SAME SCRIPTS, DIFFERENT WRITERS

Will Smith deeply regrets his actions.

Marlon Brando described acting as "lying for a living." Last week, his definition was proven beyond a doubt.

Pulling the usual release-bad-news-on-a-Friday-night routine, a statement credited to Will Smith explained that he was quitting the Motion Picture Academy due to his "shocking, painful, and inexcusable" at the Oscar ceremony. Judging by his mood at the post-Oscar wingding, he didn't seem to think it was all that shocking, painful, and inexcusable. 

So when headline say that Smith "announced" his resignation, the rest of us roll our eyes. Statements like his all sound alike -- as they should, because they were actually written by their "handlers." Publicists, lawyers, managers, and agents have this down to a science. Serious tone + phony contrition x  loved ones ÷ seething anger at having to go through this - any mention of crime committed is the go-to formula.

They like him! They really like him!

Oh, Will Smith may feel some sorrow. But only because he realized his nice-guy reputation has taken a hit even harder than the one he gave Chris Rock. The A-list enablers who gave him a standing ovation 40 minutes after he committed physical assault on a fellow entertainer might forget what happened, but the 23.6 million people who watched from their homes never will. 

Earlier on Friday, another press release -- or, rather announcement on social media -- informed us that Bruce Willis had decided to retire due to aphasia. It was a sad moment for fans of the movie tough guy to see their hero brought low by such an unfortunate condition.

Bruce was lucky to survive the
greedy people around him.

What's sadder is that the statement was actually a desperate move by the "loved ones" and handlers (there they are again!) financially profiting from his work. They had become aware that the Los Angeles Times was ready to print a well-researched piece on how Willis's condition was an open secret in the industry going back seven years. 

During that time, he's been churning out roughly five mediocre low-budget movies annually, where he would be on set for one or two days. His scenes for each production totaled 10 to 15 minutes, which would be parceled out throughout each release. And get this: he's got eight more movies in post-production! 

It wouldn't be a shock that Willis likely decided early on to this arrangement to keep the money coming in. But his condition continued to worsen, to the point where he was misfiring guns on set and not even knowing why he was there. This was known to the producer of these C-pictures as well as his alleged loved ones.

Allowing someone with a serious physical condition to make movies when he couldn't memorize his lines or know where he was or what he was doing, all the while unaware his reputation had become a bad joke? This is the real story, and nobody in the industry (or Willis's family) seems willing to comment on it. Those closest to Bruce Willis might not be actors, but they sure lie like them.

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