
Production is currently underway on M. Night Shyamalan’s new sci-fi project After Earth, and the director and star Will Smith have been sharing a few photos from the set with fans eager to see how Shyamalan will ruin yet another movie. The good news is that Shyamalan got help on the script from Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) and Stephen Gaghan (Traffic), so hopefully the story is being reigned in. Previously titled 1000 A.E., the film is set 1000 years in the future and centers on a young boy navigating “an abandoned and sometimes scary Earth to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes.” Smith stars alongside his son Jaden Smith, who toplined the recent Karate Kid remake. The premise is interesting enough and the inclusion of Gaghan gives me hope that maybe After Earth will serve as a much-needed comeback for the Signs director.
The photos don’t show anyone in costume, but we do get a look at the Smiths and Shyamalan on the gorgeous Costa Rica set. Shyamalan reveals through comments on the photos that this is the first film he’s shooting digitally and he’s using the Sony F65. Hit the jump to check out the photos. The film also stars Zoe Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo, and Isabelle Fuhrman. After Earth opens June 7th, 2013.

How’s this for a career track? At the age of 12, Isabelle Fuhrman got the attention of critics for her portrayal of a deranged woman with hypopituitarism in Orphan, and more recently landed a spot in Gary Ross’s upcoming The Hunger Games as Clove, a knife-wielding “contestant” that is sure to share screen time with Jennifer Lawrence. Now, it’s being reported that Fuhrman is in talks to star opposite Jaden Smith in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth, which also stars none other than Will Smith himself. The sci-fi epic, previously titled 1000 A.E., is set in a future where humans can no longer survive on the inhospitable Earth. While the elder Smith is playing the part of a warrior, his son has inherited the role of “failure.” But that all gets turned around when a crash landing forces the son to save the father. Fuhrman is expected to play Rayna, a friend of Jaden Smith’s character. Hit the jump for more on Fuhrman, The Hunger Games and After Earth.

Earlier this year, we reported that Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith would be co-starring in director M. Night Shyamalan’s new sci-fi project, 1000 A. E. Now, Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class) and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) are in early talks to join the picture as well. Depending on whether or not the deals are worked out, Kravitz would play Smith’s daughter and Okonedo would play his wife (take that, Willow and Jada).
The plot of 1000 A. E. is “set 1,000 years into the future, where a young boy navigates an abandoned and sometimes scary Earth to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes.” The script was co-written by Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli), Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) and, you guessed it, Shyamalan himself. 1000 A.E. is schedule to hit theaters on June 7th, 2013. Hit the jump for more.

Despite the fact that his past few scripted projects were undeniably terrible (like really, truly terrible), writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is still making movies. His latest is a sci-fi pic called One Thousand A.E. starring none other than Will Smith and his karate-kicking son Jaden. The film centers on a father-son duo who crash-land on Earth one thousand years after humans have abandoned the planet. With his father seriously injured, the young boy must set out to find help on the now strange and harsh planet. The project was initially scripted by Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli), but since Shyamalan is so good at making movies he decided to take a crack at the script himself to tailor it to his own interest (ie. terribleness).
However, Variety now reports that Academy Award-winning screenwriter Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) has completed a polish of Shyamalan’s draft. The Syriana writer-director was tasked with getting the script into shooting shape, and may continue to work with Shyamalan to fine-tune his draft up until production begins. While I still have little faith in the project, Gaghan’s a fine writer and his input certainly can’t hurt. The scribe recently set up two new films, a cartel drama and an adaptation of Snakehead. Production on One Thousand A.E. begins in February, with a February 24th, 2012 release date.

Three years have passed since Will Smith’s last movie, Seven Pounds, but he’s still the biggest star in Hollywood. High demand has led to Smith being linked to an uncountable set of projects for his follow-up to Men in Black III. One of the standouts is 1000 A.E. (may be a working title), the proposed sci-fi project that unites Smith, his son Jaden Smith, and M. Night Shyamalan. That combination: Smith, Smith, Night—it feels so made up. I was not prepared for 1000 A.E. to rise to the top of Smith’s to-do list. Yet Columbia has committed to a June 7, 2013 release date, meaning there’s about a 95% chance this will make it to theaters. It’s hard to trust Shyamalan, but I can’t help but be drawn in by the big sci-fi tentpole with the world’s biggest movie star. The premise: “Set 1,000 years into the future, a young boy navigates an abandoned and sometimes scary Earth to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes.” I’m encouraged that Gary Whitta, who penned the sharp The Book of Eli, co-wrote the screenplay. Problem is he co-wrote it with (sigh) Shyamalan. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
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