Hitch director Andy Tennant has claimed that Will Smith tried to leave the hit rom-com just three days before filming started and described the production as being “fraught with peril”.
Smith recently announced his comeback into the world of music and made an appearance at the Grammys, his first outing at an awards show since slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
Twenty years ago, though, Smith was at the height of his fame having had numerous box office smashes with sci-fi and action films like Men In Black, Bad Boys, Independence Day and I, Robot.
With all that success already under his belt, Smith made the bold move to romantic comedies and was cast alongside Eva Mendes and Kevin James in Hitch, where he played a professional dating expert.
According to Tennant, the role was such a dramatic departure from what Smith was used to that the whole film almost fell apart before it even began.
Speaking to Business Insider, Tennant said that Smith “tried to back out three days before we started shooting. He wanted to shut down and work on it some more. It was madness…”
Tennant added: “There were some debates but there were things that turned out really funny. You keep all the really fun stuff, you have a good movie. But it was a wild ride.”
The director, whose other credits include Sweet Home Alabama and Fool’s Gold notes that Smith’s decision to appear in Hitch was based on a challenge after the actor was told that “romantic comedies with Black leads don’t travel well overseas”.
Tennant admits that although there were creative differences between him and Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith “was a big help” and helped push things forward. “The movie I wanted to make and the movie Will wanted to make, neither one of those movies is as good as the movie we made together,” said Tennant.
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Hitch went on to be a huge global hit, earning more than $370m (£296m) worldwide but Tennant expected it to be a flop, revealing that he said to his wife: “’I’ve just ruined my career, and I’ve ruined Will Smith’s career’”.
Despite the film’s success, Tennant says that he hasn’t heard from Smith since bit did say that he recently learned that “Will is developing a Hitch sequel without me”.
