Jennifer Lopez ("This Is Me...Now"), Joe Keery ("Marmalade"); Jacqueline Coley talks Black Cinema

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.120 In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, I talked with Joe Keary about his 2 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:07.719 new movie Marmalade. We hear from Jay Lo about her brand new film This 3 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:12.199 is Me Now, and I talk with Rotten Tomatoes editor jacchel and Coley all 4 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:18.960 about black cinema. Let's go Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from 5 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:24.960 iHeartRadio, your pop culture news, views, reviews, and celebrity interviews on 6 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:30.079 Fall the movies, TV music, and pomp Culture U Crab Weekly. Here's 7 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:36.479 Kyle McMahon. NAA, hello, and welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle 8 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:40.600 McMahon. I of course am Kyle McMahon, and I thank you for hanging 9 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:45.039 out with me once again for another episode of pop Culture Weekly. We've got 10 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:51.079 a jam packed episode today where I talk once again with Joe Keery about his 11 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:56.479 new film Marmalade, which is really, really, really great. We hear 12 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:00.079 from Jennifer Lopez, the one and only j LO, about her brand new 13 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:07.400 film on Amazon Prime Video This is Me Now, and Jacqueline Coley, Rotten 14 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:12.359 Tomatoes editor, comes back once again, and this time we are celebrating black 15 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:18.040 film, black cinema, talking about you know, some of the best of 16 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:23.560 the Best in Black Film in celebration of Black History Month. So lots of 17 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:30.200 stuff to get into. Let's dive right into it. Okay, So Jennifer 18 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:34.799 Lopez will start out with j LO. She has a brand new film out 19 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:40.319 an album called This Is Me Now. The album is obviously a follow up 20 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:44.480 to her album This Is Me Then, that came out in two thousand and 21 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:51.000 two and was kind of based around her first go round with Ben Affleck, 22 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:57.359 where that entire media circus ensued and we had benefer that whole media circus, 23 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.319 and that's kind of what that album was about. The album This Is Me 24 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:07.120 Then spawned the singles I'm glad all I Have with ll Cooljay, Jenny from 25 00:02:07.199 --> 00:02:12.719 the Block, you Belong to Me. It's hard to believe that it's been 26 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:16.639 twelve years since the release of that album, but j Lo is back with 27 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:23.159 her brand new album, So This is Me Then kind of continues that story. 28 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:27.680 Right, It's been ten years since the release of her last album, 29 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.759 AKA, and This Is Me Now, her ninth studio album, is all 30 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:38.039 about the reunion with Ben Affleck and basically her starts for love. It's kind 31 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:44.680 of part of a three part project surrounding this this Is Me Now, the 32 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:49.680 album, This Is Me Now, the film, and a upcoming documentary on 33 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:54.280 Amazon Prime called The Greatest Love Story Never Told? Which kind of documents, 34 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:59.479 you know, this whole project. She's also going on tour. The tour 35 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:04.639 is thirty plus cities, kicking off in June in Orlando and it is called 36 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:08.240 This Is Me Now The Tour. Here's what Jennifer Lopez had to say about 37 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:15.520 how the album drove the idea for this movie, which is a musical film. 38 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:17.479 You know, it's the visuals for the album, but it's tied together 39 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:23.479 as a film. It's really really inventive. Here's what she had to say, 40 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:28.439 and she's with director Dave Myers about how the album drove the idea for 41 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:32.159 This Is Me Now the film. You know, there wasn't kind of a 42 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.479 time where I was like, oh, I'm going to do this at some 43 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:38.199 point in my life. This was something that was really inspired by the music 44 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:45.080 and a moment in life that I wanted to capture that seemed very kind of 45 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.719 magical and even surreal at times that it was happening. And I went in 46 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.560 the studio and I made this album, and when it was done, I 47 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.199 thought to myself, there's something, there's more to this story. There's something 48 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:00.000 bigger I want to do with this music. I just don't want to put 49 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:02.039 out of you know, do the normal put out a video and do this 50 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:06.280 and do that and promo and blah blah blah, and there was just it 51 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:11.919 felt like there was a bigger message. And so I called Dave and we 52 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:16.519 sat down and we talked about it, and I played him some of the 53 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:19.680 music and I said this, I want to do something. I don't know 54 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:23.720 exactly what I want to do, which is kind of why I think we 55 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:27.959 created something that hadn't really been done. And I was like, didn't fit 56 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:32.079 into anyone, you know, kind of like specific category, not quite a 57 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:38.360 film, not quite a video, but a story nonetheless, something very original. 58 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:42.839 And we sat there and we talked about it, and I sang it, 59 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:46.839 I sang todave, I did all kinds of stuff, and then you 60 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:50.600 know, Dave really kind of honed in on like this is, well, 61 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:54.680 that's the story. What you just told me is what we should do. 62 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:59.279 And we started putting it down on paper, trying to describe it to people. 63 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:01.480 They didn't really quite get it. Then we had to put down a 64 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:06.399 script for them to kind of understand it. We did that and then we 65 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:11.639 kind of went from there and the film is definitely This is Me Now is 66 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:16.519 definitely stylized. You know, it's a fictionalized version or story. So where 67 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:21.480 did j Lo draw the line between reality and fiction? You know, there's 68 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:27.600 not a project that I've ever been involved with, music or movies or anything 69 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:30.920 that I didn't put a bunch of my life into and a lot of my 70 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.560 personal experience. I think as an artist that's all you really have to draw 71 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:38.000 on the experience that you have and and the personal experience and the experience of 72 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:42.519 other people around you that you've born witnessed to. And I think with this 73 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:48.040 one, I really wanted to you know, it seemed like such an important 74 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:51.879 moment in my life, kind of a turning point in my life that and 75 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.800 I was at a point in my life where as a person and as an 76 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:00.120 artist, I could really look at all of the things that I was good 77 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:06.040 at and the things that I felt and knew about myself and put them all 78 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:12.600 into this project in a way, so things professionally but also personally. And 79 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.839 so yes, there's