00:00Sometimes when it comes to women, like, it's not like we're fighting to be like, we can be as funny as the guys, but it's just kind of like we have our own humor, we have our own jokes, we have our own things that get us going, and I think seeing that on screen is funny.
00:15How do you feel about the massive success that the film has achieved thus far?
00:20I am literally so gagged unbelievably. I mean, the thing is, I've been in the industry for so long, and just because I like a movie or I think it's good, it doesn't necessarily mean that the world responds to it.
00:32I know I had a lot of fun filming it, and when I saw the final work that Lawrence did putting it together, I was definitely happy with it.
00:40It just feels good when you get it right, I guess, and when you can bring people together in the theater and laugh and enjoy.
00:47So, speaking to the film, it combines comedy and heart. What drew you to the role of Drew, and how did you connect with her as a character?
00:57I mean, I think exactly what you just said. It had comedy, but it had heart. Like, I don't believe in just silliness randomly.
01:04I believe in connection to situation, story, and things that are meaningful, and immediately I knew the themes of gentrification, the cycle of poverty.
01:12Those are things that, I mean, I experienced in my life. You know, when I entered the entertainment business, that was my parents jumping out of the cycle, making a different choice, trying to figure out how to just say, hey, let's follow our dreams.
01:24So, I believe in putting that on film and showing that you can choose and try to figure out your own path.
01:30So, all of that, to me, was very personal. And then, obviously, Drew and Alyssa, both those girls, they're everyday women, to me, that I grew up with, that I know, that need to be seen on screen.
01:41Where they're making a way out of no way, and they might fight, but they're going to have each other's back, you know?
01:48Now, you were able to work alongside SZA in her acting debut. What was it like building that on-stream chemistry with her?
01:54For whatever reason, I think maybe she's just an extremely lovable person. You know, we just kind of matched.
02:01Like, I've always been a fan of hers, but then when we started working on this project doing chemistry reads, we started doing this five, six years ago.
02:10And so, when we came together to finally start finding the girl and who the Alyssa to my Drew was going to be, from the moment that she and I did the chemistry read, we knew it was a match.
02:21And the relationship kept building from there because when you're with somebody every day for 16 hours, 22 hours, you're going to get to know them.
02:30Because things are happening, and life is happening, and this person is right there.
02:34And so, I think that's just genuinely, authentically how the friendship developed.
02:38And we have similar dynamics to Drew and Alyssa in terms, you know, she's not as crazy as Alyssa.
02:44You know, I'm not as anal as Drew, hopefully not.
02:47But we are in that vein, for sure.
02:50So, kind of expounding on that a little bit, how do you think this film celebrates female friendships in a fresh and relatable way?
02:57Oh, man, I think, first of all, where these characters are from, giving nuance to that space.
03:01I think so often, like, it makes fun of the satirical elements that people place sometimes in the black community, especially when there's poverty involved.
03:09But it humanizes them at the same time, where it's like, this is just your everyday girl, at the end of the day.
03:15Want the same things, trying to do the same things, in the same struggles.
03:19And then I think their humor.
03:21Like, it's, again, sometimes when it comes to women, like, it's not like we're fighting to be like, we can be as funny as the guys.
03:27But it's just kind of like, we have our own humor, we have our own jokes, we have our own things that get us going.
03:32And I think seeing that on screen is funny.
03:34Like, one of my most favorite parts is, you know, when Drew sees Alyssa's man's, you know, when he takes his robe off and she gets to, you know, see what's going on down there.
03:44She's like, girl, what in the Medusa?
03:46I almost turned a stone.
03:47So, like, that's like, I just think it's fun, like, just the things that girls do and our conversation, seeing it on screen like that, whether it's crass or it's dramatic or we're getting our ass to eat.
04:01So, you put on your executive producer hat for this film as well.
04:05What was your vision for one of them days and how did you contribute behind the scenes?
04:09One of the main things, when you're working, when you're doing something like this with, obviously, Luray Media, you know, it started out very grounded in the community and what our perspective is of our world.
04:22But when you're working with Sony, obviously, there's a whole different group of people that have a different totally set of point of views that you do.
