Filed under: Interviews
Currently on the big screen is Tanya Hamilton's debut film, 'Night Catches Us,' starring Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie.
Set in a Philadelphia neighborhood around 1976, Kerry's character, Patricia, gets reacquainted with an old friend named Marcus (played by Mackie), who returns to town after a four-year absence and under a cloud of scrutiny from his family and friends. Both were involved with the Black Power movement.
For Washington, 'Night,' which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, represents her third powerful role in 2010 following Tyler Perry's 'For Colored Girls,' and Rodrigo Garcia's 'Mother and Child.' She also finished her Broadway debut in David Mamet's 'Race,' which began at the tail end of 2009.
Blackvoices.com caught up with the Bronx, NY native as she talks about her current film, reuniting with Mackie, and filming her latest film, the romantic comedy 'We The Peeples' in Connecticut with Craig Robinson.
What drew you into doing this independent film?'
Kerry Washington: It's important to me to go back and forth between independent and studio films, because I feel like both of those points are so important in filmmaking. I just really liked the script, that's where the magic has to begin. I loved this one, I loved that it took this period and culture that we tend to think of in stereotypical terms, the Black Panther movement. It forces you to think about the people behind the movement, the humanity of the people who devoted their lives to it. This film isn't about the movement, it's about 10 years after the movement and who are these people and how are they making sense of their lives.
We probably have a tendency to complain that we don't see ourselves enough on the big screen, so I think it's important when a film like this comes along, an independent film that really tells who we are in terms of our history as black people, we really have to show up and support that. There's only one language that Hollywood understands and that's Box Office. It's just like voting. If you go to the box office or iTunes or Video-On-Demand. They'll continue to make movies for and about us if people see movies for and about us.
How much did you know about the movement prior-to and after filming?
KW: I knew a lot about it. I was lucky enough to go to a high school that had a class called 'Literature of the Civil Rights Movement.' I was talking about Malcolm vs. Martin in the 9th grade. I grew up in a kind of politically conscious household so the movement was not unknown to me. Tanya Hamilton really wanted me to listen to a lot of Angela Davis. There's a beautiful way Angela embodies her identity as a black American and combines it with this really worldly education and intellect. There was something about that she really wanted Patricia to have. I had read a lot of Angela but I hadn't listened to Angela, so it was really fun to listen to her, and not do it right on the nose and listen to the way she articulates, carries herself through language. The contained emotion and intellect.
How was working with Mackie for the second time? It's been almost 8 years since the both of you worked on Spike Lee's 'She Hate Me.'
KW: It was actually really fun because we realized we had been in similar situations to these two characters. We had never been involved personally in any way, but professionally we had been through this very intense process of making 'She Hate Me' together, and because of that film we had been, not at all personally, but professionally intimate by necessity because of what that film was. We hadn't worked together in 6 or 7 years so we realized we could use some of that. We didn't talk so much about the characters in the beginning because in those first few scenes where you see these two people reunited, checking each other out, taking stock of where the other person is and what they're thinking and doing. We were instantly really doing that because we didn't talk about it beforehand. We hadn't worked with each other in 6 or 7 years and it was like, " who are you, what are you doing now?"
With the projects that you've had this year do you feel you're hitting your stride as an actress? These are three powerful roles...
KW: I don't think that's true. I had a great year playing Mrs. Ray Charles, that's not a small role, neither was 'Last King of Scotland,' and I don't think those are small roles. I'm very grateful that I'm doing work that I've loved and that I'm proud of and working with people I respect and admire, but I've had that before. One of the reasons I jumped at the opportunity to do 'Night Catches Us' was because I had such an amazing time working with Anthony Mackie on 'She Hate Me,' another incredible opportunity with an amazing director. That film was a lot of responsibility and a lot of work. I guess every year is different, but I wouldn't say hitting my stride because I see myself having a very long career as long as I want to do it. Every year is filled with gifts in its own unique ways.
What I meant to say is that not that often do we see you in as many films or projects in one year, and this year you were on the screen almost every two or three months as well as doing a major play.
KW: I'm really lucky because it's always a big commitment to do a play, and you're taking yourself off the market for about 8 months all-in-all between rehearsals and the performance. Right before the play started I was shooting 'Night Catches Us,' and right after the play...My first week on 'For Colored Girls' I was still doing the play. So I would shoot the movie all day long during our New York exteriors, and then do the play at night. My second week I had to fly to Atlanta on my one day off and shoot a scene then fly back for the Tuesday night show. It was a trip! On stage I was playing a kind of angry woman, bubbling with anger, and the opposite character was given to me on 'For Colored Girls.' It was really fun to go from someone who was very strong-willed, calculating, and angry to someone who was a walking open-heart of compassion.
Are we ever gonna see 'A Thousand Words,' the film you shot with Eddie Murphy?
KW: I don't know how to answer the question about 'A Thousand Words.' You probably have more information about that than I do.
How's shooting your next film, 'We The Peeples,' in Connecticut with Craig Robinson?
KW: It's great. It's really fun. They have been very kind to us. Actually, I can definitely say that it's the most fun I've ever had on a film set in my life. I feel like I have gained a second family. Working with Craig Robinson is a total inspiration because he is so funny and so smart. Tyler James Williams... He's stuck with me, he's going to be my little brother for the rest of his life whether he likes it or not. I feel like I'm learning so much from him just because he's been doing comedy a lot longer than I have. S. Epatha Merkerson plays my mother again but totally different, and we're so different from when we were in 'Mother and Child.' She's just talented.
Besides playing in NYC, LA, Chicago, Philly, Detroit, and Washington D.C, 'Night Catches Us' is also available nationwide on VOD.
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