BY IAN YEE alltherage@thestar.com.my

A few weeks ago, the R.AGE writers were invited to be part of a webchat with the cast and directors of upcoming summer blockbusters Men In Black 3, The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall.

That’s right – we got to see Will Smith, Colin Farrell, Emma Stone, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Andrew Garfield all live via webcam.

One of the highlights, of course, was getting to see the extremely charming and hilarious Will Smith – who will be reprising his role as Agent J in MIB3 – and asking him a few questions.

The movie will be in cinemas on May 24, and it’ll be about Smith’s character having to go back in time to save the planet and his partner, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones).

While back in time, he teams up with a young Agent K, played by Josh Brolin.

Anyway, here are some snippets from our Men In Black 3 webchat Q&A with Will Smith, Josh Brolin and director Barry Sonnenfeld. We’ll be publishing our Q&As with the Spider-Man and Total Recall cast real soon too:

Will, how did it feel to put on the black suit again and get splashed by the slimy liquid?

Will Smith: You know, putting the black suit on, the glasses again – I haven’t made a movie in almost four years – it felt very nostalgic to be able to go back to a place and sort of remember my origins, and to go back with Barry again. We have a fantastic working relationship, so for me, it was like going home.

And I was excited about also working with Josh. It was such a big gamble to create the third installment of this movie and to inject as huge a new idea as, you know, the younger Tommy Lee Jones, played by a different actor outside of one of the most iconic duos in American cinematic history. So it was both warm and fuzzy like home, but exciting and new.

This one’s for Josh: Have you always kind of known – looking into the mirror every day – that you’d one day play a young Tommy Lee Jones? And how much did you study him for this role?

Josh Brolin: (Speaking in mock seriousness) I always knew that I would play young Tommy Lee Jones, even before I started acting. I knew it was my destiny. (Laughs)

No, I did not know that … I don’t know (how I got the job). (Looks to the director) How did it come to me?

Barry Sonnenfeld: There was no one else. There was absolutely no one else.

You know, Josh, every day on the set would have his Walkman and listen to the cadence and the rhythm of Tommy’s performance.

And the first day on the set with Will and Josh, which was at the MIB ‘69 headquarters, we did the very first take and I burst into tears because Will and I always said, the only way we could screw up this movie is by not having the right actor to play young Tommy Lee Jones.

JB: So there was no pressure on me at all. (Laughs)

Now one for Will: You’ve said in the past that growing up, your goal was to be the biggest movie star in the world. Now that you’re pretty much there, what’s next?

WS: I think there were a couple of things that shaped that perspective. Like when I was young, my grandmother worked at midnight. She worked in a hospital and she would go to work at midnight.

So when you’re six years old and your grandmother goes to work at midnight, that’s like the demon hour.

So when I started making movies, it’s like I just wanted to be the type of provider that would make it safe so my grandmommy didn’t have to go to work at midnight.

In the early part of my career, that was like the drive for me for wanting to be successful.

And then, when I was sixteen, my girlfriend cheated on me. You have to say “Aww.”

BS and JB: Aww …

WS: Thank you. My girlfriend cheated on me and I figured if I was the biggest movie star in the world, that girls couldn’t cheat on me.

JB: And it’s true.

BS: Is that the girlfriend whose boyfriend beat the crap out of you when you tried to stop his car?

WS: Watch your mouth, Barry. That was a private story that I told you about my pain and you’re putting it all over Malaysia.

WS: But those were sort of the two things in my life that started to drive me and now I’m married and I have a family, so I’m settling into like a more reasonable mindset of self-development. I want to be the best version of myself and I want to put things in the world that have value.

Will, does your son ask you about aliens?

WS: My son loves MIB. He is one of the biggest conspiracy theorists I’ve ever met!

On Easter, we had the pleasure of meeting President Barack Obama and our families were together and we took a tour of the White House with them, and the night before, Jaden’s like: “Dad, I have to ask the President about the aliens.”

I said: “Jaden, you better not embarrass me, asking the President.” He was like, “Dad, like, what’s my punishment if I ask?” (Laughs)

So we get in there, we’re walking through and we’re in the Situation Room and I see Jaden get the look in his eyes, and he says: “Excuse me, Mr. President.” And he’s looking at me, like, ‘Dad, I got to!’

And Barack stopped, and he said, “Hold on … the aliens, right?”

JB: How bizarre! Is that true?

WS: Yeah! He just knew! I guess every kid wants to know about the aliens. He said, “Okay, Jaden. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of extraterrestrials. But what I can say to you is, if there were extraterrestrials and if there were a meeting on how to deal with it, it would have taken place in this room.”