Paula Patton, Laz Alonso School HU Students on Love, Marriage & New Film

On Thursday, April 14, 2011 Howard University’s office of Student Activities brought Laz Alonso and Paula Patton to Cramton Auditorium to host a press conference for the movie Jumping the Broom set to hit theaters on May 6^th.  Howard University’s own Jae Murphy mediated the conference. Alonso and Patton sat down for an intimate question and answer session with HU students who work for and/or head their own publications.  Peep some of the thoughts and knowledge Laz Alonso and Paula Patton shared:

Paula Patton: I think you always draw from your personal life a little bit, but I think that’s what’s unique about Jumping the Broom, you do see two different classes within the African American community.  But what’s really great and what our director and screen writer did was not make caricatures of either one. Like, he could have made uptown folks too uppity – make fun of them and you can’t connect; he could have made downtown folks from Brooklyn too much of a stereotype.  So what I think is great about the film is it’s real people coming together and I think we all know that within our own families and friends we have all different types of folks – that’s what the movie really represents.

Laz Alonso: One thing I remember when I was a student at Howard was that you’d be sitting next to somebody in a classroom and their parents could be multimillionaires and the one right next to him could be relying on financial aid.  They’re both learning the same information from the same teacher reading the same books and in the same study groups.  There’s more ways that we are alike than we are different, and that’s what this film shows.  Sometimes we get so caught up in how we’re different but if we could just put our differences aside and get to know the human being, the person, we realize that we resemble each other more and have more in common than we have different.

PP: Be true to yourself; love yourself before you love anybody else.  Stick to whatever your beliefs are and don’t let a man or anyone else influence that.

LA: I believe the message behind my character is: when you do find somebody that fulfills you and completes you both spiritually and intellectually, completes you and you feel that this person is the one, then you are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to have this person in your life.  You’re going to put them first.  So I feel that my character shows that in many different ways.  First and foremost he’s willing to wait.  You know they don’t need to have any type of physical sex or anything of that nature.  She (love interest in the movie) decides she wants to wait and he (character in the movie) says he’ll wait six more months because she’s worth it.  I think that’s something we forget, that when we find that person sometimes we have to make sacrifices but if their worth it, we’ll do it.

Tell us about your experience working with the full cast including Loretta Devine, Angela Bassett, Meagon Good, Tasha Smith, Pooch Hall, Romeo, and Mike Epps.

LA: For me it was crazy because Loretta Devine, I don’t know if you all are familiar with method actors and actresses and what that means.  For those that don’t know what method means, it’s someone who becomes their character during the entire time they are playing in a film.  They’ll even take their character home with them and continue being that character.  Well I didn’t know that Loretta Devine was method and neither did Paula.  So I didn’t realize that she expected me to check in with her in the morning and see if she wanted breakfast.  I would run into her in town, we shot this in a little tiny town, and if Loretta caught me at breakfast without her I’d get yelled at.  If I was at the mall, “Boy what’s wrong with you? You can’t have your momma…” and I was like woooooahhh! This is serious stuff.  So once I figured it out I was like ok, she’s my mom.  SO for the next 2 months she’s my mom and we’re hanging out together, we’re having breakfast, we’re working out together, I got Loretta working out and every time we were on set she’d look at Paula and roll her eyes at her and give her a little attitude even when we weren’t shooting.  So Loretta Devine is a method actress but that’s what makes her great.  She dives into her character and she gives 110% and I think you’re going to see her play something in this movie that you haven’t seen her play before and it just shows how great she is.

PP: And everyone is great in this film.  Angela Bassett is just a magnificent actress – she’s incredible and really delivers such a well rounded character.  Mike Epps is incredible – he really kills this movie because he’s not just funny but he brings the heart and in many ways pleases the audience.  He says what we are all thinking when we’re annoyed and he’s really the glue that holds us all together.  He really did a magnificent job.  And everyone did! Meagan Good, she’s fabulous and so beautiful.  Romeo and Pooch, Tasha, everybody killed it.  We all wanted the movie to be great and we all worked really hard to make that happen and hopefully you all agree.

PP: Well I hope it affirms it.  I mean love to me is the most important thing in the world.  Honestly, I believe love conquers all and we all know that love exists within every racial group and financial group. And I think that what’s positive about this movie is that you see two people getting married and you see these two families coming together and overcoming their differences to become a family in the end. I think that’s a much needed representation in Hollywood.  We know that there are a lot of negative stereotypes out there and they are given over and over again in our cinema so it’s refreshing and an important testament to love.

LA: Some of my favorite movies growing up were romantic comedies – Eddie Murphy in Coming to America and Boomerang, those movies were about Black love. The love between a man and a woman; a Black man and a Black woman. Right now when you listen to the radio you’re not hearing as much Isley Brothers who talked about love, now most music talks about sex.  So I feel this movie goes back to the days of love and talks about true love between a man and a woman.

Taraji P. Henson said during Charter Day (At Howard University) that she was really looking forward to this film because it’s a refreshing African American Film.  So what was it like on the set? Was it understood that this is something that’s refreshing for African Americans?

LA: The director of this film, even though it was his first time directing a feature film, he has directed Soul Food (The Series), Girlfriends, and currently The Game.  He has been portraying African Americans in a very positive, refreshing light for years.  Not perfect – because we’re human beings like anybody else. So I don’t think there could have been a better person to direct this film. Salim Akil works with class and grace and he wasn’t going to let my character come off wrong.  I felt protected; I felt like I was in good hands. I feel like what you see, the beauty you see in this film, he was the eye behind the lens and it was a great mix.

As the press conference concluded, Paula Patton and Laz Alonso earned a Howard University stamp of approval as well as a standing ovation from members of the press.  In parting words Laz left this token: “You all are in the press, you all communicate.  With one article you write, hundreds of people and thousands of students are going to read.  Please encourage our students to spread the word and go out and support the movie opening weekend.  A lot of times we don’t know the importance, especially for black films, to go out and support our films opening weekend. That is how Hollywood knows that there is an audience and that is how we tell them to continue to make movies for us that are about us.  So please make sure, if you can, I’m asking that you reinforce and let Hollywood know that we appreciate more movies about us.  Thank you.”

Jumping the Broom is set to hit theaters May 6^th.  Support black love in film and check it out.