it wouldnt have been possible with Uncle Phil, who whispered something in Smiths ear while they were hugging on camera: To read more about the episode, click here. Casting Calls and news is updated daily get the industry news here! Kim Kardashian Tackled to the Ground at Paris Fashion Event, Marvel's 'Ant-Man' Casting Call for Kids in Peachtree City, Georgia, NBA YoungBoy and Birdman Hire Director for 'Ballin Blocker 2', 'The Weeknd' To Star in a Movie He Co-Wrote and Produced, Michael B. Jordan Reunites with High School Reporter at 'Creed III' Premiere: 'I Was the Corny Kid, Right? Ain't like I'm still five years old, you know. William 'Will' Smith: Got through my first date without him, right? (HBO Max) Will recalled the episode where his character's father resurfaces after 14 years. But it means, more than ever, we can't lose faith in people. William 'Will' Smith But these are all catchy seasonings to a fundamentally kind, responsible, and curious main dish. Before he can do so, Will walks in, packed and ready to go. William 'Will' Smith Will Smith said he improvised his character's piano moment in the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" pilot. Will's very pleased with this. Philip Banks: I'm sorry. You saw the light bulb go off, he said. This moment feels goodto watch, and feels like a cathartic piece of permission for Black folks who don't fit the typical mold you see on television to be exactly who they are, and be comfortable in that. Sheridan Smith beamed as she left the Duke of York's Theatre in London on Thursday after her West End show, Shirley Valentine. : (Via). Papas Got a Brand New Excuse was a watershed 23 minutes for the situational comedy, which, until that moment, hadnt fully explored the emotional depths of Smiths character. That childlike sense of rage, coupled with his newfound maturity, rises into his throat; his final act of defiance is to refuse to call his father "Dad," opting for his name instead. Well, one day, I just panicked and ran. The first time I held you, I didn't think I'd ever put you down. ', Atlantic Records is Now Hiring Content Creators, Extras Richmond Casting Call for 1770s Types, $4,000 Casting Call for Women with Migraines, SCAD Documentary Casting Call for Church Types, "She Buries Me" Open Casting Call in Philadelphia, $125/Day Fort Lauderdale Music Video Casting Call, Paramount+ Series Casting Call for 2-Year Old Actors, "His Story: The Musical" Open Casting Call, $350/Day Docu-Style Project Casting Call for Blonde Actors, $1,500 Commercial Casting Call for Skiers in Colorado. Will Smith: Oh, my fault, man. You too Lou. How you doin'? Smith said that he was originally supposed to sit at the bench and reflect on his uncle's words. They plan a cross-country trip together, but Uncle Phil (James Avery) warns Will that he shouldnt get his hopes up; this is the man who abandoned him, after all. But this constant poking at Uncle Phil's weight comes to a serious head in "Home Is Where the Heart Attack Is," an episode that, as you might guess, gives Uncle Phil a weight-induced heart attack to suffer through. : Lou seems hurt by this, but he can't think of anything else to say, and after reflecting for a moment, he quickly walks out without another word. And, it lets Will have a "not what he seems" moment, too; when Uncle Phil leaves the room after this chat, he notices Will playing Beethovenon the piano. While Will is forgiving and understanding, Phillip and Vivian not so much. William 'Will' Smith: How come he don't want me, man? After landing a role on Fresh Prince, Will also snagged a leading role in the 1993 film adaptation of Six Degrees of Separation. Home; About. Of course Im talking about Papas Got a Brand New Excuse.. Hey, why should I be mad? All of these qualities make him one of our great television characters; all of these qualities make him rife for roasts from his cousin Will; all of these qualities add to the interesting playing with and subverting of what kinds of racial depictions we saw on television in the early '90s. Will Smiths acting in it was flawless, the words and script were so real too. 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Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro, and Aunt Vivs Janet Hubert and Daphne Maxwell Reid return alongside the rest of the cast for HBO Max's unscripted 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion. [to Will] Come tomorrow, I'm out of here. By the time Phil and Viv show up to bail them out, and for Phil to deliver a typically fiery speech about what justice should look like in this country (delivered to a particularly weaselly-looking Hank Azaria), the damage is done. ", There is a popular misconception that Smith himself was also abandoned by his biological father in real life when he was young and had "broken character" while delivering the rant which went from being directed towards Lou to being directed towards Smith's own real-life father. William 'Will' Smith The shot frames this moment alongside the sculpture; subtly, but decidedly, communicating that this is the real father-son relationship at the center of Fresh Prince, at the center of Will's life. Much of "Not with My Cousin You Don't," as you might guess by the title, is predicated on icky gender-role shenanigans. So the only thing true about this rumor is the emotion conveyed by Will in the scene. Excuse me. Maybe a little longer. : Think back to any emotional scene on Full House. WatchMojo: Top 10 "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Moments, NBC Studios - 3000 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank, California, USA. [pause] Will Smith is a two-time Oscar nominee and one of the most popular actors (and genies) of his generation. William 'Will' Smith : So why did you? Because he's not doing this for you, he's doing this for himself and if you think any differently, then you're a fool! The much-acclaimed show recently completed its 30th anniversary. The episode featured the man-hug loved (and memed) around the world as Uncle Phil (James Avery) doesnt so much embrace as completely envelop his nephew, who is coming to grips with the loss of his absentee father for a second time. Will never, ever, forget. The two are prepared to take a cross-country trip around the country for the remainder of the summer, but Philip sees that this reunion and trip is in Lou's favor rather than Will's. I told my parents I wanted to rap. No, he said. I'll be a better father than he ever was, and I sure as hell don't need him for that, 'cause ain't a damn thing he could ever teach me about how to love my kids! The fatherhood episode was pivotal, Jensen added, because it marked Smiths arrival as a force to be reckoned with. Nov 11, 2021, 12:36 PM. Like, James Avery wouldnt give me a damn inch, the actor recalled on TIDALs Rap Radar podcast series. Although he was a "tough" man, Will told Essence Magazine that he was not "tryannical. Olivia Singh. I had *fourteen* great birthdays without him. But it wasnt until the fourth season, with its characters deeply established, that the show decided to tackle the subject in depth. Lou is, indeed, going to walk out of Will's life again, having scammed the Banks family for what he needs. He might be leaving this Bel-Air home for good, but this is still the first half of his new life, his new identity. But the audience sobbing that you can make out in the background? Official Sites It was that specific episode for me as a director [that] I saw him connect and make it work. William 'Will' Smith During the first take, he found himself stumbling over words so much that director Shelley Jensen called cut so as not to spoil the final line for the audience, prompting Smith to yell in frustration. Will is thrilled at this news, ready to rekindle his paternal relationship without much skepticism apparent. I just wish I hadn't wasted my money buying this stupid present. The idea was to have Wills father come back and leave again, disappointing his only son for a second time. Borrowing its title fromGuess Who's Coming to Dinner, the 1967 film in whichKatharine Houghtonbrings home fianc Sidney Poitierto her white parents to examine interracial relationships in a lightly comedic purview, "Guess Who's Coming to Marry?"
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