Ice Cube |
Hollywood.com was invited to the set of First Sunday to chat with stars Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan.
Sunday is known as a day of rest to most people. But Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan aren’t most people.
After coming off the success of the Friday movie franchise, Ice Cube is moving on to what he hopes is the next best day of the week--Sunday, or First Sunday, that is.
As star and producer of the film, Ice Cube meets up with his partner-in-crime to scheme their next big get-rich-quick scheme at a church where they hope to find sanctuary. They end up getting a lot more than what they bargained for.
"I never realized, you know, that I’m kind of stuck in this weekend. So a Saturday movie is somewhere in my future. I can feel it," Ice Cube said, laughing. "It’s just a perfect title. I got people asking me, 'Is that part of the Friday series?' What’s good is we are doing a whole other movie, a different day of the week, a different tone--and it’s cool."
First Sunday Movie Still |
On a recent visit to the First Sunday set, Hollywood.com got to see everything in action--literally. As reporters, armed with pen, paper and recorders in hand, walked onto the lot at Faith United Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, the scheming was already in motion.
The director, assistant directors, producers and crew walked and talked vigorously over their headsets, watching intently at the monitors as the camera shot was set up on Tracy Morgan’s character, Leejohn Jackson, who just woke up from a nap in the basement of the church only to have a few words with Durell Washington, played by Ice Cube. Oh, and did we mention Leejohn has a gun in his hand?
First-time feature film director David Talbert described Durell and Leejohn as good guys that do not-so-good things--people who aren’t bad, they just get in bad situations. In the film, Durell needs $17,000 to keep his baby momma from taking his son to Atlanta to start a hair salon, and Leejohn needs $12,000 after a scheme to trick-out wheelchairs backfires and someone’s ready to collect on his debt.
They both need money desperately and while they’re doing community service, follow a fine-looking woman, Tianna Mitchell (played by Malinda Williams from Daddy’s Little Girls) into a church. Without hesitation, they strip off their orange jumpsuits and end up attending the church's First Sunday with congregants who are pouring money into the donation buckets.
"The preacher says, Malachi, Chapter 3 asks a simple question: Will a man rob God? And they look at each other [and] it’s set up--they are going to break into church on the First Sunday night, steal the money and pay off their debt," said Talbert. "And everything goes crazy--the money is missing, there’s an auxiliary meeting that same night that they didn’t know about and the choir is having a special service."
First Sunday Movie Still |
Making a Scene
In this scene, everyone’s being held hostage, they’ve been in the church for an hour, the air conditioner is broken and everyone is about to snap.
"Let em’ have it, Loretta!" Talbert yells playfully through the microphone to co-star Loretta Devine, who plays the church secretary trapped in the basement with other congregants, portrayed by such seasoned actors as Chi McBride (Boston Public, Roll Bounce) and Michael Beach (Waiting to Exhale, Third Watch, ER).
Shooting a close-up on Leejohn’s gun draped over a ketchup bottle on the table, he wakes up confused from a nap, gets up from the chair, the camera pans to Durell in the kitchen of the basement and the two have an argument.
"What if they don’t know where the money is?" Leejohn wonders.
"What if they do?" asks Durell.
"What if they don’t?" quips Leejohn.
"Do you know where the money is? ‘Cause I don’t know where the money is. Get back in there," Durell barks.
Looking at the congregants holed up in the small room, sweating and fanning themselves, Durell adds, "I’m sick of y’all, so tell me what I need to know."
Balancing Act
Ice Cube took a break from filming to candidly speak with us in a room adjacent to the main set. He said he would like to make more movies of the genre, which he describes as a dramedy.
Photo(s) by Dave Edwards- © 2007- DailyCeleb.com- All Rights Reserved
Photo(s) © 2007- Sony Pictures Entertainment- All Rights Reserved