Will Power

You know what’s "jiggy," don’t you?

And you know who’s the "jiggiest" of all "jiggies," don’t you?

Yeah, Will Smith is "it," the rapper-turned-actor who coined the word "jiggy" and defined it thus:

Jiggy is actually a theoretical state, you know, a special state of cool. It’s like, something or a person can be really nice and then a person can be kinda hot. You say, "Man, he’s hot!" Or he can be all that and you say, "My God, he’s all that. He’s jiggy!" There’s not a lot of jiggy people but all of us aspire to be jiggy, but there’s a certain level that only certain people can reach, you know. Like Michael Jordan is jiggy. You know what I mean?

Of course, we do, don’t we?

Like Will Smith is jiggy.

He was jiggy – cool, man, cool! – in June, 1999, when I did a Conversation with him at the function room of the posh Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills in connection with his starrer, Wild, Wild West. He was jiggy as usual and as expected last month when I did another Conversation with him at a function room of the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, for his latest starrer, Men In Black II (MIIB), along with co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Lara Flynn Boyle (both recently featured on this space).

As an actor, Will is jiggy, honored in 1995 by NATO/ShoWest as The Male Star of Tomorrow who, after topbilling the hit TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, crossed over to the big screen in 1993 in Six Degrees of Separation where he played a young, gay con man posing as the son of Sidney Poitier. Will has done many more movies since then, including the megahits Independence Day (ID4) and, of course, Men In Black I. In 1999, he was named Entertainer of the Year by the NAACP Image Awards.

According to the latest bulletin from Hollywood, MIIB raked in more than $52.1 million in its first opening weekend, firming up July 4th as "my personal playdate," as Will loves to call it.

In MIIB, Will and Jones reprise their popular roles as defenders of Planet Earth against invading aliens. Together with two dozen other Asian entertainment journalists, I watched choice excerpts of MIIB at a preview and all I can say is that, if you enjoyed MIB I you’ll enjoy MIIB even more.

As a person, Will is jiggy, too. He lives in an 8,000-square-foot southwestern-style house 45 minutes from outside L.A., with his wife, actress Jada Pinkett, and sons Trey (with his ex-wife Sheree Zampino from whom he’s divorced since 1995) and Jaden (with Jada whom he married in 1997).

When Will breezed into the Westin Chosun function room, along with the serious Tommy Lee Jones, he was, as usual, smiling, funny, friendly, light-footed, good-humored and good-natured, garrulous, accommodating, playful and fun to interview. Jiggy, in short.

Here’s my jiggy Conversation with Will who was recently acclaimed for his performance as the title role in Ali, the Muhammad Ali bioflick that won for Will an Oscar Best Actor nomination:

How is MIIB compared to MIB I?

"MIIB is a lot funnier. It’s been five years since MIB I and in those five years the special-effects technology has greatly improved. I enjoyed doing MIIB more than I did with the first one."

Let’s talk about the recent Oscars which was dominated by Black actors. How did you feel when you lost to Denzel Washington (for Training Day)?

"It was a great victory, it was a perfect night. I told Denzel maybe two weeks before the Oscars, ‘I have two chances to win. I win if I win, and I win if you win.’ Denzel’s win and that of Halle Berry (for Monster’s Ball) is a victory for all Black actors. It was a perfect night; I felt like a winner even if I lost to Denzel."

Back to MIIB... What was the fun part of doing the movie?

"When you’re doing a comedy, the set usually takes the tone of the film. MIIB, like MIB I, is really fun and bright and colorful and, yeah, silly! The tone on the set is light, far different from the tone when, for example, you’re doing a movie about murder. After the films I did previously, MIIB is a welcome breather for me. It was fun. Ask TLJ (That’s how Will called Tommy Lee Jones. – RFL)."

Obviously, doing MIIB was a picnic. Wasn’t there any hard part at all?

"Oh, the slime. Yes, the slime! In MIB I, there was a lot of slime, lots of it! TLJ was worked up because of the slime. In MIIB, there’s a lot of wirework and some flying around, if you know what I mean. Physically, that was it. But other than that, it was very easy and very simple."

What did you do between MIB I and MIIB?

"Working. I didn’t stop working. I have had some creative leaps and bounds, developing a better understanding of my craft and just trying to be a better actor."

There’s a good chemistry between you and Mr. Jones. He’s basically a drama actor and you’re basically a comedian and you jibe and blend beautifully well.

"I think there’s a wonderful creative contrast between TLJ and me. There’s something in our lives that we bring to our characters. Opposites attract, so they say, and it’s true in the case between TLJ and me."

Being the younger one, what did you learn from working with Mr. Jones?

"I always try to figure out how he manages to be fine with doing nothing, by doing nothing. In my case, I always find myself pushing and creating something, doing something physical to be funny. TLJ can just sit there and look at you, not say anything... just sit there and look at you and communicate a thousand words. That’s a real confidence of a master of communication that I’m jealous of."

Your kids must be big fans of MIB.

"My son Trey was five years old and in Grade 1 when MIB I came out, so he was excited being with the coolest dude in the world. Imagine, his dad was the Man in Black! He was in first grade and he didn’t get any better than that. If he were older and in sixth or seventh grade, he would have felt differently. But at five years old, to him and kids his age the Men in Black were the perfect heroes."

Does he still look up to the Men in Black as perfect heroes now that he’s 10?

