• The latest collaboration of actor Will Smith and his 19-year-old son and fellow actor, Jaden, has nothing to do with music or movies. The Smiths have founded an eco-friendly bottled-water company called Just, which is unveiling a new line of flavored waters next month. The father-son team created the company in 2015, but the elder Smith, 49, says he wanted to wait until it gained momentum on its own merits before revealing the brand had celebrity backing. The brand was borne of Jaden Smith's love of the ocean. He saw plastic bottles and other trash in the water while he was a youngster out surfing, and as he got older and learned more about the environment, he wanted to do something about it. The company makes its packaging from almost entirely renewable resources, including "plastic" derived from sugarcane. "We did not want this to be a celebrity brand," the elder Smith said. "We're just about to launch our second product and we felt like there were enough people who already have accepted the brand and it wouldn't look like celebrities trying to sell some water." The younger Smith said he's visiting schools to spread awareness about the problems caused by plastic and pollution and to inspire young people to help find solutions. "School and education is where it all starts, because that's where it started for me," he said, adding that his goals for the company include producing classroom furniture from used water bottles.
• Songwriter Diane Warren jokes she is the Susan Lucci of songwriters as she has had eight previous Oscar nominations and never won. Now, she believes she is overdue for an Oscar and has no reservations about saying she wants to win. "I am not going to say, 'I don't need to win. I don't care,'" Warren said. "I want to win. Come on, it's been eight times that I haven't." While her previous nominations include well-known songs like "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," by Aerosmith, featured in Armageddon, and Trisha Yearwood's "How Do I Live," featured in Con Air, Warren said she's never been more excited for a nomination than she is for "Stand Up for Something," which she wrote for the Thurgood Marshall biopic Marshall. The song, nominated for best original song, features singer Andra Day and was co-written with rapper Common. The 90th annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 4. "It would be really great if it does (win)," Warren said. "I'll probably faint."
A Section on 02/22/2018