parts of it that feel kind of very autobiographical, and 80 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:20.680 it's parts of it that are kind of meta, not quite in a way, 81 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:27.360 not exactly what happened, but also the feeling of that is what happened, 82 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:30.800 you know. So there was different things about it that, you know, 83 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.360 we're super honest and true, and then there was things that were kind 84 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:43.199 of more for license and kind of taking license and really doing what was best 85 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:50.360 for the entertainment and storytelling of the film, I think. And that mix 86 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:58.480 of it being personal but also being able to be fantastical, surreal, magical, 87 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:02.720 you know what, I think made it really or makes it really kind 88 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:08.439 of moving, entertaining and at the same time super real. There's a ton 89 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:13.040 of celebrity cameos in This Is Me Now. It had to be a challenge 90 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:17.120 coordinating all of these amazing famous people, right, That was, yes, 91 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:23.319 it was. It was a challenge with the cameos that we have in the 92 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:29.040 movie. We obviously had quite a few. Some came on the same day, 93 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:31.600 some didn't. We had to make it work. We did whatever we 94 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:34.560 could. Most of them were shot separate. Yeah, yeah, So that 95 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:41.279 was actually probably the hardest scene to edit because we kept rewriting the script and 96 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:46.480 you know, a lot of them. You know, we're personal friends of 97 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:47.959 Gens, and so there was a lot of you know, like Gen had 98 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:51.680 to switch out of out of you know, performance mode and kind of come 99 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.160 join me and kind of hold their hands and trying to because they didn't understand 100 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:00.839 what they were doing and they're out there wearing funny costumes on a Yeah. 101 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:03.879 They were like, what am I doing? And I was like, just 102 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.279 trust me, it's gonna be fine. I would never make you look crazy, 103 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:11.519 and if it looks crazy, we'll throw it in the garbage. Don't 104 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:15.319 worry about it. But luckily it turned out well, and a lot of 105 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:20.240 them have seen the film already and are so excited, and I mean the 106 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:26.160 reaction has been I mean I could with everything that we've been through, it's 107 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:31.679 so kind of like satisfying to know that people love it. And how does 108 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:37.440 this project fit into the larger body of JLO work? You know, it's 109 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.399 it's it's kind of me and and Ben kind of said this to me, 110 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:43.399 you know, I was like, I'm not. I don't write, I 111 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.840 don't do this. He was like, you do. You write, you 112 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:50.840 direct, you produce, you do all the things you court. You start 113 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:56.000 stepping into that start owning that a little bit, start owning a little bit 114 00:08:56.039 --> 00:09:00.080 of who you are. And again we talk about a little bit about this 115 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:05.720 in some of the behind the scenes footage that we have, and it was 116 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:09.759 just how does it fit in it? It ended as chapter and it started 117 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.799 a new chapter for me. So it ended kind of this twenty year journey 118 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:20.120 about a lot of questions that I had about love and being myself a hopeless 119 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:28.879 romantic and what it means to really enter into a kind of healthier, more 120 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:35.600 self accepting phase for myself. Now, what will happen from that I hope 121 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:39.279 will be and I know will be, you know, even more wonderful things 122 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:43.919 and what I have been so privileged to live up until this point. But 123 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:48.679 again, what the movie shows us that there has been struggles, and there 124 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:52.960 has been you know, hard times that nobody knew about that I kept to 125 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:00.440 myself, and you know, kind of gaining the confidence to be vulnerable and 126 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:07.840 to admit certain things to the world I think has only kind of made me 127 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:13.399 more comfortable in my own skin and kind of empowered me in a way to 128 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:18.399 step into this next phase of my life as an artist and as a human 129 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:26.960 being that will be a whole new chapter for me of feeling more free to 130 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:33.639 express myself in a lot of different and you know, kind of exciting ways. 131 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:39.559 There you have it from Jennifer Lopez, herself, and director Dave Myers. 132 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.559 This is Me Now, a Love Story. The film is out right 133 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:48.440 now on Amazon Prime Video. This is Me Now the album is out on 134 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.960 streaming services everywhere, just like the iHeartRadio app and of course, The Greatest 135 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:58.799 Love Story Never Told. The documentary debuts on February twenty seventh on Prime Video. 136 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.320 We're gonna take a one minute break to pay the bills, hang out 137 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.879 with me, Listen to these awesome advertisers that make this show continue to go 138 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:13.879 along with your support and love. I'll see in sixty all right. Thanks 139 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:18.120 for hanging with me and supporting our advertisers that help support Pop Culture Weekly. 140 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:26.120 Next up, I talk with Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Colely. She is amazing. 141 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.200 Love her, She's been on the show before. It's always a delight 142 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:33.919 to talk to her, and we are going to discuss black film here. 143 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:39.639 She is the one and only Jacqueline Colely. So pop Culture Weekly once again. 144 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:45.000 I am here with the amazing Jacqueline Coley, editor Rotten Tomatoes and host 145 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:50.679 of the podcast, The Awards Tour Podcast. Yeah, thanks for having me, 146 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:52.840 of course, thank you for coming on again. I appreciate it. 147 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:58.240 Yeah, glad to be here, especially talking about great moments in black cinema, 148 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:03.679 because there's tons right are and it does not get enough love and attention. 