Two of the Smartest Men in Hollyweird

Posted on November 30th, 2007 - By Bossip Staff

Categories: News, Will Smith

Posted by Bossip Staff

Will Smith Tyler Perry

Will Smith and Tyler Perry ranked in the top ten of Entertainment Weekly’s 50 Smartest People in Hollywood list.

1. Judd Apatow, director/writer/producer

2. Steven Spielberg, director/producer

3. James Cameron, director/producer

4. Ari Emanuel, partner of the Endeavor Agency

5. Will Smith, actor/producer

6. Meryl Streep, actor

7. Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight

8. Tyler Perry, actor/director/writer/producer

9. David Heyman, producer

10. John Knoll, visual-effects supervisor of Industrial Light & Magic

Click Here to view the list in its entirety.

  • LeeLee

    First time for a 1st, I just want to say Real recognize real, Yeah Tyler Perry, My Man

  • txshawty

    TYLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (tyler)! I love {in Madea voice} Tyler Perrysss, yes!lol

    AnD Will….keep me near the cross, Lawd. No comment.

  • RocCity

    Will, My Man….Tyler, my man.

    WTF did Meryl Steep do to be considered smart???? Only White people must be able to understand that one…..

  • blu majic

    cool! good to see some positive news!

  • Mahogany

    Only two writers in the top ten and Perry’s one of them.

    That’s a feat alone to me.

  • http://www.theblackactor.com/ Baby Please

    If you say nothing else about two, I believe this assessement is accurate.

    http://www.theblackactor.com

  • elle

    Meryl Streep should be on this list.

    She received her B.A. in Drama at Vassar College and earned a M.F.A. from Yale University.

    Very intelligent woman. One of my faorite actresses as well.

    Good for Will & Tyler not a bad list to be on at all.
    ;)

  • elle

    opps: favorite

  • CCC

    good for them but why does the two black men on the list have that undercover brother secret uh hollywood

  • Bahama Mama

    just wondering tho’ what were the guidelines, I mean how did they judge? But nonetheless Congrats to them both…

  • DROCK

    BOTH R SMARTY & ZEZZZYYY!!!!! :)

  • Ms. Dee (#21 Fan Forever!!!)

    CCC

    good for them but why does the two black men on the list have that undercover brother secret uh hollywood

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    LMAO!!!!! Congrats to them though. At least they’re being recognized for something positive, and not a DWI, or DUI, etc… etc… etc…

  • hey

    what about Oprah Winfrey? she’s smart. recognize. how did Angelina Jolie beat out Sasha Baron Cohen? why is she even on the list? where’s Natalie Portman…you know the Harvard grad?

    the list is bogus, but good for Will and Tyler.

  • AND…

    elle

    Meryl Streep should be on this list.

    She received her B.A. in Drama at Vassar College and earned a M.F.A. from Yale University.

    Very intelligent woman. One of my faorite actresses as well.

    Good for Will & Tyler not a bad list to be on at all.

    ___________________________________________

    Meryl Streep is on the list. She’s number 6. They just put actor instead of actress. Congrats to Will and Tyler. These fools in the Obama at Apollo post are trying to say black youth have no positive role models, well I see two right here.

  • elle

    @ AND…

    hello my comment was for Roccity who didn’t understand why Meryl was on the list.

    But list like these always leave out so many other people as HEY pointed out

  • Jus Another Opinion

    I knew it would come down to this….well what do you mean (I’ll keep it to myself) on another site they have a pic of Usher and Tameka son he is a cutie he got his daddy nose, but still a cutie. The site that has it they don’t have 2 million viewers a day for nothing.

  • http://www.myspace.com/birdshu Bird

    What makes them smart? Did they have to take an aptitude test or something?

  • http://www.myspace.com/harlem_nocturne Robert!

    Will…YAY! Tyler…notsomuch. I’ve never really been a Tyler Perry fan, but that’s just me and my being sadiddy. Anyway…

    What the HELL does SMH mean? It’s KILLING ME!

  • txshawty

    Robert!….smh=shaking my head

  • txshawty

    lol @ Just Another saying the baby was born with Usher’s nose, but is still cute, nonetheless lol

  • Shay

    Good for Tyler….he’s really a smart man….congrats to Will also….

  • jazzyphile

    Some are posting regarding the persons level of education, i.e., degrees, etc. That’s not what they are ssying. I don’t believe Will Smith even went to college. Degrees have nothing to do with it. Here’s the criteria:

    Every person on the list had to be smart not just in general, but smart right now. They had to be leading the industry forward in some way, today.

    2) The list would be about the movie business only. (We’ll do a Smartest People in TV list, too, next year).

    3) The list would represent a broad range of intelligence in the movie business – not just the suits and the stars, but the composers and the costume designers, too.

    4) “Smart” could mean many things. It encompasses books smarts and street smarts, financial genius and emotional intelligence. We weren’t interested in IQ. What mattered was the originality of each person’s thinking and the reach of their ideas beyond the borders of their own careers.

