Jaden Smith stars in the title role of "The Karate Kid," a remake of the 1984 hit in which he plays an American youth in China who gets a crash course in martial arts from a maintenance man (Jackie Chan) so he can defend himself against a band of bullies.
The movie, due in theaters June 11, screened Wednesday for theater owners attending their annual ShoWest convention, where Smith received an award as breakthrough male star of the year.
"I'm very excited about getting awards already. It's crazy," Smith said in an interview. Smith said his father, whose action flicks include "Hancock," "I Am Legend," "Independence Day" and the "Men in Black" and "Bad Boys" movies, was a fan of the original "Karate Kid" and thought Jaden, who already had studied karate, would be the right guy for the role.
