Rising Son: The New Karate Kid

Jaden Smith soars in The Karate Kid.

By Krista Smith• Photograph by Art Streiber

Only 11 years old, Jaden Smith possesses genes that have positioned him for stardom. He made his film debut in the Oscar-nominated The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) as the son of the character played by his real-life father, Will Smith. His mother is the actress and singer Jada Pinkett Smith, and his nine-year-old sister, Willow, has appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl and I Am Legend. This month Jaden kick-starts another reboot of The Karate Kid, the 80s franchise that made Ralph Macchio a teen heartthrob and went on to spawn a girl’s version, The Next Karate Kid (1994), featuring a then unknown Hilary Swank.

Jaden is the youngest actor to take on the strenuous title role. His character, Dre Parker, relocates with his mother, played by Taraji P. Henson, from Detroit to Beijing, where most of the Sony picture was filmed. His favorite sights? “I was working the whole time,” says Jaden. “I only got to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.” And how was the Chinese food? “I ate burgers.” Bullies at school and a forbidden crush drive Dre to learn how to defend himself, and under the guidance of Mr. Han, a martial-arts master played by Jackie Chan, he becomes a devoted student of kung fu and triumphantly surprises everybody, including himself. “Jackie Chan is amazing,” says Jaden. “On the set, he was teaching everybody. I have been doing karate since I was five, but kung fu is way different.”

In Theaters on JUNE 11th

Tiger in the RAW

The February issue of Vanity Fair will feature the shirtless Tiger Woods on the cover - a never before seen photograph by famed photographer, Annie Leibovitz. In the upcoming issue, Pulitzer Prize winner, Buzz Bissinger, and author of Friday Night Lights "explores Tiger Woods's downfall."

A raw and pre-scandal Tiger Woods is Vanity Fair's February 2010 feature. The pro golfer who is caught in the middle of affair reports becomes the magazine's newest cover which was shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz before things started to fall apart around Woods.

"Tiger is an intensely competitive athlete - and quite serious about his sport. I wanted to reveal that in these photos. And to show his incredible focus and dedication," Leibovitz said about the photo. The accompanying article meanwhile, is the author's trace to Woods' controversial story and it excludes the golfer's contribution.

In the cover story titled "Tiger in the Rough", Buzz Bisinger recalled the infamous incident of Woods crashing into a tree that became the starting point of his marital problem exposure. The author also gave a comparison of Woods' affair to others by fellow athletes, naming some are David Beckham, Alex Rodriguez, and Kobe Bryant. The February edition will hit the newsstands in New York and L.A. this Wednesday, January 6 and the rest of the nation on Tuesday, January 12.