Columbia Pictures is back in the dojo with a new version of the 1984 hit The Karate Kid, which has been refashioned as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith.

The film will be produced by Jerry Weintraub (who launched the original franchise) and Overbrook Entertainment’s James Lassiter, Will Smith and Ken Stovitz. Will Smith, who is the 10-year-old actor’s father, co-starred alongside Jaden in his feature debut, The Pursuit of Happyness, which Overbrook and Escape Artists produced for Columbia.

The script is being written by Chris Murphy, and the film will shoot next year in Beijing and other cities. While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

The younger Smith, who next stars in The Day the Earth Stood Still, is a martial arts practitioner.

Source

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 8:30 am and is filed under Will Smith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.