04:29And as an executive producer, I think it's, you know, the biggest thing that you have to do is make sure that we meet in the middle.
04:34They want a big set pieces, crazy moments, you know, all this stuff that movie people will want that also gets people excited into the theater.
04:42Their point of view is valid and valuable.
04:45But for us, you know, speaking from our point of view of our culture, this isn't a, it's comedy, but it's not a joke.
04:53And so being able to balance that and make sure that the heart doesn't leave.
04:56I mean, we went through so many different rewrites of making sure that we could have that balance from in the beginning, there's no set pieces.
05:02Now the set pieces are taking over the character, too.
05:05There's no differentiation between Drew and Alyssa.
05:07And wait a minute, both characters need to make sure that they have a heart.
05:11And, you know, there's making sure that everything feels equal and blended in that way.
05:17And then also staying with it.
05:19It's very easy when you're working on a project to just drop out because there's so much that you have to go through in order to get it done.
05:26You know what I'm saying?
05:27Like, it really, really is.
05:28It's just kind of the nature of the business and everything that I've done.
05:31You know what I mean?
05:32It's not specific to this.
05:33So, yeah, I feel like all of those things for me was me putting on my producer hat.
05:39Because as an actor, you just show up.
05:41You don't have to really have too much commentary.
05:43You can, but you don't have to.
05:44And if you are, then, yeah, you might be looking into being a producer.
05:50Now, this film also marks the directorial debut for Lawrence Lamont.
05:54How was it like collaborating with him?
05:56And what type of energy did he bring to the set?
05:58Lawrence is so nice.
06:00He's a very jovial guy, and he has a very good temperament.
06:03With all the things that were thrown at him, it was really nice to see how he dealt with it and how he didn't let it stop him from being able to thrive creatively.
06:11I think that's an important thing for a director to have because we only had 22 days to shoot the movie.
06:17This was SZA's first movie.
06:18So, there's a lot that he had to also explain to her along the way.
06:21And not because she didn't get it, but because she had not just ever done it before.
06:25So, if you've never done anything, you don't know what blocking is.
06:28You don't know what, you know, this angle and when they're going to turn around and how we got to wait.
06:32And so, I feel like the way that he handled that was really awesome to see.
06:36And I think it's exactly what she needed.
06:38And, yeah, I think, yeah, he just had a really good energy making sure that we could get this done on time and in time.
06:44And after the post-production stuff, the music that he chose, the edit when it first came, when I first seen it, the director's cut.
06:52And, you know, it was just, to me, immediately like, wow, I love this movie.
07:00So, you actually spoke about Sony's influence on the film a little bit earlier.
07:04One of them days, it comes out of Sony's co-creative lab for emerging storytellers.
07:10Why do you think programs like this are vital for the industry?
07:14What do you think this film will have on that industry?
07:17I mean, I think it's vital for the industry because they're just real stories.
07:21You know what I'm saying?
07:21Like, we can't have the same stories.
07:23We have to have original IP.
07:25And, obviously, because of so many things, you know, whether it be COVID or the economy and just what's happening in the industry in general, it's hard to get movies made.
07:35And it's hard to get people to get out of their house and go into the theaters.
07:38That's a difficulty.
07:40And so, a lot of times, the only movies that they want to make are IPs that they know will work.
07:44So, that's why we get a lot of repeatables.
07:45A lot of the same movies are the same type of movie.
07:48So, I think, again, the success of One of Them Days excites me, not just in a biased way because I'm in it, but because we, you know, in order to get new stories, we got to show that new stories matter.
07:59That don't mean you got to watch what you don't want to watch.
08:01But when something good that you think is good is out there, we do have to support it because that's how we get more.
08:06And so, for me, to see the success of One of Them Days, it excites me on all those accounts because it's original and we need original stories.
08:15I think people want original stories.
08:17Yeah.
08:18Well, thank you so much for your time today, Kiki.
08:21I really appreciate you.
08:22Continued success of the film as well as to you.
08:25I appreciate you.
08:26Take care.
Comments