149 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:07.360 And in my opinion, the more that we talk about it, the 150 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:11.039 more that the less that we have to worry about that. Hopefully that's the 151 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:15.799 goal. Anyway, So Rotten Tomatoes actually has a hub which you are involved 152 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:18.879 with. Tell me a little bit about that. Yeah. So, actually 153 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:22.840 at Rotten Tomatoes we have what we call our Heritage and Celebration hubs that we 154 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:26.080 put out throughout the year. This is actually the first one of the year. 155 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:28.720 We kick it off with Black History Month and then we move into Women's 156 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:33.799 Heritage and then we go on through to API, Native American, Hispanic Heritage 157 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:39.000 and LGBTQ. It's a great moment to sort of show these visionary and landmark 158 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:43.120 moments in cinema, people whose names have maybe been forgotten in history that we're 159 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:48.519 trying to highlight films that have been overlooked as well as what I would consider 160 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:54.559 like the staples and cannons of both filmmakers and moments like films like obviously you 161 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:58.799 know, Wakanda Forever and Black Panther. That was just the movie that a 162 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:03.080 lot of people saw and understand stood exactly how the black experience was sort of 163 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:07.399 given that huge Marvel cinematic moment. But then there's like smaller films like Daughters 164 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:13.240 of the Dust and Watermelon Woman, and they all find incredible moments on this 165 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:16.799 hub, and they find incredible moments with the way that everything works out at 166 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.360 Rotten Tomatoes on our site, which is really great. That is really awesome. 167 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:24.879 So tell me about some of the pieces on there that we can go 168 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.960 and check out and read and then explore those films. Yeah, So, 169 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.480 I would say as an editor, I'm definitely intricately involved in a ton of 170 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:35.519 these, but I will highlight the one that I actually did starting in twenty 171 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:41.639 fourteen, and that is movies that celebrate black joy because oftentime in cinema, 172 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:46.440 and this is actually something that's discussed in a current Best Picture nominee American Fiction. 173 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:50.000 When they think about black stories, the only sort of viewpoint we get 174 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.679 into them is often through the lens of pain, oppression, and marginalization, 175 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.879 which is very real and very true. But there's so many films that are 176 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:03.720 just simply about black Joy or the moments of black Joy. And although not 177 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.080 every single film on this list is joyful all the way through, it's not 178 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.440 as if they don't have serious moments. They have an incredible, I would 179 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.559 say representation of the films that make us laugh out loud, films like Girls 180 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:18.399 Trip forty year old version, a new film that was actually nominated for a 181 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.279 baft rye Lane, and then you also have moments of just like black excellence, 182 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:31.000 with stuff like Beyonce's Homecoming and Renaissance and Spider Man into the Spider Verse 183 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:35.320 and all of these, Like there's nothing more joyful than thinking of like Miles 184 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.639 Morales as Spider Man leaping across the New York Skyline. To me, that 185 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.480 is the absolute epitome of what we think of when we think of Black Joy. 186 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:48.120 Absolutely, and you know, speaking to across Spider Man, across the 187 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:52.720 Spider Verse and now a trilogy or will soon be a trilogy. My god 188 00:14:52.799 --> 00:15:01.360 son Aiden is half black, half white. And when Spider Man, when 189 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.600 that came out, he was so excited and I was excited because I'm a 190 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:09.519 Spider Man fan and Miles Morales is a huge kind of fan favorite as well 191 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:13.360 that was very underrepresented in film. Especially. He said something to me that 192 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:18.120 really struck me, and it was, he looks like me because he aiden 193 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:22.559 has like his his little fro and you know, and his mom will sometimes 194 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:28.080 do like the ties, and and he was so excited to see a character 195 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:35.679 that looked like him, this superhero on screen, and it meant so much 196 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:37.679 to him. So I was so excited to go with him to the theater 197 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:41.559 to see it. But it made me really think it kind of you know, 198 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:46.759 broke my heart in a lot of ways to think that he is getting 199 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.519 excited about this because it's so rare that there's somebody that looks like him on 200 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.240 screen, especially as a little kid, you know, and that's what's great 201 00:15:54.240 --> 00:16:00.360 about films. We actually just got back from the Oscar luncheon on Monday last 202 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.559 Monday, where we talked to a lot of the nominees and they were talking 203 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.360 about we actually spoke to the Spider Verse guys because they're Oscar nominated again this 204 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:14.000 year, about how everybody gets to have an origin story and Spider Verse like 205 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:17.600 at the heart of its DNA is celebrating that origin story. And yeah, 206 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.519 you can see those videos with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who are hot 207 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:26.279 on working for their third installment of that franchise, talk about that, which 208 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:30.440 I felt was very powerful. Yeah, and it speaks to the It speaks 209 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:34.080 to the power of film, and it speaks to you know, for me, 210 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:42.639 Aiden's story speaks to how important that representation is. You know, I 211 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:47.919 want to see stories of people that look like me, especially you know, 212 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:52.200 as a kid. I mean, for him to have to be so excited 213 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.600 about that, in a way is sad, but it also makes me happy 214 00:16:55.639 --> 00:17:00.879 that he's so happy that he is finally getting to see that on screen and 215 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:06.720 it's positive and it's a superhero and it's a you know, from a Marvel 216 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:10.759 character, and it's Spider Man of all people. You know, representation really 217 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:15.640 really does matter, and I love that about our medium, you know, 218 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:19.920 is that entertainment can tell those stories, you know. Yeah, no, 219 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:25.400 absolutely. Another one of the ones that we have on the Hub is actually 220 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:29.920 one from a new contributor for us. He's actually a YouTuber and his name 221 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.880 is Chris Tate, and he did this incredible piece about ten films about black 222 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:38.880 music that have turned these icons into household names. Now, I will say, 223 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.640 I don't know if you've seen the new Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in 224 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:47.240 Pop where they had like Lionel, Ritchie, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, 225 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:49.920 Ray Charles and all of them gathered together to sing we Are the World. 226 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:55.279 Yes, but that was a similar moment of black representation. I mean, 227 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:57.480 this is not this is nineteen eighty five. They were still fighting to get 228 00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:03.720 black artists consistently show on MTV at this point, and so having that sort 229 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:10.440 of large scale event with these white black artists together coming together to do something 230 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:14.240 for charity, to do something meaningful, but more importantly, to put them 231 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:17.920 all on equal footing with the superstars of their day, that was a huge 232 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:22.640 one. Also the new Bob Marley movie where I think you and I probably 233 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:25.720 know who Bob Marley is, but we have to remember kids of this certain 234 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:30.079 timeframe, he is less I think known in the younger generations, and so 235 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.960 getting that moment where these folks can sort of see him and see what he 236 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:37.039 meant to his country, but more importantly, what he meant to the world. 