Photo taken by my neighbors

Will Smith thrilled fans at the Berlin premiere of Seven Pounds on Tuesday night by shaking hands and signing autographs in the freezing cold. Smith has received a lot of praise for his friendliness and patience with fans and last night was no exception. Our neighbors’ sons went to the premiere and said that Smith took the time to shake everyone’s hand and sign a book for them. They were thrilled to meet the star and had a lot of fun. It was just 9° F last night in Berlin last night. Good for Smith for braving the cold to greet fans!

Smith, Rosario Dawson and Gabriel Muccini also posed by a snowy Brandenburg gate earlier in the day. Presidential elect Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of over 200,000 just down the street from that location in July. We may see see Smith play Obama on film at some point in the near future. Obama himself joked to Entertainment Tonight that he’d spoken to Smith about it, saying “Will and I have talked about this because he has the ears!” Smith is an Obama supporter and told Oprah after the election that he was hugging his family and crying when Obama won. Given Obama’s historic victory and popularity, we may see a dramatized account of his life sooner rather than later.

Seven Pounds has not received the best reviews and is generally considered a real downer of a film with a complicated plot. It’s about a man who is suicidal and decides to change the lives of seven strangers to amend for his role in a tragedy. The film was released on December 19 in the US and has grossed $62 million worldwide. It’s done passably at the box office and is not likely to diminish from Smith’s massive draw.

Smith was just named 2008’s top grossing movie star and from the way he works the crowd with a smile you can’t help but think he’s earned it.

The close up pictures of Smith are courtesy of our neighbors. Other photos credit: WENN