He knew Will Smith needed to shake the rapper image and get taken seriously. He framed the indie film as a credibility play, working alongside Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Sir Ian ...

Will Smith once looked a $10 million paycheck dead in the eye and said nope. Instead, he signed up for a $300K indie flick that, at the time, sounded more like a gamble than a glow-up (via Cheat Sheet ...