‘Hitch’ Director Reveals the Madness of Working With Will Smith on the Hit Romantic Comedy

Will Smith‘s romantic comedy Hitch scored with theatergoers back in 2005, but “it was madness” trying to make the movie, according to the film’s director, Andy Tennant (Ever After, Sweet Home Alabama). The filmmaker clashed with the A-list actor who hired him to helm the classic rom-com, because of conflicting story ideas, and Smith even threatened to drop out of the project three days before filming began. Nevertheless, Tennant claims not to “have anything against” Smith in a new interview published at the time of Hitch’s 20th anniversary. Tennant said (via Business Insider):

“He [Smith] hired me to make this movie. It was not an easy job for anybody, but we went around the world with the movie. Even [during] the hard times he’d always say, ‘Wait until the junket. We’re gonna go around the world with this.’ And we did, and it was great. It was the most amazing trip I had ever been on. And when it was over, my time with Will was over. That was it. And I have never heard from him since.”

The Hitch director also acknowledged that a sequel is now in the works, but he won’t be a part of it. Additionally, Tennant credited Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, with helping get the movie made, even with the friction that existed between himself and the rom-com’s star. Tennant said in the same sit-down:

“We had our difficulties. The movie I wanted to make, and the movie Will wanted to make, neither one of those movies is as good as the movie we made together. It was a battle. Jada was a big help. She kind of seconded some of my instincts. There was a time during prep when I was pushing back on a lot of crazy sh*t that was happening.”

Andy Tennant Claims ‘Hitch’ Was “Fraught With Peril”

Hitch rightly ranks among Will Smith’s best movies, even though the critics weren’t particularly fond of the must-see 2005 romantic comedy, which only registers 68% on the Tomatometer against 186 reviews posted to Rotten Tomatoes. However, fans thoroughly enjoyed Smith’s collaboration with director Andy Tennant, as evidenced by the movie’s “A” CinemaScore. Unfortunately, what ended up on-screen was much more enjoyable than what transpired behind the scenes. Tennant said in the same interview:

“There was a draft that Will brought in that I was not a fan of. I finally told the studio that I was more afraid of Will making that version of the movie than I was about them firing me. Because I knew they were right on the edge of firing me before we even began shooting.

And to Will’s credit, we didn’t go with that draft. I don’t think I was ever in anyone’s favor […] There was a lot of fear doing a big, expensive romantic comedy with Will. It was fraught with peril. Will tried to back out three days before we started shooting. He wanted to shut down and work on it some more. It was madness.”

Hitch Cast: Where They Are Today

It’s been 20 years since Will Smith and Eva Mendes portrayed one of the cutest movie couples. Find out where the cast of Hitch is today.

Hitch celebrated its 20th anniversary on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Will Smith and Andy Tennant’s 2005 collaboration is currently available to stream on Peacock, and the must-see romantic comedy also stars Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, and Adam Arkin. There is even a bit role featuring Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan as a rather shady dater, who throws a huge monkey wrench into Alex Hitchen’s (Smith) once infallible dating system.