    5) At 50 names, the list could not possibly include every smart person in Hollywood. Each person on this list needed to help paint a portrait of where movies are today and where they’re headed. Each person on this list tells a different story about the movie business today. They are all smart, certainly, but they also symbolize, collectively, Hollywood now.

    6) We ranked them first, and primarily, by their overall impact on the industry this year, and then factored in the influence of each person within their own profession. It allows for a diverse and surprising list, where a cinematographer (Emmanuel Lubezki) can take the #24 slot, while an Oscar winning director (Michael Moore) can come in below him at #27. It will also give you, we’re sure, plenty to argue with us about.

    In short, you need to be a “trailblazer” to make the list.

    Congrats Will and Tyler.

  • FOXYCLEOPATRA

    HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EDUCATION U DWEEBS!

  • M-DADDY OAKLANDS FINEST

    Big ups to Will and Tyler. Much respect do your thing Black Men

  • Candace

    Meryl Streep is IT. Not only is she a brainiac, she can act her a$$ off. I guess “RocCity” is only concerned with what’s happening in his own zipcode – his intelligent comment backs that up (?). As for Tyler – YES, YES, YES!

  • karma

    Two powerful, smart, rumored to be gay black men…

  • adifferentpath

    I wondered what their criteria was…interesting list(s) for the list season.

  • Curly Fries

    Black Goddess, yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. It’s a list of the 50 most financially smartest people in H’weird. Wow, I though Latifa made some wise choices.

  • Curly Fries

    Not much of a Tyler Perry fan, but I salute all the Brothas and Sistas who can take it to “that” level! Do ya dammed thang!

  • Delta Diva

    Thanks jazzyphile for posting that b/c some of the posters didn’t go to the link to see why these ppl were chosen as the smartest in hollywood- just movies and they are I’m actually surprised that James Cameron or Steven Spielberg were not #1 but I guess #2&3 are just as good.

    -Congrats to Will and Tyler they deserve it but it just seems weird that more A.A’s were not on the list…

  • wtfever

    figures

  • richie

    sorry, that should read “but WHAT renegade ideas”…

  • yourgirlnelle

    lol true they are both possibly gay, but at least its POSITIVE news about black men!!!

  • Peace2

    Black men doing it with black women by their sides – a beautiful thing to witness – peace & blessings to all the positive africans on this site

  • http://blacktennispros.blogspot.com http://blacktennispros.blogspot.com

    They both know how to parlay their winning smiles and personalities into fat cash. If that ain’t smart I don’t know what is.

  • Beast

    I am not a Tyler Perry fan at all, however he has made some of the smartest business moves that the entertainment industry has seen. This man has gone from the stage to the big screen and has made hundreds of millions of dollars along providing jobs in the entertainment business to qualified black people. He is also going to build his own production company that will also put out his on movies… As far as Will Smith is concern, Will brings in 20 million dollars a film… not only scoring a perfect score on his S.A.T’s being accepted to M.I.T… we all know that he decided to pursue rap, he’s choices of films has been methodical, “I AM LEGEND” will be a beast at the theatre’s. I MAY BE WRONG BUT I DON’T THINK THAT WE SUPPORT “HOOD MOVIES” YET MORE OF SUPPORTING THE BLACK ACTORS THEMSELVES. WE HAVE 5 BLACK MALE MOVIE STARS (WILL, DENZEL, MORGAN, SAMUEL AND LAURENCE) THAT HOLLYWOOD TAKES SERIOUSLY. EDDIE SOMETIMES BUT… AS FAR AS BLACK WOMEN… IT IS A SERIOUS DROP OFF… GABRELLE, SANNA, REGINA, HALLE ARE THE ONLY WOMEN WHO GET SENT SCRIPTS THAT ARE WRITTEN FOR THEM AND NOT HAVING TO AUDITION FOR THEM. I WORK IN THIS INDUSTRY AND 90 PERCENT OF THE SCRIPTS THAT ARE WRITTEN FOR WHITE WOMEN… AND SOME OF OUR BEST BLACK ACTRESSES HAVE TO FIGHT FOR SOME OF THE ROLES THAT A LESS TALENTED WHITE ACTRESS WOULDNT HAVE TO… SO, UNTIL WE GET MORE MINORITY PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS CASTING “US” INSTEADED OF THEM DOING MUSIC VIDEOS THEN THERE WILL ALWAYS BE “2″ OF US IN THE THE TOP 50… AND SERIOUSLY, OPRAH IS THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, YET SHE HASN’T OR WON’T EVER PROMOTE A BLACK ACTOR OR ACTRESS UNLESS YOUR NAME IS HALLE, CHRIS (ROCK) OR WILL. MAYBE IT IS JUST ME…

  • jazzyphile

    Some posters are ragging on Tyler because one of his characters wears a dress and his productions can be a little on the slapstick side. The important thing about Tyler, just like your girl “Pope’prah”, he has “ownership”. That’s where the control and the big bucks are.

    Say what you want ’bout him, he definethy got ownership (studio owner, producer, director, writer & actor). Oh yeah, and overall good guy.

