Will Smith didn’t want to get Hitched

The director of Hitch says Smith tried to back out three days before filming. 

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  February 11, 2025 | 10:37pm
Photo by Stephane Cardinale (Corbis via Getty Images)
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Will Smith didn’t want to get Hitched

Since destroying his reputation as a Hollywood nice guy who didn’t need to curse to sell records, Will Smith has done plenty to get back in the public’s good graces. He did another Bad Boys and made jokes about Diddy. The Fresh Prince even did a Matrix parody that everyone can’t stop talking about. But one director had problems with Smith even before he slapped the shit out of Chris Rock. According to director Andy Tennant, Will Smith was a bit of a runaway bride on the set of Hitch.

In an interview with Business Insider, Tennant says he and Smith “had our difficulties” deciding which version of Hitch they would make. Smith’s “crazy story ideas,” which, sadly, Tennant did not disclose, scared the hell out of the director, who rejected a draft Smith tried to push through. “I was more afraid of Will making that version than I was about [the studio firing me].” Tennant “didn’t want cheap jokes, but [Smith] didn’t trust” him. Tennant knew “they were right on the edge of firing me,” but he conceded that neither his version nor Smith’s were “as good as the movie we made together.”

The production was “fraught with peril” as Smith attempted to “back out three days before” shooting began. “He wanted to shut down and work on it some more. It was madness.” But Tennant found an ally in Jada Pinkett-Smith, “a big help” who “seconded” some of the director’s instincts. “There was a time during prep when I was pushing back on a lot of crazy shit that was happening.”

Sadly, Smith has kept Tennant’s name out of his mouth since the film’s release and subsequent $371 million box office haul. Smith might make Eva Mendes‘ dreams come true as Tennant reveals that the actor is developing a sequel.

“I guess Will is developing a Hitch sequel without me,” Tennant said. “I just found out about it three months ago. I had a really good idea for a sequel, and I was talking to an executive at Sony, and he said Will’s production company is developing a sequel. Hey, that’s Hollywood.”

Nevertheless, Tennant says he doesn’t “have anything against Will.” The director says that Smith hired him to make the movie, which was difficult, but he enjoyed touring the movie around the world with Smith. “It was the most amazing trip I had ever been on. And when it was over, my time with Will was over. That was it. And I have never heard from him since.”

 
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