237 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.480 And then in another film that is also on my black joy piece, 238 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:45.559 and that is Quest Loves the Summer of Soul So Good, Yeah, which 239 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:49.960 speaks of the Harlem Cultural Festival from the nineteen sixties, and that documentary which 240 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:55.880 breaks down all of the artists how incredible it was for the community, but 241 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.559 more importantly, how rare it was to see all of these black artists on 242 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:03.160 a single bill in such a large scale event. That one is on there 243 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:07.079 too. And then one of my favorites on here is the Wreatha Franklin documentary 244 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:14.680 concert film Amazing Grace Yes, which was vaulted away for decades due to conflicts 245 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:18.599 between Aretha Franklin and the producers, but her estate eventually did release the rights 246 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:23.200 for the film to come out, and it's so powerful because you forget how 247 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:29.119 transcendent Aretha Franklin was as both a pop star like the Rolling Stones, just 248 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:33.720 like show up in the background of this documentary to be like, well, 249 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:37.440 Retha's singing and we're gonna be there, you know. Yeah. I think 250 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:41.519 nineteen seventy two was when that one came out. Did you And this is 251 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:48.559 semi related, did you see Tina's documentary on Max? Yeah, that's actually 252 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.680 also on the list. With Chris. You didn't know, but now you 253 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.720 do that Chris has that one on there too, Tina. Such it's incredible 254 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:57.920 because we saw What's Love Got to Do with It? I think a lot 255 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:03.039 of people think they knew to Turner story, but this goes so much more 256 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.079 in depth, and I think there's an incredible triple bill to be had where 257 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:11.000 you watch Buzz Love Got to Do with It Tina, and then finish it 258 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.160 off when they eventually do this, because I hope to god they do the 259 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:18.920 Tina on Broadway. If you've never seen it, it is absolutely incredible because 260 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:23.039 I feel like those two are like the melding of everything you see in the 261 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:26.079 dock in the film, and then when they do it on Broadway, it 262 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:32.519 becomes even more powerful. Yeah, that Tina. Tina's passing really hit me 263 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:34.519 way more than I thought it would. I'm a huge Tina Turner fan. 264 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.799 She was one of the first concerts that I ever saw, and my mom 265 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:45.000 had got me into. My mom was into soul and line dancing and disco 266 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.039 and all, you know, all kinds of things. So my mom had 267 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:51.200 actually got me into her, and when she passed, I mean, I 268 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.640 really it was a couple of days that I was set. It was actually 269 00:20:53.680 --> 00:21:00.440 like the first celebrity death that I think really kind of hit me because she 270 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.200 represented so much for me and so many other people. But you know, 271 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:07.960 this is a woman who went through it, you know, obviously, and 272 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:18.440 came out as this symbol of strength and power and creativity and all of these 273 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:23.279 amazing things. And let's not forget that her solo career was in her forties, 274 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:27.279 which is like unheard of even today to start a solo career, but 275 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:33.200 especially then, and became bigger than she ever had, and she represented so 276 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:37.480 much and represents so much for so many people that it really hit me way 277 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:44.200 harder than I was even would have thought. And then I watched that documentary 278 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:49.880 and I was just sobbing because it's such a beautiful documentary. It's such a 279 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:53.960 beautiful tribute to her life. But she also wasn't all good times, and 280 00:21:55.000 --> 00:22:00.160 she wasn't afraid to discuss that. In many instances, I think she got 281 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.720 to a point where she was like, you know, all right, enough 282 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.319 about asking about Ike. But but for at least a long time, she 283 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:14.079 was not afraid to discuss those lows, and that, in my opinion, 284 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:18.160 matters too, because it's our lows, especially if we're able to share them 285 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:22.720 with others that can help somebody else potentially get out of their low, you 286 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:27.559 know. And she was that film Oh my God anyway a tangent that but 287 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:32.000 no, no, it's and it speaks to what I was speaking to before, 288 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:34.599 because she, along with Michael Jackson and a couple of other key artists, 289 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:38.559 were those first artists that sort of broke the color barrier on MTV. 290 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.359 I mean, What's Love Got to do with It became a huge hit on 291 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:48.720 MTV in nineteen eighty four, and that was one of the first black, 292 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:52.480 I would say, artists outside of Michael Jackson that was in heavy rotation. 293 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:56.799 Nobody could deny Michael Jackson, but he was at risk of becoming singular in 294 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:00.799 that environment without people like Tina Turner, with out stuff coming out by folks 295 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.440 like Diana Ross in the eighties that really sort of forced them to say, 296 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.400 no, we're going to continue with this, We're going to continue showcasing these 297 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:14.200 artists because they are music. And yeah, no, I absolutely agree about 298 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:18.359 Tina Turner. She really was an inspiration to domestic abuse survivors, but more 299 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:22.880 importantly just an inspiration as far as music, and so yeah, she was 300 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:27.039 a huge loss. And it's funny though, because she along with a lot 301 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.680 of the films that I mentioned, like Girls Trip and Black Panther and so 302 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:34.559 many others, they're they're so big. And another feature that we actually have 303 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:41.839 on the Hub from a couple of years ago is actually about underrated or under 304 00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:45.559 the radar gems that you maybe don't know about that are just absolutely incredible. 305 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:51.160 It was written three years ago by Valerie Complex. Oh, I've had her 306 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.119 on the show. Yeah, we love Valerie. Yeah, she is so 307 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:56.880 great. And just to give you some of the names that are on this 308 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.880 one. First of all, we have Jin that was directed by Nigela Minhux. 309 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:07.160 She's actually she got her start directing for Queen Sugar with Aver Dubernet, 310 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:12.599 and now she's gone on to be a part of the The Kevin Durant show 311 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:15.799 Swagger. She was writer on that, and it is her story as a 312 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:22.279 Muslim teenage girl sort of trying to do the intersection between her black identity, 313 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:26.240 her American identity, and her Muslim identity and sort of navigating the realities of 314 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.200 how she is true to all three when all three seem very much in conflict. 