  • AND…

    Bird

    What makes them smart? Did they have to take an aptitude test or something?

    ^^^LOL^^^^

    I am surprised by the amount of hate on this topic. I thought we would be able to celebrate/congratulate cuz “we don’t have any good role models” is constantly being said.

  • AND…

    Jazzyphile is right and not only that Tyler has made his money without compromising his integrity or values and still ppl hate. I’m not saying you have to like the man but at the very least respect where he came from, where he is now, and how he got there.

  • http://lacydpage.hi5.com lacyd

    Why aren’t Beyonce, Supahead, and TI on that list??? I’m outraged!!

    I kid, I kid…

  • IAMLEGEND

    Isn’t there news about lil’ Wayne saying something? I love it when he spouts his well reasoned and educated opinions…

  • tintin

    LOL @ lacyd. you’re so funny.

  • http://www.sitfu.com sitfu

    If they say so.

    sitfu.com

    Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Mainstream Media

  • Bet

    A Black Man + intelligence + talent + deep pockets + children born in wedlock – no trouble with the law does not = gay. To some jealous,small minded, no-talents it might = sour grapes.

    And for the record, Yale and Harvard graduates are not any smarter than graduates from any other college. They just think they are.

  • Akimbo

    “Black people in entertainment do a lot of great things like Nelly did with his JesUs4Jackie foundation (he tried to locate a bone marrow donor for his sister, Jackie before she succombed to leukemia). Like Nelly said, everyone wanted to focus on their negative opinions about his “Tip Drill” video.”

    Nelly pulled out of the bone marrow drive at Spelman College because he didn’t want to participate in a public forum about ‘Tip Drill.’ So, faced with the choice to either talk about the garbage he produced and save his sister’s life, or to avoid owning up to degrading women and potentially miss out on finding a bone marrow match for his sister, he chose to run away.

    That’s not admirable at all. Then he tried to spin it like Spelman cancelled the event when, in actuality, the school went ahead and held a bone marrow drive without his punk ass.

  • NubianGoddez

    Where is Don Cheadle he is one of the most under rated actors of our time, and he’s doing a lot for charity in Afrika it’s kept on the low like Chris Tucker. Will and Tyler are okay but along with 2 of the smartest should have also read 2 of the gayest, this list to me means nothing there are too many talented and under rated black actors/ess in hollyweird who are also involved in many projects in local communities and you don’t hear about them. Will is about to join Scientology a known religion for gays hiding in the closet, Trevolta, Cruise, Elfman and this list goes on. while I don’t care about their sexual orientation its seems odd Tyler Perry is given smartest man award, yt just love seeing a black man in drag cooning. SMH

  • Observatrice

    @ lacyd

    Funny, LMAo

  • http://www.blkpreneur.com blkpreneur.com

    RESPECT!!!!

  • Seth

    Why I know will is gay?:

    My problem with Will is he hasn’t lived up to the Black male gold standard.

    1. He doesn’t curse in his rap (shame on him)

    2. He doesn’t have half naked fat-bottomed girls in his videos.(says he respect women too much=gay)

    3. He doesn’t have a prison record.

    4. No warrants out for his arrest.

    5. No baby mother suing him for child support.

    6. He speaks this strange White man language.

    7. He’s married. (only gay Black men marry)

    8. His sons knows know him and seems to love him (GAY!!!!)

    9. They write scripts for him. (which non gay Black man deserve such respect?)

    THE MAIN REASON WE KNOW HE IS GAY…TADAAA.

    10. He’s always showing up with his wife and talking about how much he loves her, and she not even White. (which non gay Black man does that?)

    That guy is so gay I hope Black boys never grow up to be like him.

  • Nita

    I can’t wait for ‘I am Legend’ to come out. That is all.

  • http://africaincorp.blogspot.com N’sienie

    Thank you Seth.

  • Topaz Vixxen

    LOL @ Seth. “Only gay black men marry.”

  • Fit-n-Fab

    This is a dumb azz comment:

    “Oprah’s rich but not necessarily intelligent in her choices – exhibit 1) her foundation school and staff choice – exhibit 2) her going on a liquid diet then gaining more back – exhibit 3) the movie Beloved – exhibit 4) continuing to wear high-high heels even though she has major bunion/corn issues .. the only smart move was to send Stedman packing with $240million in hush money .. but you get my point with the list …

    “SMART” as in movie roles and deals they take/produce/negotiate. Will makes more money per film than any other black actor, including Denzel. He received like 20+ million for IRobot and negotiated about 15-20% of the profits.

    Perry has negotiated some great deals with TV and/or movies. He just signed a deal with Lionsgate worth millions…They are a production-distribution company and is currently one of the largest independent film distributors in North America.

    Congratulations!!!

  • Marc

    Tyler needs to take some lessons from Will quick and get himself a beard.

  • Schoolie D

    I think this list is a bullsh#t list. They just threw together some names, and tossed it out there to stir up some chat. Will Smith is the luckiest black male out there, he has no real talent. He is just an actor. What skillz is that. He uses about 100 “takes” to make a scene.

blog comments powered by Disqus