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THE FILM STRIP: Brothers at the box office - and sisters too!
Don Cheadle takes down terrorists and confronts Robert Downey Jr., Tyrese Gibson goes dark and gives verdict on music career, Ice Cube’s long shot in the rap game, Tiki Palmer looking to play Roxanne Shante and Paula Patton putting her money on Obama.
*The summer big box office season was jumpstarted with “Iron Man,” co-starring Terrence Howard. Record breaking “The Dark Knight” was an even bigger success with Morgan Freeman. It took “Tropic Thunder” starring the real brother Brandon T. Jackson to knock “The Dark Knight” off its high perch. Now on the big screen and coming to you this week are films with Blacks in major roles—Don Cheadle, Ice Cube, Tiki Palmer, Tyrese, Vin Diesel and Paula Patton
Then there was the record breaking “Dark Knight” with Morgan Freeman and now the only film that could knock “The Dark Knight” off its perch was “Tropic Thunder” with Black actor Brandon T. Jackson. This week added to the line-up of Blacks onscreen will be Don Cheadle, Ice Cube, Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson. And least we not forget the women Kiki Palmer and Paula Patton. The New American spoke to them all.
Don Cheadle is an undercover agent in “Traitor” - torn between his religion and his job. Cheadle, who once considered being a stunt man, wears many hats now. As entertainer, actor and filmmaker the decision arises sometimes as to what degree should entertainment play when there is a message yearning to get out. Although important, the decision to deliver a message does not bear that much weight when Cheadle decides on a project.
“One of the things that drew me to this script were these ideas floating around that were focused on in the news like terror and the Patriot Act,” Cheadle says. “The question for me in this film was how far would you go against what maybe you personally believe in to protect or have a feeling of safety. I still think the idea of security is mostly a concept. I don’t know how we’re ever really secure even if you put borders around this whole place. It just makes it a bigger challenge. I don’t think that really exists, some perfect place of safety.”
On the issue of diversity, Cheadle talked about traveling to different parts of the world and how people of different nationalities and religions felt.
“What I’ve learned traveling around the world and speaking to a lot of different people is that most people really just kind of want to just get through the day. Most people really just wanna like make some money, protect their family and be happy and be safe.
“For whatever particular reasons that leaders want to push and pull us in different directions, they use faith and they use politics. They use whatever for their own ends, their own agendas. But for the most part, we kind of all want the same things. With this film the people I met once they knew the story and we told them what we were doing they were like, ‘Wow, thankfully we have a Muslim character who you will show wrestling with those things we’re trying to come to grips with for a positive result.”
Since this is another Oscar worthy film of his, The Film Strip asked Cheadle, who lost out on a well-deserved Oscar for “Hotel Rwanda,” if it would upset him if his film didn’t get the Academy nod?
“No, I don’t really care about that. I mean I really don’t. It’s a bit of a grind and it’s not like the Oscars necessarily do anything for your movie anyway nowadays. It used to mean something else, very prestigious. It just kind of doesn’t any more.”
Referring to an interview I had with Brandon T. Jackson I chided Cheadle about Robert Downey Jr. being mistaken for him. “Really!” was Cheadle’s startled reaction.
“You know, I do remember seeing that written and I did write him [Downey] and said, ‘Oh, so you’re the White Don, huh?’ (laughs) and he said, ‘No, you’re the Black me’.” Milking the absurd a little more, a battle royal was suggested and Don was all for it, “Yeah, for supreme Whiteness and Blackness. I’ll play the White him I guess.”
Dynamic duo Ice Cube and Keke Palmer share the screen again in “The Longshots.” They took time out of their busy schedules to talk to The Film Strip about life’s long shots.
“Oh yeah, I’ve had mine,” Cube admitted. “Definitely. It was a long shot to make it in the rap game. Comin’ from the west coast you can count most of the big west coast artists on one hand. So to me that was a long shot. Going from doing that to making a movie like this and being accepted, you know, and kind of being now normal and not such a novelty kind of thing, that’s a long shot to me.”
Palmer chimed in with, “It definitely was long shot for me. I’m originally from Chicago and with my whole family we drove four days and three nights to California to help me with acting. I definitely think that was a long shot.”
Keke will take a shot at playing rapper Roxanne Shante if the money is ever right.
“I hope to get to do that. They don’t necessarily have the funding yet for the movie but to play a rapper would be cool. Her story was actually amazing to me because after she had gotten pregnant and she couldn’t rap any more she really wasn’t in the music too much. But she made sure in her contract that they would pay for all of her education. I thought that was really cool because after everything happened she was still able to get her education and she’s like a professor. I thought that was really awesome.”
Vin Diesel is back in the reel game after sometime away from the screen starring in “Babylon A.D.” The Film Strip asks him about his trust issues in the film and does he trust people in real life?
