00:00We're all going to go through ups and downs and trials and tribulations, you know.
00:05It's not the measure of a person on, you know, if they fall, it's how they get up.
00:10And, you know, because everyone is going to fall, but not everyone gets up.
00:16And so, you know, to put love and trust and admiration and just, you know,
00:28all of those different traits at the forefront, I think, you know, helped James and Odette get through the things that they've gone through.
00:37Not just in this, what you see on screen, but throughout the years in our back story, at least in my mind.
00:44And so it took a certain strength and I love to see that there's a man, a black man in particular in this film,
00:55that is a true support structure.
00:58And it doesn't make him weak.
01:01He's actually a stronger presence because of his support.
01:05Mama said, I was born cursed with a life of fearlessness.
01:10Barbara Jane, your friends are here.
01:13If you don't want that hand broke, you better get it up off her.
01:16Go on and zip it.
01:18I want blood all over my dress.
01:20Come on.
01:21Fade might have put me on a one way street, but I was destined to walk that street well loved.
01:30With my girl Clarice and our best friend, Barbara Jean.
01:34Look at the three of y'all walking in here all pretty and shiny.
01:38Remind me of the Supreme.
01:39Well, the girls, all you can eat.
01:42We still look as good as we did back in the days, right? Come on.
01:47So now, so my first question is for you.
01:50Barbara Jean is one of the most complex characters in the film and she went through a lot during the duration of the story.
01:56What initially drew you to the character of Barbara Jean?
01:59Um, I just, I loved her, um, resilience.
02:06I have had a lot of people in my family who have dealt with addiction, um, the disease of addiction and, um, have seen their stories and their struggles.
02:17I've seen some people succumb to it and I've seen some people triumph.
02:21And so that really resonated with me in terms of her journey and, um, yeah, I mean, I just love, she's a fighter.
02:29No matter how unlucky her life path has been, um, she's a fighter and I admire that.
02:38Now, um, I just knew, uh, Odette is portrayed as a strong character, especially in the face of adversity.
02:43Uh, what was your process when preparing for the role and bringing the balance between her strength and her vulnerabilities?
02:50You know, I, I try to bring my, uh, my well of, of personal experience to, to what I do.
02:59And then it, you know, I had a wonderful director in, in Tina Mabry, uh, and just brilliant, brilliant, uh, co-workers.
03:09Mm-hmm.
03:10And, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and Russell.
03:13So that, that, that, honestly, that's, that's, that's 80% of the, 80% of the work, you know.
03:18Um, and the rest of it is just, is just me, you know, pat, the patterns, looking at the patterns of women like that in, in my life and, you know, pulling from that.
03:31Now, the relationships in this film are deep and they're real complex too.
03:35And they, uh, it's a lot of love and loss throughout the film.
03:38Uh, Makai, as an actor, um, what did you find most rewarding in portraying these difficult moments with your wife during a time of need?
03:46Um, well, you know, one of the things that, you know, was rewarding, um, by playing in, in these difficult times, um, is what also drew me to the script initially anyway.
03:59Um, was that, um, you know, we're all gonna go through ups and downs and trials and tribulations.
04:06You know, it's, it's, it's not the measure of a person on, you know, if they fall, it's how they get up.
04:12And, you know, um, cause you're, you're, everyone is going to fall, but not everyone gets up.
04:18And so, you know, um, to, to, um, put love and, and trust and, uh, admiration, uh, and, and, and just, you know, uh, all of those different traits at the forefront.
04:33Um, I think, you know, help, uh, James and Odette get through the things that they've gone through, not just in this, what you see on screen,
04:41but throughout the years, um, in our backstory, at least in my mind.
04:46And, um, so it, it took a certain strength and, and, um, and I, and I love to see that there's a, a, a man, a black man in particular in this film,
04:57that is a, a, a true support structure.
05:00Um, and, and it, and it doesn't make him weak.
05:03He's actually a stronger presence because of his support.
05:07And, uh, to me, that's what drew me to it.
05:09And, and what really, uh, got me excited about this film and, and this protect, and this character in particular.
05:15So, Russell, uh, for you, my brother, I had a question about this.
05:18Cause I've seen a lot of films that kind of like chronicle a person's lives for like a long period of time.
05:24Um, and this can actually be for the entire panel.
05:27Did you two do any dialogue with your younger selves in the film to kind of bring cohesion to the older roles and vice versa?
05:34Yes.
05:36What was that, uh, that conversation like?
05:39What were those dialogues like for you?
05:40For me, it was, it was very simple.
05:42Um, uh, Xavier, um, who played my younger half.
05:47Uh, I, I actually just kind of tell it to him.
05:49I think that it's about the character having fun.
05:51And, uh, just kind of embracing that and embracing just the love of himself, for himself, you know?
05:58And, and that's a dot that's connected throughout, uh, their journey, their story until, um, Richmond has an opportunity to redeem himself, uh, towards the end of the film.
06:10Uh, and what about, um, you, Sinai?
06:13Did you, uh, have any dialogue with your younger self as well?
06:16Yes.
06:17Tati Gabrielle, the wonderful young actress who played, who shared Barbara Jean.
06:22Um, it was great because we were all encouraged to get together with our younger counterparts.
06:27And, uh, Tati and I talked about Barbara Jean's history.
06:32We kind of came up with things together.
06:34We came up with her arc, some little, um, gestures, subtle things.
06:39And it was surprising when I finally saw the movie, how it kind of was really seamless with all of the younger parts.
06:47Uh, I really think it paid off, but it was great to have collaborate on a role like that, you know?
06:54Yeah.
06:55Yeah.
06:56All right, Janelle, you've, uh, played in a couple of period pieces in your career.
07:00And, um, I know that your role particularly, and this was in the nineties, but a lot of this story is set in the sixties and seventies.
07:06During the time of great political and social change, um, what resonates with you most about the sixties and seventies in America?
07:13I think if it were, if it were up to me, I would, I, I would only do period films.
07:19I, I, I enjoy them.
07:22Uh, just the, the, the experience of making a period film where the clothes, the, the, the culture of that kind of filmmaking is exciting.
07:33Is really particularly exciting to me.
07:36And I, I think that I think art isn't, I think art, someone asked this question earlier.
07:41I think art is, is far more consequential than any policy, any political work that has ever been done.
07:47Art, art moves the needle in, in a much more profound, uh, and, uh, quicker way.
07:55Um, and the reason why I'm always interested in doing period films with sixties or seventies,
08:02it, it, it is the act for me of giving voice, giving presence to figures that have, are actively now being redacted from history books.
08:15And it is my way of, uh, of reclaiming that space.
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