is based on the true story of a homeless man in San Francisco named Chris Gardner who turned his life around in the 1980s with the help of Glide Memorial and became a successful stockbroker -- and Rev. Cecil Williams, the head of Glide, has a cameo in the movie (as himself).
Also in honor of the film, Gavin Newsom declared Friday to be Chris Gardner Day in San Francisco. Newsom's press release also notes that the movie was filmed entirely in San Francisco last year (we had some sightings of Will Smith around town too, as you may recall), and brought in over $1 million in revenue, 400 jobs, $22 million in spending, and $63 million in total revenue to the city. Also, the filming also created jobs for film editors, who had to make sure all the 21st century "www." references in the backgrounds of the shots were digitally removed.
After the jump: more pictures, including one of Cecil Williams!
Picture of Will Smith and Chris Gardner by Drew Altizer. Thanks again for the pictures, Drew -- as well as the helpful ID of all the people we didn't recognize!
