"Hitch" director shares how creative battle with Will Smith made a better movie

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"Hitch" director shares how creative battle with Will Smith made a better movie

Writer: Heidi Hsia

"Hitch" was a USD 371 million box office hit

13 Feb - Filmmaker Andy Tennant recently shared some titbits about working with Will Smith on his 2005 film "Hitch", which is now celebrating its 20th year anniversary.

The director, who wrote and directed the rom-com starring Smith and Eva Mendes, revealed that the making of the movie was not without its challenges, including him and Smith both having different ideas about the project.

"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. It was a battle. [Smith's wife] Jada [Pinkett Smith] was a big help. She kind of seconded some of my instincts. There was a time during prep when I was pushing back on a lot of crazy s*** that was happening," he said.

Admitting that the actor had crazy story ideas, Tennant said that he ultimately told the studio that he was "more afraid of Will making that version of the movie" than he was about them firing him.

Andy Tennant on the set of "Hitch" with Will Smith and Kevin James

"There was a lot of fear doing a big, expensive romantic comedy with Will," he explained. "It was fraught with peril. Will 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 also revealed that he just found out three months ago that Smith was developing the sequel to "Hitch" without his knowledge.

"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," he added.

Nonetheless, the director said that he has nothing against Smith, adding, "It was not an easy job for anybody, but we went around the world with the movie. Even the hard times he'd always say, 'Wait until the junket. We're gonna go around the world with this,' and we did, and it was great. 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."

The movie, which made USD 371.6 million at the box office, stars Smith as a professional "date doctor" who himself has difficulty connecting with a gossip columnist (Eva Mendes) who is not influenced by any of his romantic methods.