Benjamin Button's Mom to Play Mom in 'Kung Fu Kid'

Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (who, in my opinion was top three on the red carpet that night) will show up in the Will Smith-produced Karate Kid remake, which will be shooting in Beijing pretty soon. It's already a pretty hackneyed prospect, what with the switch from The Karate Kid to The Kung Fu Kid, and the fact that Jaden Smith is the lead. I liked Jaden in The Pursuit of Happyness, but he was miserable in The Day the Earth Stood Still, like Spencer Breslin bad. To be fair, it was impossible to get much of a performance out of anyone in that remake because the script was attracting flies. My real issue, though, is how young and tiny he is. He can't be more than four-and-a-half feet tall. Is he going to beat up other puny 11-year-olds? At least in the original, Daniel-san was supposed to be a teenager. I just don't know if I want to see a pee wee league version of this movie. And then on top of that you can throw the overblown nepotism by Will Smith to give his son a star project. Off my soapbox...Henson tells MTV she's jetting off to Beijing to play Jaden's mother once she wraps up her work on Date Night with Tina Fey and Steve Carell. I'm glad to see she's getting work, frankly. After Hustle & Flow, which should have also earned her an Oscar nomination, the good roles really didn't come to Henson. Benjamin Button changed that and we now have proof that she can hold her own on screen even with some of the biggest names in the business. That won't really be the case on The Kung Fu Kid unless she has a lot of scenes with Jackie Chan, playing the adjusted Mr. Miyagi. But working actors probably shouldn't turn down roles in movies Will Smith produces. So good on Taraji P. Henson.