315 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:36.759 Absolutely incredible shows. Also a young Kelvin Harrison, who folks will recognize 316 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:41.880 from another underrated film of recent memory. In that Chevalier. He played a 317 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:47.599 French aristocrat who was also of mixed race. That one is awesome. Also 318 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:51.039 Night Comes On, which was the first time we got to see Dominic Fishback, 319 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:53.240 who would go on to be in Judas in The Black Messiah and which 320 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:59.359 was amazing, which was also so amazing. There's just way too many incredible 321 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:03.759 films on this list that that you maybe didn't haven't checked. And that's just 322 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.160 the more recent ones. There's also ones from the past, like the television 323 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:11.240 film The Autobiograph of the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which was huge in 324 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:17.000 the seventies but not a lot of people realize about it now. Is sort 325 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:22.200 of like a modern day hit and I'm going to I'm so sorry, but 326 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:26.200 I've actually never heard of that, So I'm going to be adding that to 327 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:30.720 my letterbox, so I can, you know, put it on to find 328 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:33.759 it and watch it. Yeah, this is sort of the that was I 329 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:37.480 think for a lot of people. If you knew Cecily Tyson as the icon 330 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:41.319 that she is. That is probably the role that they most associated to her 331 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.799 at her heyday in the seventies and eighties. And then another I'm going to 332 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:47.240 bring out two more before I end with this list, because I want you 333 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:49.400 to head on over to Rotten Tomatoes and head up and hit up our Black 334 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:52.400 heritage hubs so you can see all of these ones. But one of them 335 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:56.680 is by a nineteen year old filmmaker, Phil Humans. He did a film 336 00:25:56.759 --> 00:26:03.920 called Burning Caine. It starred Wendel Pierce, who also won the Tribeca Best 337 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:07.839 Actor Award for his performance in that and the kid won Tribeca before he was 338 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:11.079 legally able to drink. He couldn't even drink at his own abster party, 339 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.640 and he already beat out all the filmmakers that day. It talks about race 340 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:21.319 and religion and how as a black person the sort of oppression of religion and 341 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:25.200 how you can lose your faith because sometimes the leaders don't end up being exactly 342 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:29.000 who they pretend to be. It's a very nice double feature with Dune, 343 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.319 which is also a film that sort of like warns you against false prophet But 344 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:36.440 another film that's on here in sort of a sad one is Charm City Kings, 345 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:40.279 which is actually a film you can't even see anymore because it was one 346 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:45.799 of those first victims of we're taking this off the streaming service for a tax 347 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:52.920 ride off. And it told the story of young motorcycle culture and Dirk bite 348 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:59.200 culture in urban environments. And it's so sad because now it's just a film 349 00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:02.759 that you have to know if you saw it, maybe you luckily got a 350 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:04.759 screener for it. I still have my screener. I will hold on it, 351 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:07.839 hold on to it until my dying days. But yeah, this is 352 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:14.680 a film that Angel manual Sota's first feature film, and it was a favorite 353 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:18.559 sun Dance and now it has gone to history. So it just goes to 354 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:22.400 show you how if we don't celebrate these films, they can disappear. Yeah. 355 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:26.599 Yeah. Speaking of Valerie, so she's a huge horror fan. I'm 356 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:30.160 a huge horror fan, and so we whenever I talked to her, we 357 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:36.519 gush over our you know, fan boy and girling of horror films. Horror 358 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:41.000 films. For me, black horror films have have kind of becoming are kind 359 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:48.200 of getting I feel like their moment finally, and that is opening doors for 360 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:53.079 more black horror films. Jordan Peele is one of my favorite creatives. He 361 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:57.880 is a genius and he for me, and this is as a white boy 362 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:02.640 talking so please, you know, but for me, I think he has 363 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:08.720 opened so many doors for other black creatives to and he's empowered them, you 364 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:14.359 know us. I mean everything he does I just think is genius. But 365 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:22.519 he produced the Candyman reboot and that I'm horrible. But the director on that, 366 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:29.960 uh la, oh my god, she is amazing, which made me 367 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:33.359 explore her other work from watching Candyman and loving it so much, and you 368 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:37.640 got Little Trees, I think, yeah, yes, yes, yes, 369 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:41.920 she is my god. And I love that somebody like Jordan Peel is using 370 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:48.079 his platform to open people's eyes, open the industry's eyes especially, which I 371 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:53.839 feel like is really the problem to these other amazing talents that have their own 372 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:57.880 stories that that they are telling, you know. And for me, I 373 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:03.119 think horror is such I did an interview with Elvira. I talked to her 374 00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:07.519 every Halloween and we were talking about like Oscar so white. It's like for 375 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:11.839 a while it was horror so white, you know, and now we're seeing 376 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:18.519 I think the horror fandom, you know, horror fans are generally people who 377 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:22.519 are They don't care what color of the filmmaker is or what stories they're telling, 378 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:26.559 as long as they're telling interesting stories. And so horror for me is 379 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:33.400 an interesting place that I feel like black creatives have been able to go to 380 00:29:33.519 --> 00:29:37.960 tell these stories that Look at Jordan Peel, now he's like a major, 381 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:42.599 you know, incredible, huge, one of the top you know, creatives 382 00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:51.000 in Hollywood. And and I love that horror allows that in so many ways, 383 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:53.480 because as sucky as it is to say, it's a way into the 384 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:59.880 bigger system, you know. And there's so many amazing films. There's a 385 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:03.880 film that I write it down, there's a film, horror film, the 386 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:06.680 Black Girl and the Monster or something. Oh yeah, the Black Girl in 387 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:12.440 her Anger Monster Monster. Yes, like that is that is telling a There's 388 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:17.359 no doubt that that is a black creative telling a black story. And me, 389 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:19.160 as a horror fan, I'm just like, this is a great ror 390 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:22.359 movie. Oh and by the way, you know what I mean? Well, 391 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:27.039 no, I think that's the key is like important, It's it's specific, 392 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:32.559 but it's still universal and exactly the thing that horror is sort of like 393 00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:37.039 romance and some of these other genres that have very specific sort of perimeters. 