‘Hitch’ Director Recalls ‘Difficulties’ Working With Will Smith

Hitch director Andy Tennant is opening up about the “difficulties” he had filming the beloved 2005 romantic comedy alongside leading man Will Smith. The filmmaker looked back on the “crazy s—t” that went down during production in a new interview with Business Insider published on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Tennant said that creative differences sparked most of his issues with Smith, who starred in the film alongside Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Michael Rapaport, and Adam Arkin. He recalled, “I didn’t want cheap jokes, but he didn’t trust me.”

“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,” Tennant told continued. “It was a battle. [Smith’s wife] Jada [Pinkett Smith] was a big help. She kind of seconded some of my instincts. There was a time during prep when I was pushing back. A lot of crazy s—t that was happening.”

Tennant said a lot of that craziness started right as production began. “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,” the director explained. “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.”

Tennant also claimed Smith “tried to back out three days before we started shooting” to work on the script, explaining, “He wanted to shut down and work on it some more. It was madness.”

Once filming started, however, Tennant said “it was a bunch of good creative people doing the best they could,” and while “there were some debates but there were things that turned out really funny.” He explained, “You keep all the really fun stuff you have a good movie, but it was a wild ride.”

Even after filming had wrapped, Tennant recalled calling his wife to tell her, “I’ve just ruined my career, and I’ve ruined Will Smith’s career.” When he returned from a much-needed vacation, Tennant was shocked to learn the film was a success. “I turned on my phone expecting a disaster and literally my editors, my brilliant editors who I’ve worked with for 30 years, they said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, this movie is hilarious,’” he remembered. “I think I started crying.”