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Jaden and Willow Smith are taking their creativity into the world of anime. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the siblings have partnered with N LITE, a Black-owned media company and anime studio based in the U.S. and Tokyo, to executive produce and voice roles in two upcoming animated films. Jaden is set to executive produce and star in “Mfinda,” an epic fantasy inspired by Congolese folklore. The film is a collaboration between N LITE, the award-winning studio GKIDS, Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions, and renowned anime producer Masao Maruyama. According to N LITE Founder and CEO Christiano Terry, Jaden will voice Kozo, an ancient spirit warrior who protects both humans and forest spirits amidst conflict in the Kingdom of Kongo. “When I met Christiano, saw the artwork for ‘Mfinda’ and learned more about the story, I was blown away,” Jaden told The Hollywood Reporter. “A lot of people have asked when I’d get back into anime, I knew immediately this was it. I’m...
Westbrook Inc., the entertainment studio founded by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Miguel Melendez, and Ko Yada, is entering the anime world — and not quietly. According to a report from Variety, the company has announced a partnership with the newly formed Studio Azuki, signaling a global push that connects Hollywood storytelling with next-generation anime development. The collaboration pairs Westbrook with a new kind of anime studio, one rooted in Japanese tradition, driven by fan participation, and powered by digital culture. “…Our mission has always been to tell stories that connect, inspire, and transcend borders,” Yada, CEO of Westbrook, said via Variety. “…[Studio Azuki’s] creative vision and cultural insight align seamlessly with our global strategy.” Studio Azuki is a joint venture formed by digital-native brand Azuki, manga publisher Comisma Inc., and animation house Xenotoon Inc. Each brings something different to the table. Azuki, born from an NFT project, has already...
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are making waves at the box office. The on-screen duo are back for the latest installment of their hit “Bad Boys” franchise. Released on June 7, 2024, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, takes fans on the journey of characters Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence), who are tasked with resolving a mounting case against their late police captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano). “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” maintains the franchise’s balance of action and comedy as fans watch the cop duo navigate a new story. “This movie, in really beautiful ways, is the culmination of all three,” Smith said during an interview with Hot 97. “For fans who have been down from the first one, I promise you there’s a moment in this movie where you stand up out of your seat and throw your hands in the air with the level of perfection of the call-back that we have. It’s as good as it’s ever been done… It is...
Martin Lawrence is an iconic comedian , actor, and entertainer who truly requires no introduction. Best known for his leading roles in films such as “Big Momma’s House,” “Bad Boys,” “Open Season,” and more, Lawrence has created generational wealth through his impeccable comedic timing and hilarious comic delivery. Today, Martin Lawrence has an estimated net worth of over $110 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth . While the legendary actor’s income mostly stems from his career in film and television, he has also taken in large sums through stand-up comedy , as well as a wide array of brand deals and real estate holdings. Without any further preamble, let’s dissect Martin Lawrence’s net worth, and examine each of the main contributing factors to his wealth. Stand-Up Comedy And Early Acting Career (Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage) Martin Lawrence was raised primarily by a single mother in the Washington, D.C. area. As a youth, he took up boxing before ultimately embarking upon...
On Feb. 8, Benjamin Crump was honored by St. Thomas University in Florida with the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law — marking the first law school in the U.S. named after a practicing Black attorney — according to CBS News Miami. Crump’s honor came equipped with huge support from several people in his circle.
Despite his recent hiatus from the public eye, Will Smith is still doing work in the background that continues to cement him as one of the best actors ever to do it. According to Variety, the 53-year-old actor is preparing to cash in on his latest project, “Emancipation.” The AppleTV+ movie is an escaped-slave thriller that Smith agreed to after years of avoiding making films centered around the subject. “This was one that was about love and the power of Black love,” Smith explained in a previous interview. “And that was something I could rock with. We were going to make a story about how Black love makes us invincible.”