394 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:41.400 You can get very niche like get Out. Get Out as a very black 395 00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:47.720 story about very particular aspects of black identity and navigating the world of whiteness in 396 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:52.000 the case of Chris in that moment, but it's still completely universal. That's 397 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.000 why it was nominated for Best Picture. That's why it took home Academy Awards, 398 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:57.480 is because even though it was talking to a very specific group of people, 399 00:30:57.720 --> 00:31:02.480 or maybe was coming through the viewpoint of a very specific group of people, 400 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:07.799 it's still was something that was universal because within storytelling, if you're doing 401 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:10.559 it right, it can be that way. And we do actually also have 402 00:31:10.599 --> 00:31:14.039 a Black Horror Guide where we sort of break down a few of those in 403 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:18.359 a recent edition. That I think is really key for that one is actually 404 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:22.680 The Blackening, which was out last year. It was written by Dwayne Perkins 405 00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:27.599 and produced by woll Packer, produced and directed by Wollpacker, And that is 406 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:32.720 another example of the other aspect of black horror is that black horror comedies, 407 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:36.519 because get Out is also a black horror comedy. There that that's a really 408 00:31:36.519 --> 00:31:40.319 big part of it is the is the laughing until you cry. And I'm 409 00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:44.160 not just talking on the parity side. I mean we're we're speaking to films 410 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:48.400 like the Blackening movies like get Out, but even something like a Candy Man 411 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:52.279 like there's very comedic moments. Even in the original Candy Man. There's there's 412 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:56.440 funny sort of things that you sort of navigate within these features, which I 413 00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:00.039 think is really important. And Jordan is not just leaving it with black artists, 414 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:05.079 He's all marginal artists. His production company, Monkey Paw is also producing 415 00:32:05.839 --> 00:32:09.480 Dev Patel's first directorial feature, And so I think again, it's definitely this 416 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:13.799 moment is about black cinema, but I think it's about all marginalized voices getting 417 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.319 their chance to sort of speak to it. I love that. I love 418 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:21.839 that. What other interesting you know? I mean, obviously I want everybody 419 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.000 to go to the hub and check them out, But what are some other 420 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:29.599 like top of mind lists that speak to you currently? Yeah, I would 421 00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:34.160 say there's also our TV guide for anybody who's like, Okay, I've seen 422 00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:37.160 some of this other stuff, but what's coming out right now? This will 423 00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:45.079 give you exactly where every streamer, every studio, if they have content right 424 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:50.039 now this month that is particularly geared towards the Black voices or celebrating black voices. 425 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:52.720 Our hub will tell you exactly where to find all of it, so 426 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:57.079 you'll be able to click on there and see exactly where Disney Plus has all 427 00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:00.319 of their Black History Month stories. And then there's things or things that are 428 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:04.920 coming back, like, for example, we have law Man bass Reeves. 429 00:33:04.920 --> 00:33:07.200 It's about to come back with its next season and it has the premiere date 430 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:12.920 for that. Also Genius, which is the nat Geo feature that's on Disney 431 00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:19.519 Plus. The Next Iteration, which is about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, 432 00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:21.960 that one is going to be there. These are men that only met 433 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:24.680 once, but we're very intricol in each other's lives in the civil rights movement. 434 00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:30.759 We also have the new season of, like I said, law Man 435 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:35.119 bass Reeves, we also have the new season of Abbot Elementary, which obviously 436 00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:38.599 is a huge and hilarious feature, but they came right back for Black History 437 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:43.359 Month. And new shows like The Vince Staples Show, which is going to 438 00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:46.200 be on Netflix, and so the Vince Staples the Musical Artist is sort of 439 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:52.400 stepping into the small screen with his very first series. And then also like 440 00:33:52.440 --> 00:33:55.319 again, things that have been celebrated for multiple years, like Queen Latifa's Equalizer 441 00:33:55.920 --> 00:34:00.599 after the Hollywood writer Strike, She's finally coming back with that season four, 442 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:02.599 which will be on CBS. And you can find information about all of those 443 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:07.319 what days they premiere as well as what folks are saying about them on our 444 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:12.760 TV guide for twenty twenty four and it has all of those on a calendar. 445 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:16.159 Thank you. That's an awesome feature, you know. It makes it 446 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:20.639 an easy kind of one stop shop to go and see what you want to 447 00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:24.480 see and plan your plan your viewing. Yeah, so what can we expect 448 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:29.719 from you next? You have so much going on constantly, I mean me 449 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:32.880 mainly, I would say, after you go ahead and hit the Black Heritage 450 00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:36.599 Hub, head on over to the Awards Tour Hub. That's where I spend 451 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:39.559 most of my time this time of year, updating exactly who's winning throughout the 452 00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:44.159 season, as well as, like I said, we have our Awards Tour 453 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:49.239 podcast where I sort of speak to various filmmakers. We have great interviews with 454 00:34:49.559 --> 00:34:52.159 Sterling K. Brown who was nominated this year, as well as Daniel Brooks 455 00:34:52.199 --> 00:34:57.480 who is nominating for the color Purple and I believe our next interview, I'm 456 00:34:57.480 --> 00:35:00.639 gonna I'm going to like tease this one. There's a very big film coming 457 00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:04.960 out that has a black female actress as its lead, and maybe we're talking 458 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.039 to its director in the next coming weeks. I'll leave you with that tease. 