Friday, April 26, 2024

Kenya Barris and Lauren London Share Why ‘You People’ is a Love Letter to L.A. | EUR Video Exclusive

Eddie Murphy & Jonah ('You People) Hill - Netflix
Eddie Murphy & Jonah (‘You People) Hill – Netflix

*The new Netflix comedy “You People” stars Lauren London and Jonah Hill as Ezra Cohen and Amira Mohammed — a couple who met over a rideshare mix-up in LA and find themselves connecting over a shared love of streetwear and music.

As the two grow closer and begin to take steps towards a more permanent status, their respective families test their relationship: Ezra’s progressive and semi-woke parents (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny) and Amira’s unyielding yet concerned parents (Eddie Murphy and Nia Long).

“You People” marks Kenya Barris’ feature film directorial debut, and we caught up with him and Lauren to dish on the exciting new comedy.

Check out the “You People” trailer below.

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Barris and London explained to EURweb’s Jill Munroe that “You People” is a love letter to LA and a nod to previous eras of comedy.

Hill not only stars in the film, but he also produced and co-wrote it along with Barris. The director shared that he’s been a fan of Jonah since “Super Bad” and “Knocked Up.” Barris explained how after a great conversation with Hill, the concept for the film was born.

“I think for most people in my generation, Black or white, he was the white boy that we liked. We got him. So we had been trying to meet for a while. And it was funny because Jonah is now all earthy and spiritual meditation. The Jonah I met was S class Benz on rims Jonah. So we laughed about that. But we started talking about stuff we love. And we both love LA. And we both love the idea of there being two LA’s,” Barris shared.

Netflix’s “You People” Jonah Hill and Lauren London

“At the time, he was engaged to a woman from a different culture, and we discussed that. Often, the problem isn’t the two people. It’s the people around them. And in having conversations about his friends and my friends and the stuff he didn’t know that he thought he knew. How Jonah thought, ‘Because I have Black friends, I think I know this or things like that.’ So it turned into we should do something together. And what formed was we wanted to do a romantic comedy that showed that it wasn’t the people, it’s the people around them,” said Barris.

"You People"
(L-R) Nia Long, Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and David Duchovny attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix’s “You People” at Regency Village Theatre on January 17, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

“And where a concept like “Guess who’s Coming to dinner?” – the 1967 film starring Sidney Potier- and where that would be today,” he continued. “And also wanted to do a love letter to the city of Los Angeles in the way that people have done love letters to New York and their cities. We wanted to do a love letter to our city.”

“You People” also features an all-star ensemble cast including Sam Jay, Elliott Gould, Travis Bennett, Molly Gordon, Rhea Perlman, Deon Cole, Andrea Savage, and Mike Epps. It’s available on Netflix on January 27.

Watch my full conversation with Barris and London below.

*Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-bred entertainment journalist, producer, and host. You can follow her on all social media @StilettoJill or check out JillMunroe.com

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