00:00I loved tapping into this. Natalie was super easy to tap into because I'm a church girl through and
00:04through. And I feel like I am that safe space for my Christian friends to come to. I know I'm not
00:10going to judge them. They know that because that's something that you run into in the church often
00:14is like they talking about people, they're judging people. And I love that Natalie's character,
00:22she doesn't do that. I don't really have a relationship with God. God used fish, donkeys,
00:26even hoes to get his word across. What's going on? I think she just called me ho.
00:31Oh, I like this.
00:35So Crystal, it's a pleasure to be speaking with you today. I got a chance to see the movie,
00:40it was very beautiful, very inspirational, and I enjoyed your performance as well too.
00:45So I'm not sure how, I guess, spiritual or religious you are. But, you know, how was it
00:52like preparing for this particular role, you know, being a woman of the cloth, you know,
00:58a woman of God? How was that like for you? Well, I am, I am a woman of God, Chris Liz as well.
01:04And to be a part of a project like this was, was really good because sometimes as Christian women,
01:09when I play roles like Fatima, who's a little more risque, you know, and, and does things that
01:16are opposite of what Christians would do, I get a little conflicted sometimes. So it's really dope
01:21to play a role that falls right in line with my beliefs. And it's really true to who, who Crystal
01:27is as well. If I say Fatima, who's really true to who Crystal is as well. I don't proclaim to be
01:35like this holy roller, like, hey, did you read your Bible? God is good all the time, all the time. Like,
01:38I'm not doing that every other word, but I try to walk in that so that every time I leave the house,
01:44people see the God in me. But yeah, I loved tapping into this. Natalie was super easy to
01:51tap into because I'm a church girl through and through. And I feel like I am that like safe space
01:56for, for my Christian friends to come to, but I know I'm not going to judge them. They know that
02:00because that's something that you, that you run into in the church often is like, they talking about
02:05people, they're judging people. And I love that Natalie's character, she doesn't do that.
02:11So speaking on that contrast between Fatima and Natalie, was it, I guess, difficult kind of making
02:19that transition since you're, no? No, it wasn't, it wasn't hard at all. You know, I like to break
02:25every character down different, give her a different backstory to help me really connect with the
02:30character so that I know Natalie the same way I know Crystal. All the information you asked me,
02:35I'm going to know the same thing for Natalie. And I think that's what really helps me dive into
02:40different characters in a different way is the backstories. And then I take the script and
02:44we just flow with it, you know? But no, it wasn't hard, but it's definitely a big,
02:49big difference between Fatima and Natalie.
02:53So with Praise This, you know, of course, congratulations as well, too. How was it like
02:58filming your first major film role? How was that for you?
03:01It's amazing. You know, first of all, the first extra background movie that I ever did was
03:09Stomp the R2, produced by Will Packer. And I always tell people I was sitting outside,
03:14it was the middle of winter, freezing, and they're like, you, orange jacket, come here.
03:18And I was like, you know, like, yeah, we're going to make you Pooch Hall's girlfriend.
03:21Like, I'm just trying to learn. So I'm just like, however I can get my foot in the door,
03:24I will do it. And they were like, we want you to be his girlfriend. He's a college senior.
03:29He doesn't have a girl, so you're going to be at where Pooch is.
03:31And then for it to turn around years later in my first actual feature film is with Will Packer.
03:38And it's a role that was like, this is Crystal's role. Like, the director knew it. And one of the
03:44executive producers knew it as well. They're like, Crystal has to do this. So to see it all come
03:48full circle is amazing. So the director, Tina Gordon, Miss Gordon, how was it like working with
03:55her and seeing a beautiful Black woman in prominence, you know, sitting in the director's
03:58like that? Oh, my goodness. First of all, I have an immense amount of love for Tina. She is just a
04:06light. Anybody who gets to come across her path is truly blessed and lucky. And I'm just saying I'm
04:12one of those people. And to work with her, it's funny because we're friends in real life, but
04:16working with her, I wasn't sure how it was going to be because, you know, sometimes people are
04:20different at work. But Tina was so cool. And just to see how she handled it, it was like she was
04:27floating on the set. Like, I'm like, this lady is, it's no sweat. She's like, we got it. Great. Okay,
04:32cool. Like, and she'll give you direction of what she wants. And then we give it to her. And I just,
04:37I just love working with her. She's, I hope I can work with her again. I'm putting it out there.
04:42So what was it like being able to showcase your vocal talents on this particular film?
04:47How excited about that were you? I was so excited because I haven't gotten to do that yet. So for that
04:52to happen on a feature film was amazing. I got to work with Harvey Mason Jr., who is over the
04:58Recording Academy. He did my session for this song that I sang in the movie. That was huge. It was
05:06just like, just to be back in the booth. Like I hadn't been in the booth. I'm like, wait,
05:11Harvey Mason Jr. is doing my session? I was like, I didn't even have a voice that morning. I was,
05:15I was doing like steam treatments, trying to get my voice back right. It was crazy. But to actually be
05:21able to sing and for it to happen the way it happened, it was just an amazing experience.
05:26So with this film, the director, the actors, crew and everything are very important to the film.
05:33What do you think the background of the city of Atlanta did for the film?
05:38Oh my gosh, it did so much. It did so much. We were all over Atlanta and you can see it like,
05:44as you're watching like, Oh, I know where that is. I know where that is. And I feel like it brought
05:48that, that feeling of like black culture to the movie, black excellence. I can't think of a better
05:55city, you know, to actually, to provide all those fields. So I'm excited. We did it here.
06:00What can audiences expect from Praise This?
06:03Oh my gosh, you get laughter. You are going to laugh. You're going to shed a little tear because
06:08I know I shed a little tear myself. You are going to take some nuggets away. There's moments where
06:14like, Ooh, that was really good. There's valuable points in the movie and you're going to be singing
06:19and you're going to be bopping because the songs are so good. They're like your favorite hip hop
06:24R&B songs that we flipped into Christian songs and the soundtrack. I can't wait to hear the soundtrack
06:29because it's crazy. So, but thank you so much, Chris. That's actually all I have for you today.
06:34Okay. Awesome. Thank you.
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