Nick Cannon is being very transparent about his past relationship with money early on in his career. The entertainer recently detailed how he blew straight through a hefty check he once received as a gift from Will Smith. He explained how he went broke even after the veteran actor blessed him with a check in the amount of $200,000 and financial advice. “Will found me at like 17, and by the time I was 18, the check came in, and at the time, I remember Will had a red Range Rover. And I was like ‘I want a black one,’” Cannon recalled during an appearance on Angela Yee’s “Money Pie” series. “And he’s the biggest movie star in the world, and this is ’98, end of ’98.”
Over the past three days, reports have continued to fly about the 94th Academy Awards. On March 28, Shadow and Act reported about Will Smith and Chris Rock getting into a physical altercation following the presenter making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. While the Oscar winner has since apologized for what went down, the aftermath has yet to let up on how it sent the news and social media into a frenzy. Cryptocurrency has been a growing trend over the past year, so its community joining the recent viral Academy Awards moment was quite expected. According to Fortune, a digital coin of Smith slapping Rock was minted less than 24 hours of it airing live on the Oscars stage. At the time of March 29, the Will Smith Inu coin’s value hit a record high of 469% over the span of 24 hours. “The Will Smith Inu coin has seen its value soar 469% in the past 24 hours. And that’s 35% lower than the highs it hit at 7:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday,” the outlet then reported. And of course, there are...
The impact following the viral moment of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars continues to unfold. Although the comedian has been ridiculed since Sunday night, a recent report has shared that the heat of the moment is now working in his favor. Fortune reports that ticket sales for his upcoming stand-up tour, Ego Death, have hit a spike over the past few days. “We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined,” ticket marketplace site TickPick shared via Twitter. We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined. — TickPick (@TickPick) March 28, 2022 Along with more people getting their hands on tickets, prices have gone up as well, according to the company’s brand manager, Kyle Zorn. On March 30, Rock will be heading to Boston’s Wilbur Theatre for his next show and the cheapest ticket has gone from $46 (as of March 18) to $411 (as of March 28). Chris Rock performs at Wilbur Theatre on Wednesday…...
Will Smith and his firm Dreamers VC have found their latest product to invest in. According to a press release, the VC fund participated in a $4 million funding round for Better & Better — a wellness startup. The round was led by Fifth Quarter Ventures (FQV) and included Azure Capital, Alpaca Ventures, and more. The New York-based company aims to innovate within the oral healthcare industry in a way that betters its customers’ health and the Earth, which is how they pulled Dreamers VC in to back their mission. “We invested in Better & Better due to the brand’s focus on social good and ethos of making better habits for everyone, that are better for the planet as well,” Will Smith and Keisuke Honda’s Dreamer’s Fund stated, according to the press release. “The brand’s innovative and unique product lineup has the potential to revolutionize personal health through existing habits, making healthier living easy. We look forward to continuing to work closely as Better & Better evolves and...
During his acceptance speech for his SAG Awards win for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor” in “King Richard,” Will Smith took a moment to thank Serena and Venus Williams for the opportunity to embody the role as their father in the critically acclaimed biopic film. As previously reported by Blavity News, the award-winning actor also showed love to his fellow cast members Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, and Demi Singleton. “Aunjanue you pushed every single day. You demanded authenticity and you did it in such a beautiful and quiet, powerful way,” he said, according to Blavity News. “Saniyya and Demi these two young ladies…you guys are actors, so you know how sometimes your on-screen characters kind of bleed into real life. To walk you around this room tonight, to parent you on this film, to deliver you into this business has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life.” Smith’s heartfelt speech moved both viewers at the SAG Awards and at home, but Ellis has recently revealed...
Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have announced the sale of a minority stake in their production company. Variety reports that the Smiths have closed a deal that sells the minority stake of Westbrook, Inc., a production company, to the as-yet-unnamed media venture that is run by Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, the former executives from Disney. Staggs and Mayer previously made headlines when they purchased Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company for a gobsmacking $900 million. The former Disney executives were represented by mega-financiers The Blackstone Group in the deal. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were previously in talks to sell the production company outright until that deal fell through. The minority stake in Westbrook, Inc., was purchased by the pair for $60 million, for a 10 percent ownership stake. And, Variety reports the deal values Westbrook, Inc. “at just under $600 million.” As AfroTech previously reported, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith...
