Getty Images". The prospect of working in a family business always seemed odd to me, even though a lot of families do it: the Madoffs, for instance, the Sulzbergers, the Bluths."Fitzgerald was right: The very rich are different from you and me. As exhibit A, let’s take a look at young Jaden Smith, son of Fresh Prince Will. A likable enough lad, I suppose, half-talented and amiable. But good lord, does he sound flaky, particularly in a recent, entertainingly bizarre interview with New York magazine.
While doing the publicity rounds for After Earth, their sci-fi tentpole extravaganza directed (warning) by M. Night Shyamalan, Elder Smith and Younger Smith did a whack of media appearances together, much of it playing up their on-screen father-son relationship. (Jaden plays Kitai Raige, Will plays Cypher. Cypher Raige? Seriously? M. Night wrote this, so take it from there.)
The global film press sighed their collective “Aww!” and dutifully went about gushing over the two. But only New York really showed how odd they are, Jaden especially. Right at the top, the two discuss patterns -- as in, patterns of life, patterns of the universe, mathematical patterns that we can’t yet comprehend. It sounds like nonsense, something blurted out by a spaced-out, disassociated Malibu rich kid. Which is no big surprise, since that pretty much describes Jaden.
Will claims to be “a student of patterns. At heart, I’m a physicist.” Sure. Jaden, meanwhile, believes that “there is that special equation for everything, but I don’t think our mathematics have evolved enough for us to even -- I think there’s, like, a whole new mathematics that we’d have to learn to get that equation. It’s beyond mathematical. It’s, like, multidimensional mathematical, if you can sort of understand what I’m saying.” No, but whatevs, let’s roll with it.
The two go on to discuss something a bit more down to Earth: working together as father and son. Granted, they’re working together in the movies, but, as Jaden says, “I’m just working in my family business with my dad. Patterns, boom.” Boom. Hollywood asskiss gossip blogger Perez Hilton calls that particular insight “So interesting!”
But this is what got me thinking. The prospect of working in a family business always seemed odd to me, even though a lot of families do it: the Madoffs, for instance, the Sulzbergers, the Bluths. But when things get screwy at work, the results can be awkward, if not downright catastrophic, when family members are involved. How do you fire your son? How do you trash-talk the boss with your colleagues when he’s your dad? The useless HR department is run by your sister. It can make family dinners even more unpleasant than usual. Next Page >>
沒有留言:
張貼留言