The producers of Independence Day are ready to make two sequels and the only hold up is Will Smith's asking price...
From Vulture Mag
Whether Will Smith will be back to to welcome more aliens to Earth as Captain Stephen Hiller is still a question mark: Fox started working on structuring a deal to sign him back in early 2009, but the world's last bankable action star was seeking $50 million to shoot both ID2 and ID3 back-to-back, and Fox balked at so large a price tag in combination with Roland Emmerich’s own hefty salary demands to direct. “The delay wasn’t about whether they both wanted to make the movie,” explains one insider, “It had more to do with ‘Whose dick is bigger?’"
Nothing has been yet settled, because almost a year ago all concerned parties elected to retreat and focus instead on first getting the scripts right; they're expected to be delivered to Fox by early to mid-December of this year at the latest. Insiders tell us that Fox is willing to make the movies without Smith, if necessary, but he is what helps make the films a sure thing: Can the stuck-in-neutral movie business, let alone Fox, afford to lose him?
“It’s complicated because of where and how [Smith] wants to shoot; he wants to be close to home, to the kids," explains our spy, adding, "There’s also been talks about him wanting to include Jada and maybe even Willow in the movie, too. [Sony] just managed to get through the mire that was Men in Black 3, and so they’re just trying to avoid anything remotely similar. They want the story straight, and want Will to sign off on it, totally, before they proceed.”