“I’m a New Yorker [laughs]. I always have those issues and you adopt that from being a New Yorker.” He then concedes and confesses, “Yes, I do trust people but that was a good question. I like to keep it honest.
“I mean, the logical answer is time and experience but really I think that trust is something that comes from the gut and I think you have to get to that. That’s me and it’s probably the worse advice to give people, but I think you have to trust people from your gut. I don't think it's anything specific. I don't think it's anything tangible. I think it's a feeling you get. I think you're forced when deciding whether to trust someone to rely on your intuition in ways that we probably don't do enough.”
There are definitely no trust issues when it comes to his next project. He says he hasn’t seen the final cut for “Babylon A.D.” because he’s been at work on the next “Fast and Furious” film and “Hannibal.”
“I had this wonderful opportunity,” he exclaimed. “Universal Studios has been so damn good to me because in 'The Chronicles of Riddick' they gave me this character, and although I started as you know in the independent film world, they allowed me to write a draft."
“In ‘The Fast and Furious,’ they asked me to go direct a prequel to the prequel which is actually really, really cool. People don't talk enough about their relationships with studios. It's usually studio bashing, but it was pretty cool of them. They said, 'Here, take some money. Go down and direct a twenty minute short.' And maybe it's because they have their eyes on Hannibal or something.
“So it was a wonderful experience shooting the movie. My point, getting back to the question if I’ve seen the final cut of ‘Babylon,’ literally I’ve spent all night in the editing room haven't seen a cut of 'Babylon' in six months, seven or eight months. So I don't know what the hell has happened. If you've seen the movie, give me some feedback.”
No comment.
Having starred in “2 Fast 2 Furious” and “Transformers” it’s no surprise that Tyrese Gibson has an affinity for fast cars.
“Listen,” he beams, “when I was a kid, you know, I always wanted something fast to drive. I never thought I could ever afford anything fast to drive so when they give ‘em to me and tell me I can go and beat them up and have some fun in doing it, bring it on!”
He a white Bentley with over 400 horse power but don’t expect to see him racing it to any finish line
Besides the fast cars, one of the perks for Tyrese in starring in “Death Race” is the fact he gets to go dark playing Machine Gun Joe.
“Machine Gun Joe is crazy, he’s wild,” Tyrese takes pleasure in telling. “He’s unpredictable and it’s a lot of self-sabotage going on with that guy like he’s really beats himself up a lot. And every time he kills somebody, he slices his face. You see the bruises right there. I mean this dude is pretty crazy. I’m just really glad that Paul Anderson allowed me to go dark and have some real fun with this character."
With so many films under his belt, is it safe to say Tyrese Gibson has put his music career on hold?
“Yeah,” he confirms. “I was going to touch on that. I wanna send all the love possible to my man Will Smith who played a huge role in me making some big, big changes in my life. I’m no longer doing music but will get back to it eventually. I’ve done 14 years of music, five albums and you know, I really feel that at this point every blessing taken for granted becomes a curse. Everywhere I go I get a lot of feedback from the performances that I’ve been doing in these films whether they be big or small budget ones. I’ve always pretty much been accepting the love but not wholeheartedly. I’ll be on a film looking forward to doing another album or dong another show and it’s just too much going on spiritually. So I’ve never taken the movie thing as seriously as I have the music. With Will Smith taking me under his wing and telling me that, ‘You’re that guy. You have what it takes to be the next guy.’ [It’s a sign.]”
Considering the hype and big budget spending to promote blockbuster duds, many critics wondered why “Mirrors’ parent company tried to sabotage the film by not letting reviewers see it. For a horror film it’s not that bad. Paula Patton, who is the love interest of Andre Benjamin in “Idlewild” and has a pivotal role in “Swing Vote,” is Kiefer Sutherland’s estranged wife in the “Mirrors.” She says:
“Some people don’t take the horror genre very seriously. It’s [“Mirrors”]intense. It’s dealing with everyday emotions. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from all the cuts and bruises I got filming it. You’re afraid for your husband. I’m trying to save my children and at times save my own life.”
Patton happens to be afraid of scary movies.
“I have to watch them with my husband or someone else,” she chuckles. She does, however, like vampire movies. “I must’ve have seen ‘The Lost Boys’ a hundred times. Needless to say, having seen “The Lost Boys” that many times she is a fan of Sutherland. She also watches “24.” “Any guy who puts a Black guy as a president gets my vote. You know what I’m sayin’? He’s ahead of the times.”
Patton doesn’t think it odd that her husband is White in “Mirrors.”
“I think the film is a step in the right direction,” she states. We all know that we got a ways to go for everything to get equal and right but I do think we’re making a good headway.” A firm supporter of Barack Obama, she is ready for change and believes Obama will be the next president.
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