Jenice Armstrong: Jamal Hill, protege of Will Smith pal Charlie Mack Alston, debuts 'Streets' on BET

I WAS CHATTING with Charlie Mack Alston when he called a local up-and-coming filmmaker "the LeBron James of the film game."

Come again?

That was my initial reaction, at least.

Sure, this was Charlie Mack I was talking to, the former Will Smith bodyguard and longtime assistant and close friend to the Hollywood powerhouse.

Given his work on various films over the years, Alston is about as much of an insider as you can be without walking the red carpet yourself, which is why so many stars flock to his Party 4 Peace Celebrity Weekend each summer. Last month, Smith himself, along with son Jaden, were among those attending the events.

I kept my skepticism to myself as Alston explained (in his trademark rapid-fire fashion) how his newest protege, director Jamal Hill, went from borrowing $10,000 to finance his first film, "Money Power Respect," to working on the set of the 2007 Warner Bros. flick "I Am Legend."

Still, the LeBron analogy seemed a stretch. But Alston's like that. He's a promoter.

"I had heard about him a lot. I had seen the film that he did. I could see that there was talent there," Alston recalled. "I believed in him enough that I wanted to bring him around Will Smith."

After "I Am Legend" wrapped, Hill moved to Los Angeles to intern at Smith's Overbrook Entertainment.

In 2008, he got a gig working on another Smith movie, "Hancock," in which Smith plays a reluctant superhero.

That in turn led to jobs on other films and eventually to Hill writing, producing and directing "Streets," a feature film set to debut on BET Tuesday night.

Not bad for a guy who was cutting hair at Super Stars in Darby not that long ago.

Hill, who graduated from Pennwood High School and briefly attended the Community College of Philadelphia, told me that his next project will be a documentary on the life of North Philly rapper Meek Mill.

As of press time, the distribution deal for "Mr. Philadelphia" hadn't been formalized, but Hill is confident that the film will be out around the same time that Mill's album drops in late October.

"They compare him to Tupac in 'Juice,' " Hill said of Mill's on-screen performance. "It's like his unofficial VH1 'Behind the Music.' "

Meanwhile, Mill along with Nafeesa Williams ("One Life to Live" and "The Bold and the Beautiful") co-star in "Streets."

The film, which was shot in Philly, is about a student at the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts named Nicole whose mother works for the local District Attorney's Office. The student, portrayed by Williams, gets entangled in a murder mystery. Mill plays a recording artist, and the city - in all of its grit and glory - figures prominently in "Streets."

"It's the first time since 'Rocky' that it's been covered the way I like to see it," said Hill, who moved to South Philly at age 9 and fell in love with the neighborhood.

Alston serves as executive producer.

As we were chatting, Hill's phone rang. It was Alston, reaching out to discuss an interview with WDAS radio personality Patty Jackson. Hill hung up, but I could see his mind was elsewhere. He was already moving on to the next thing. Charlie Mack had called, after all. If Hill's smart, he'd do well to listen.