“Oh yeah,” an antsy looking J. Lo said in response to an interview question about whether she and Will Smith had, in fact, been in talks about the project. “Will and I talked about it, talked about developing the script. It just never took off. Projects are like that.”
I admit I am among the tiny fraction of sentient beings on the planet who hasn’t seen the movie, but I have seen the trailer, and I have seen Cooper’s weathered face peering out of a partially open car window at Gaga saying “Hey,” etc. I’m just not convinced Will Smith could ever look that beaten up. Is that a key component of the film? If it’s not, why does Cooper look like he’d been left in the desert heat to bake for 30 years? Gaga’s character, Ally, also says in the trailer that people have not liked the way she looks, which is not something we can realistically say of Lopez.
Based on another viewing of the trailer, I can confidently conclude: Had Will Smith and J. Lo been involved, this would have been a very different movie.