Will Smith may not have come up a winner at the Academy Awards, but the actor/rapper can revel in a victory elsewhere in Hollywood. He and his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, have just secured the rights to produce the remakes of the ’70s films “Uptown Saturday Night,” “Let’s Do It Again” and “A Piece of the Action,” according to a spokesperson for the company. All three motion pictures starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, who was honored at the Oscars on Sunday.
The Overbrook spokesperson said it’s too early to tell when the films will come out or if Smith will be starring in them. Smith does, however, have his eyes set on going in front of the camera for another movie – he is in negotiations to reprise his role as gun-busting fly-guy cop Mike Lowrey in a sequel to “Bad Boys” that would also star Martin Lawrence.
You’ll definitely see Smith in a sequel to “Men in Black,” which opens this summer. There is practically no information on the former Fresh Prince’s next solo LP, however, though a spokesperson for Columbia Records did say it is currently slated for a June release.
In the original “Uptown Saturday Night,” Cosby and Poitier starred as two guys on the trail of bandits who stole their winning lottery ticket at an underground nightclub. “Let’s Do It Again” found the pair hypnotizing the dark horse in a boxing match (Jimmie Walker of “Good Times”) to knock out the odds-on favorite in order to collect a huge gambling payday. Cosby and Poitier hit the trifecta with “A Piece of the Action,” in which they played two thieves trying to go straight.