459 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:12.559 How about that? Okay? And where where can we find all of 460 00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:15.599 this stuff? Yeah, just head on over to Rotten Tomatoes. Like I 461 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:19.119 said, the Black Heritage Hub is right on our homepage, as well as 462 00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:22.039 the Awards tours, the one right underneath that. And if not, you 463 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:25.840 can just find me on every single social channel at that Jacqueline and I'm sure 464 00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:30.719 I've posted something. And the awards for podcast you can get on the iHeartRadio 465 00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:36.320 app, Apple Podcasts wherever, right everywhere that podcasts are available, you can 466 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:38.880 find it. Awesome. Thank you so much for speaking with me. It's 467 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:43.159 always a pleasure to talk to you. Please come back soon and we'll talk 468 00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:46.519 whatever it is that you want to talk about. Thank you, it was 469 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:49.719 so great, great to be here again. Thank you for having me. 470 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.639 Thank you. I love Jacqueline. I always enjoy talking with her. She 471 00:35:54.840 --> 00:36:01.559 is an encyclopedia of film knowledge and I love that she joined us to discuss 472 00:36:01.639 --> 00:36:07.519 black film, black excellence, black cinema on Pop Culture Weekly Today and celebration 473 00:36:07.760 --> 00:36:10.760 of Black History Month. Of course, as always in the show notes, 474 00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:15.280 we got a ton of links for you to get to everywhere that you're interested 475 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:21.679 in based on our conversation. All right, we're gonna take a quick break 476 00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:28.000 sixty seconds to pay the bills. See you in sixty all right. Thank 477 00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:31.760 you for hanging with me, Thanks for supporting our advertisers who keep this show 478 00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:37.320 running, keep me bringing great content to you with the people that you love 479 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:43.559 in pop culture, movies, music, TV streaming all of it. All 480 00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:47.280 right. Next up, I talk once again with Joe Keery. He is 481 00:36:47.320 --> 00:36:52.400 amazing, you know him from Stranger Things and Free Guy and so many other 482 00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:59.960 amazing projects. This film that we're talking about today, Marmalade, is really 483 00:37:00.199 --> 00:37:07.159 really great. It's like a genre bending, line blurring film that has this 484 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:13.360 esthetic that I absolutely love. It's directed by Kira O'Donnell, who is an 485 00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:17.000 actor himself, and so this is obviously a passion project for him, and 486 00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:22.960 the passion comes through not just in the film itself, but from all of 487 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:27.280 the you know, incredible actors, all the work on this film. So 488 00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:34.239 Joe plays Baron. So basically the film revolves around Baron, who in jail 489 00:37:34.360 --> 00:37:38.760 strikes up a friendship with a new cellmate who has a history of you know, 490 00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:44.119 breaking out of prison. So as they're hatching a plan to escape, 491 00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:49.159 Baron discusses how he met the love of his life and how they had to 492 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:52.800 come up with a scheme to rob a bank that put him in this situation 493 00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:59.199 in the first place. It's really really great. I highly recommend that you 494 00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:05.960 watch Marma. And here is my interview with Joe Keery. So, first 495 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:09.320 of all, Joe, welcome back to Pop Culture Weekly. I really appreciate 496 00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:14.360 you taking the time to talk to me about Marmalade. Hey, thanks for 497 00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:17.880 having me of course. So first of all, this film, I absolutely 498 00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:22.519 love it. It's it reminds me of like one of those great eighties nineties 499 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:30.199 films where you know, kind of mixes genres and it's got all kinds of 500 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:35.079 interesting things going on that makes it it's you know, it's not a it's 501 00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:38.000 not a romantic comedy, it's not a drama, it's not a thriller by 502 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:43.880 themselves, it's all kind of mixed. Is that what drew it to you? 503 00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:45.920 And if not, what is what did draw you to to the role 504 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:52.519 of Baron. Yeah, that's exactly kind of the the genre bending element that 505 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:58.760 you know, a lot of the early Coen Brothers movies, Usual Suspects, 506 00:38:58.800 --> 00:39:01.280 and it kind of has this sort of whimsical element, fairy tale element that 507 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:07.920 I thought was sort of an interesting angle. As well as just being kind 508 00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:13.880 of connected to this character. I sort of think generally your first instinct about 509 00:39:13.920 --> 00:39:16.559 things is kind of dead on, and I kind of felt like I sort 510 00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:23.159 of understood the character. And then also I think something that's kind of lacking 511 00:39:23.199 --> 00:39:28.079 in cinema these days, or it's movies that are sort of surprising in a 512 00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:31.119 way, and the audience is so smart these days that generally there are three 513 00:39:31.119 --> 00:39:36.039 steps ahead of the plot before it happens, and then there's kind of no 514 00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:39.840 element of surprise. So I kind of liked subverting expectations a little bit and 515 00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:45.920 hope that this one can kind of sneak up on people and also just sort 516 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:47.760 of be a little bit of levity and a little bit of joy and a 517 00:39:47.800 --> 00:39:52.320 bright spot for people. Yeah, and I think for me anyway to accomplish 518 00:39:52.440 --> 00:39:59.760 that this film, You know, it's interesting because there's kind of it's centered 519 00:39:59.800 --> 00:40:05.920 in opinion, around these three kind of characters, and the talent behind it, 520 00:40:05.960 --> 00:40:10.400 including yourself, is really makes it, you know what I mean, 521 00:40:12.440 --> 00:40:15.280 what is it like working with talent like that on a film like this especially, 522 00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:20.559 It's so important to have people who can just nail things. I guess 523 00:40:20.719 --> 00:40:23.360 when you're working on an indie movie that's so small, you know, really 524 00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:30.079 almost a micro budget, and you shot so quickly. Really it was four 525 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:36.599 weeks for this whole movie twenty days, so it's really important to I guess, 526 00:40:36.679 --> 00:40:38.000 yeah, just sort of have a deep understanding of the character and be 527 00:40:38.039 --> 00:40:42.760 able to show up on set just nail it. And with all this Camillas 528 00:40:42.800 --> 00:40:47.599 just like boom bam. So I just felt so lucky and taken care of. 529 00:40:50.159 --> 00:40:52.599 And then also with kir As well, you know, the director of 530 00:40:52.639 --> 00:40:58.719 the movie, he's this was really his kind of baby, this project, 531 00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:06.119 so the movie is inside of him. He understands each character pretty obviously intimately, 532 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:10.679 and then he just has a dream for how it is shot. That's 533 00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:15.639 very specific, and that's what you want and hope for when you work with 534 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:20.360 other people and work with directors especially, So he was amazing. He was 535 00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:22.960 a joy, and it does. It does seem like and obviously is a 536 00:41:23.079 --> 00:41:29.199 very personal project for him. He's obviously been an actor for for a long 537 00:41:29.239 --> 00:41:34.679 time and this is his first directorial debut. Do you get any kind of 538 00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:38.000 nervousness when you know, when it's something like that that you're working with somebody 539 00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:43.800 who who's obviously so personal to in so many ways, Well, are you 540 00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:46.400 able to like separate that? Yeah? Well, I mean yeah, at 541 00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:52.599 a certain point you kind of like you it goes from this thing that you 542 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:57.199 know that was on the page, and then all of a sudden, you 543 00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:01.639 know, you obviously want to take everything into you know, everything that's on 544 00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:05.800 the page is kind of that's sort of the Bible. But then also you 545 00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:08.039 have to make it your own, and so there is a little bit of 546 00:42:08.079 --> 00:42:15.440 nerves involved with that. But luckily here's a really collaborative guy, and as 547 00:42:15.480 --> 00:42:20.920 an actor, as a pretty deep understanding that you know, it is a 548 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:23.280 collaboration between the director and the actor and that's what makes a good character. 