"He’s now in fifth grade. I don’t know how he’ll react to MIIB. Men in Black were cool to him when he was five and in first grade but I’m not sure now that he’s older. I have a three-year-old kid and I’m sure he’ll react to MIIB the same way his brother reacted to MIB I back in 1997."

How did you prepare for MIB I and MIIB?

"Everything was easy and breezy. When you see MIIB you will understand the creative process of coming up with the tone of the movie and the vibes between the Men in Black, TLJ and me. As I’ve said, it was lots of fun doing the movie. You just close your eyes and fall into the arms of the director (Barry Sonenfield who also directed MIB I and Will in Wild, Wild West). But we did spend a lot of time working on the story and the scenes, trying to create the contrast and the conflict and the comedy, and the overall development of the comprehension of the MIB world."

The special effects are as much attraction of the film as its big stars.

"Oh, yeah, you’re right. MIB I and, most especially, MIIB are basically special-effects films. When you’re doing the scenes, you don’t really see anything – you know, the aliens are not there so you have to use a lot of imagination. Before the shooting, we watch an animated version of what we’re going to do and that helps a lot."

I’m wondering, of the many roles you’ve done so far, what would you consider most memorable?

"Not one film stands out. I mean, you know, it’s hard to pick just one as most memorable. I look at it as a body of work, to be judged as a whole and not just by a single film. For example, there’s one film where I was in my best physical shape, another film where I was a good dramatic actor, still another film where I was at my funniest. There’s a lot of different elements in the body of work that I’m trying to create."

Aside from Muhammad Ali, is there any other real-life person (character) you would like to play?

"Nelson Mandela. Yes, Mandela. If I had the opportunity, I’d love to portray Mandela in a movie."

During the shooting of Ali, did you get pointers from Muhammad Ali himself?

"Oh, yeah. He was on the set pretty much every two weeks. He was very supportive and so was his family. He would tell me, ‘You’re almost as pretty as I am!’ and I liked that. One thing he told me was to tell the truth. He said, ‘Go find out what the truth is and make sure that you tell it’."

What else did you find out about Ali that the world didn’t know yet?

(Breaking into wide smile) "I found out that he loved Men in Black."

In some scenes in MIIB, you do some rapping. You do keep on going back to your roots, don’t you, having started as a rapper?

"Yeah, I really love rapping. But you know what, there’s no such thing as rap music; there’s only rap lyrics over other types of music. The whole thing actually started in the clubs. You know, deejays would play records. A record, for example, opens with jazz drums (Starts to rap and to scat). Then, the deejay would get two records and he would rap and scat along with them. The deejay would keep the drums going and the rapper would rap over that, never letting the lyrics of the other record play. So it’s music that was created where the turntables were the music. It’s simple: You take a hit record, find a spot where there’s low lyrics, where there’s just music, keep the music on, back and forth from one record to the other, and you rap over that."

You make it sound so simple. Anyway, how do you deal with your responsibility as a role model (for the youth, especially)?

"I really don’t look at being a performer as being a role model. What I try to do is... I want to do things and carry myself in a way that doesn’t embarrass my family. I want my Mom to be able to watch my work and listen to my music and be proud of me, you know. That’s why I don’t understand these guys who make rap records that are profane and, you know, misogynistic and all that. I’m thinking... Their moms have to be at work or something like that, and then the records come on the radio with all those profane language and what will their moms or their families say? I never want my family to be embarrassed like that."

Congratulations for being such a clean and wholesome rapper. Rappers around the world should learn from you.

"Thank you!"

In MIIB, aliens are shown invading planet Earth. Do you, by any chance, believe that that can happen in real life?

(Laughing) "If they ever come, we’re gonna say, ‘We know some of them!’ I can recognize those aliens from a thousand miles."

I remember during our first interview in 1999, you said that when you turned 50, you would run for President of the United States, and become the first Black President of America. Do you still entertain the same idea?

"I had the opportunity to spend a few days with President Bill Clinton and I realized that the Presidency is a really difficult job. So I felt that I’d be more comfortable as, yeah, an MIB."

If and when you become President, what in America would you like to change?

(Thinks awhile) "Jesus, that’s a pretty big question! That’s very difficult to answer. I will have to refrain from answering that question for the meantime."

Come to think of it, how do you measure greatness?

"There are many ways, you know. But the best way I want to measure greatness is this: How many people do you affect? In your time on this earth, how many people can you affect? How many lives can you make better? Or how many people can you inspire to want to do what you do? Look at Michael Jordan. People say, ‘I want to be like Michael Jordan.’ You see, Michael Jordan has become the standard of excellence and I aspire to be on that level."

Okay, what’s the best thing about being Will Smith?

"Having a wonderful family, a successful career and the ability to expand. I think those are the things that I find most enjoyable in my life. I don’t feel a sense of limitation. When I commented that I wanted to be a President, I meant it as a joke. But if I decided to want to be the President, then I would be. I think that’s really the best thing – you know, that naivete that I really believe that I can do anything that I want to do."

And the worst thing, if any, of being Will Smith?

"I guess the worst thing is that because I believe that I have this insatiable desire to chase everything, I’m never comfortable relaxing. I have to do something and to build something, and can never be comfortable doing nothing, just sitting down. During my down time, after finishing an album, I still go to the studio and spend 14 hours there doing music. I can’t stay put, and that’s the worst thing about being Will Smith."