Will Smith Heads To Future In "After Earth"
MIAMI (CBS4) - The exotic country of Costa Rica is the backdrop of the new film "After Earth" starring Will Smith and his now 14-year-old son Jaden.
"For me as a father working with my son, to go into Costa Rica, there's something really mythological about taking a 13-year-old boy into the jungle. It was fantastic!" said the elder Smith.
And for Jaden, who plays a young cadet stranded on the inhabitable planet Earth with his critically injured Dad, the film required physical leaps and bounds for this athletic teenager.
"I did 4 months of training, swimming, core training, rock climbing," said Jaden.
"The most important training was dialect training," said Will. "He grew up in Southern California, and I told him no one from Southern California is going to save the world saying "Dude."
Will wrote the story of the film. Both he and wife Jada produced it and since Will grew up working in his family's ice business in Philly, he said teaching his kids his line of work is just something that comes natural.
"So the only way I know how to parent is working and teaching that the business decisions that you make are really are going to affect your life and effect your family," said Will. "That's the way I was raised so that's the way I'm raising my children, so at 14-years-old he can…"
"Mess up everything?" interjected a laughing Jaden.
"After Earth" opens in theaters May 31.
