Nov 18 2008 05:43 PM ET

Weighing the chances of 'Seven Pounds'

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During this past Sunday’s episode of Desperate Housewives I noticed an impressive 60-second high-def ad for Will Smith’s upcoming drama Seven Pounds. The film looks very interesting—Smith apparently is attempting to atone for a past car crash by performing good deeds for seven strangers—but it remains the only possible Oscar contender left this year that hasn’t even announced any screenings yet (not for me, at least). I appreciate the mysterious nature of the TV spot, since the plot obviously involves some sort of secret Sony doesn’t want to spoil, but I wonder if holding the film back this long will be a problem. By the week before Thanksgiving in years past, late entries like There Will Be Blood, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Million Dollar Baby had at least been shown to some members of the media. Can Seven Pounds become a top Best Picture contender? Probably not. But I know Rosario Dawson will be getting a supporting actress campaign. And the studio has Best Actor hopes for Smith, which doesn’t seem outlandish: The last time the mega-star teamed up with Seven Pounds director Gabriele Muccino, the result was The Pursuit of Happyness, for which Smith scored his second career Oscar nomination.

Comments (1-7) of 7 Add your comment

  • Sam

    The trailer looks pretty good but I’m not sure what to expect, it was ver vague. http://www.hd-trailers.org/2008/10/seven-pounds-second-trailer/

  • Steph

    I saw a trailer for this movie when I went to see Changeling a few weeks ago. It was a Sunday night, there were still a lot of people in the theater and the general consensus seemed to be … HUH? The trailer we saw never even made clear there was a car crash. Someone behind me even quipped, “Is this like The Give People You Meet in Heaven but there are seven people instead?”

  • Eli

    This is what i got from the trailer. Will smith killed someone in the car accident. He is planning to commit suicide and donate his limbs, heart, eyes, etc. etc. to a bunch of strangers, he falls in love and thinks better of it. Drama ensues specifically for the purpose of making you cry! (who’s with me?!)

  • Jocelyn

    I watched Will Smith on Oprah, and I’m pretty sure I have it figured out. STOP NOW if you don’t want my GUESS to spoil it for you.
    I think that Will Smith is involved in a car accident that kills 7 people. Maybe he was drinking and driving? Anyway – in an attempt to atone for what he’s done, he finds 7 people in need of organs – and he will donate his organs to them after killing himself? I’m not sure how he dies, but this is what I think. He finds 7 people in need of organs – and when he dies, he will in fact have saved 7 lives. This all works fine until he falls in love with Rosario Dawson – who in the film needs a new heart.
    I don’t know if it’s all right, but I’m pretty sure this is the jist of it.

  • eyesopenedwide

    Will Smith is here in Dallas TX today and will be showing a screening here tonight as a benefit to the North Texas Food Bank. Entry requires donating one can of food and standing in line since 7:00 this morning for a wristband.

  • Martin Haro

    Dave,
    I went to the Miami premiere on Monday, as did Will Smith and Rosario Dawson: http://moviemartin.blogspot.com/2008/11/helping-and-promoting-last-night-will.html.
    The movie’s a tearjerker – I could hear people sobbing at the end. I can’t discuss plot points because of a press embargo, but I can tell you that I snoozed a little in the beginning (completely my fault – it’d been a looong weekend).
    Dawson deserves to be singled out completely and should get a campaign, indeed.
    I’ll also say this much: Seven Pounds keeps you wondering until it makes you cry.

  • musichyper

    In the vein of the heart warming inspirational “Pursuit of Happiness” Seven Pounds is a movie filled with hope and spiritual power. The film does get a bit slow but the pick up is well worth the wait. Will Smith’s role reminds somewhat of his character in “Pursuit of happiness” but it doesn’t take away from the fact we have yet another gem on our hands.
    I HYPED Seven Pounds on EverHYPE and scored it 96%, which I think is very accurate.
    http://www.everhype.com/hyper/mikeborgia?X=M701
    If you get on there, rate me a 5 on it and request friendship.

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