549 00:42:23.960 --> 00:42:30.119 So and for me that I prefer that I would really I like to kind 550 00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:32.519 of create the character with the director because that's sort of the sort of the 551 00:42:32.519 --> 00:42:37.360 fun of it. And when you have the kind of shorthand about like how 552 00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:40.159 the character would react in a situation, how to interpret certain things. It's 553 00:42:40.239 --> 00:42:45.599 nice to have two perspectives other than just one. So nerves, yes, 554 00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:50.719 but also that's the fun of it, okay. And for you, you 555 00:42:50.719 --> 00:42:52.360 know, and I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible, but for 556 00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:58.119 me, the film is very thought provoking in many ways. You know, 557 00:42:58.440 --> 00:43:01.400 I know my mind passed away a couple of years ago from panocratic cancer, 558 00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:06.599 but it got me thinking about sorry, thank you very much. It got 559 00:43:06.599 --> 00:43:08.920 me thinking about, you know, what would you do for love, both 560 00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:14.199 as you know, a parent, a girlfriend or a partner or whatever. 561 00:43:14.679 --> 00:43:21.199 And to me, that's something that is not always present in a lot of 562 00:43:21.800 --> 00:43:25.000 projects today where you know, you really after you watch the film, it 563 00:43:25.159 --> 00:43:29.320 stayed on my mind and you know, thinking like what would I do, 564 00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:34.079 you know, and when someone is in a dire situation, what are the 565 00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:37.079 lengths that you would go to? And that sort of thing, And I 566 00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:43.239 feel like Marmalade does a really good job of giving that to the audience where 567 00:43:43.239 --> 00:43:47.599 it's something to think about, you know. Yeah, yeah, definitely I 568 00:43:47.639 --> 00:43:52.519 loved that part of it. Without spoiling I think I also love that about 569 00:43:52.559 --> 00:44:00.679 the conclusion of the film, that it's this candy kind of colored cat and 570 00:44:00.760 --> 00:44:04.760 mouse caper movie that you're kind of like, what is this movie? And 571 00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:07.840 then it's sort of lands with actually something to say. I really like that 572 00:44:08.079 --> 00:44:15.440 as well. So that's amazing actually that you felt that way. That's really 573 00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:17.599 cool to hear because it's kind of just coming out. I haven't really talked 574 00:44:17.639 --> 00:44:21.960 to too many people about the movie, and to hear you say that is 575 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:24.840 really cool. Thank you, And that's truly how I feel, and you 576 00:44:24.880 --> 00:44:29.480 know, you guys have done a great job with with it. I just 577 00:44:29.519 --> 00:44:31.960 feel like this is one of those films where everything has fallen into place, 578 00:44:32.320 --> 00:44:36.599 you know, from the aesthetic, from you know, cinematography, to the 579 00:44:36.639 --> 00:44:40.320 script, to the actors directing, obviously the writing. It's just one of 580 00:44:40.320 --> 00:44:45.400 those films that really, you know, sneaks up on you. You know, 581 00:44:45.800 --> 00:44:49.079 I didn't really know what I was going into before I watched it, 582 00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:51.559 and then as I watched it, I'm like, this is like one of 583 00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:55.679 those films that that sticks, you know, sticks more than you know. 584 00:44:55.719 --> 00:45:00.679 We watched so many projects I'm sure you do too, and there's so much 585 00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:07.599 content coming out and oftentimes it's it's easy to forget the last few things you 586 00:45:07.679 --> 00:45:10.320 just watched because you're onder the next one. And it says something, at 587 00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:15.559 least in my opinion, when one of those projects sticks with you after you've 588 00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:20.920 watched it, you know, definitely I feel a very similar way. I 589 00:45:20.920 --> 00:45:23.320 think a lot of people feel the kind of burnout from just there's a lot 590 00:45:23.320 --> 00:45:29.320 of stuff. There's a lot of stuff to watch. So I guess that's 591 00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:31.519 what sort of drew me in to the idea of this, is that it 592 00:45:31.559 --> 00:45:37.440 felt really different and it felt kind of risky, but that's the fun of 593 00:45:37.440 --> 00:45:43.280 it. The risk, I guess is that you know, you sort of 594 00:45:43.320 --> 00:45:45.519 end up feeling like silly or you know, you're kind of like, I 595 00:45:45.559 --> 00:45:52.760 don't know, but that I think that's also where really great things can kind 596 00:45:52.760 --> 00:45:57.960 of happen and really exciting work can be done. So yeah, I really 597 00:45:58.000 --> 00:46:00.480 appreciate you saying that that's that's very cool that it has stuck with you. 598 00:46:00.719 --> 00:46:07.119 And I'm really excited to see what other people think when they watch the movie 599 00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:10.440 and kind of see sort of what happens with it. Cool of it's sort 600 00:46:10.440 --> 00:46:14.719 of starting to take on a life of its own after kind of being this 601 00:46:14.840 --> 00:46:16.639 thing that we worked on and now it's sort of out there for everyone to 602 00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:21.159 enjoying. Yeah, I can't wait to talk to talk talk to people about 603 00:46:21.159 --> 00:46:23.440 it. Finally, for you, you know you do you've done and do 604 00:46:23.800 --> 00:46:29.400 big projects like Stranger Things and the film with Ryan Reynolds. Oh yeah, 605 00:46:29.440 --> 00:46:30.119 of course, guy, Yes, free guy, thank you. I was 606 00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:35.000 gonna say free man that which I talked to you, you know, you 607 00:46:35.079 --> 00:46:38.079 and I talked for that film. And then you're able to do you know, 608 00:46:38.159 --> 00:46:43.159 a small project like this. What for you, does that kind of 609 00:46:43.199 --> 00:46:49.320 fulfill all of your creative you know needs, if you will, where you 610 00:46:49.360 --> 00:46:52.280 can go and do this big budget project and and then you can go and 611 00:46:52.320 --> 00:46:58.079 do you know a smaller sort of art house indie film that that can take 612 00:46:58.239 --> 00:47:00.440 risks and that sort of thing. Does it? Does it fulfill different needs 613 00:47:00.480 --> 00:47:06.719 for you as an actor? Definitely? Every project has its own challenges, 614 00:47:07.599 --> 00:47:13.599 its own benefits, And every time you think you understand what it is like 615 00:47:13.639 --> 00:47:15.719 to work on set or make a film, it all sort of changes. 616 00:47:15.800 --> 00:47:22.360 Because the beautiful thing is that it's a rotating cast of characters. It's like 617 00:47:22.360 --> 00:47:24.239 a circus. You like, go to this place and you put on this 618 00:47:24.360 --> 00:47:30.400 show and then it's over. So yeah, working on different you know, 619 00:47:30.440 --> 00:47:32.639 a big budget thing versus the tiny thing, there are major differences, but 620 00:47:32.679 --> 00:47:37.079 I think at the core it really is the same. But I feel really 621 00:47:37.159 --> 00:47:43.079 lucky also in my life to just have a lot of outlets and a lot 622 00:47:43.079 --> 00:47:47.079 of interest in a lot of different a lot of different things. So it's 623 00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:52.679 yeah, I guess I guess that sort of answers the question, but obviously 624 00:47:52.800 --> 00:47:57.199 feel very yeah, very fortunate to be able to, you know, do 625 00:47:57.920 --> 00:48:01.599 any of these things. So yeah, it's very exciting. Well, and 626 00:48:01.639 --> 00:48:06.320 we love watching you. Joe. Thank you so much for speaking with Nick. 627 00:48:06.679 --> 00:48:08.960 I can't wait for everybody to see Marmalade. It's such a great film. 628 00:48:09.360 --> 00:48:13.639 And uh, thank you come back again for the next project. Thank 629 00:48:13.679 --> 00:48:16.480 you so much, absolutely well, Thanks Kyle, Thanks man, Joe. 630 00:48:16.599 --> 00:48:24.079 Kirie love Joe love Marmalade, and I'm so thankful for him to come back 631 00:48:24.239 --> 00:48:30.880 out to come back on the show and discuss his latest project, Marmalade. 632 00:48:30.920 --> 00:48:36.199 It really really is worth your time. Besides Joe, it also stars Camilla 633 00:48:36.280 --> 00:48:39.559 Morone and Aldis Hodge, who are both incredible in their own right. You 634 00:48:39.760 --> 00:48:46.920 can watch Marmalade right now on Apple TV Prime Video wherever you rent or purchase 635 00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:52.400 your films. And it's also has a limited release in theaters, which I 636 00:48:52.480 --> 00:48:55.400 highly recommend. If it is playing near you, you go and see it 637 00:48:55.400 --> 00:49:00.800 in the theater. It's really a great film. All right, that's all 638 00:49:00.840 --> 00:49:04.440 for this episode of pop Culture Weekly. Thank you for hanging out with me. 639 00:49:04.920 --> 00:49:08.960 I really appreciate you. Keep on listening, keep on reviewing the show 640 00:49:09.320 --> 00:49:15.159 on Apple Podcasts or wherever, sharing it with friends that you think would enjoy 641 00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:19.559 it, especially the conversations that we had today. I appreciate you. Hit 642 00:49:19.599 --> 00:49:22.039 me up on all the socials. I love you. We thank you for 643 00:49:22.119 --> 00:49:32.519 listening to pop Culture Weekly. Here all the latest at popcultureweekly dot com. 644 00:49:32.760 --> 00:49:37.239 Used to have a little, but I got a lot. I'm just I'm 645 00:49:37.360 --> 00:49:40.639 just Kylie from the Block. Don't be fooled by the pops that I got. 646 00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:45.519 I'm just I'm just Kylie from the Block. Used to have a little, 647 00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:49.199 Now I have a lot. I'm still I'm still Kylie from the Block. Me