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‘Talk To Me’ Director Kasi Lemmons on Her Vibrant Historical Plunge into Late ’60s America

[IMG:L]She may not yet be a household name–but does that even matter for a director who’s accomplished more in the span of her courageous, independently-grounded career than most of her industry peers? She is Kasi Lemmons.

Dynamic, confident and intuitive, Lemmons first burst on the directing scene, a decade ago, with the indie–and unexpected sleeper hit —Eve’s Bayou; a film that way surpassed its expectations at the box office, and ignited the actress-cum-director’s career into something of wonder.

Of course, there’s always the reality that follows the successful debut: of the hard climb to sophomore feature and the opportunities thereafter. And in Lemmons’ case, it would be a sweet and sour struggle, on many levels–though one destined to turn around, with her spirited third feature release, Talk To Me.

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Starring glowing talents–Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor; with Martin Sheen, Taraji Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, and Lemmons’ talented spouse, Vondie Curtis HallLemmons is back in top form, charting the true life story of controversial ‘60s radio host Petey Green, and his ambitious partner, Dewey Hughes.
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Hollywood.com: Was it challenging to present, concisely, the colorful life Petey Green led?
Kasi Lemmons:
I never, ever looked at his colorful life as being a life story. I looked at is as a film in which Petey Green was a character. I was disciplined by the drama which I focused on between the two characters. I looked at it as how would I impose structure on it and keep the focus on the drama between these two characters [Petey and Dewey]. Then let the other stuff around it happen and blossom.

HW: How did you choose the tricky tone you had to balance in showing this sometimes animated world of Petey; in other directors’ hands, it could’ve been made questionable.
KL:
You know, it’s really interesting when you start worrying. You know you’re in love when you start worrying about a movie. It’s the same thing that happened with Eve’s Bayou. I started worrying that if I didn’t direct it, somebody would get it wrong. I remember when I felt bad about Talk to Me like, ‘If I don’t direct this it’s going to be silly, someone is going to get it wrong!’ You know what I mean? But I knew what to do with it. Even as I looked at it and as I started to enter into it. I thought, “Well this is fantastic. Wouldn’t it be great if you had dramatic actors being funny and comedians being serious–and it ‘read’ very easily from comedy to tragedy. Wouldn’t that be great?

[IMG:L]HW: Was casting a natural, or did you have to do a little searching in your head when figuring out the actors?
KL:
Yeah, some of it was a search, but Don Cheadle was a natural. Some of it was different things for different characters. Like, Martin Sheen was something I thought a lot about…that character…who is “that” guy…who is cool and conservative? At the same time, ya’ know? Who might run a station like that? That you believe this character…Cedric had the voice and the everything. … Then Taraji…sometimes it’s difficult for me casting actress because I am an actress…and I love them all, and I want them all to work. Taraji came in and she’s just…unpredictable. She’s a very exciting person to work with. I knew that she would walk right at the edge so that you’re scared of her and you want to be with her at the same time. …You miss her when she’s not on screen. And, Chiwetel…was always on my very, very short list to be in the movie.

HW: Was Chiwetel on the project from the very beginning?
KL:
We put the movie together and we fell apart. When we put it back together again he was busy. Chiwetel flew himself to Los Angeles and sat in a room with Don [Cheadle] and I. They started reading…just messing around…they stood up and it took them a very short amount of time. Literally, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. That was it. We were done! [Satisfied smile] Don was like, “I’m not reading anymore.”

[IMG:R]HW: There’s always something you discover about an actor while making a film; what did you discover with Don?
KL:
Oh god! I don’t know? I knew he was really funny. It’s something [special] to be around when somebody’s that funny. The truth would be that my biggest discovery is that he’s easy. He’s great to have on set! Okay, I’ll tell you a big discovery. There are moments when every great performance, that I’ve directed, that when I lose the actor entirely. Now, I’m a director. I know them. There’s a point in the movie when he’s [Cheadle] doing stand-up [on stage]. But, Don’s not there. You know? [Petey is]. Something else is going on. My biggest discovery, is that we were doing ADR [editing], and that scene came up and he [Cheadle] said, “Huh? Where’d that come from? Who is that?” That he also saw that! With out me saying a thing [satisfied smile].

HW: What was it like working on a film period that you didn’t live in yourself?
KL:
Oh, there’s so many things to say about it. Recreating the D.C. riots and The Tonight Show and the James Brown concert…it was such a gift being able to tell time–instead of putting little tags like, now it’s 1972…now it’s 1973…it’s 1974–with characters’ wigs and clothes. Very specifically we talked about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Vietnam War and the protests and activism and revolution and hopelessness, and hope and change and all those dynamics about the ‘60s. I did a lot of research on the ‘60s.

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HW: Was it refreshing to film a workplace scenario, during that volatile era, with black and white people actually working side-by-side, in a professional context?
KL:
I did! … But I said to Chiwetel, “Don’t get too comfortable! You’re not comfortable.” They didn’t relax into today’s more comfortable interrelationships. They [the actors] kept it having a ‘60s feeling.

HW: How would you speak to the changes we’ve seen today vs. the era of this film?
KL:
Well….I was thinking about this last night. It’s a conversation that would be a very long conversation. How do I put it in a nutshell? The way that we’ve been empowered. Condoleezza Rice [in her position] isn’t someone my mother would have necessarily envisioned. I don’t know if she would have envisioned it like that. You know? It’s interesting.

HW: Do you think the divisions in society have moved away from race, and are now more so defined by class?
KL:
I mean, god there are so many divisions. There are more divisions than any that are unified. I think it’s class, and race, and religion, and creed. Anything you can possibly imagine: age [even]? We’re very divided. There’s so much of that tension. But [pauses] no, I think there’s [still] a lot of racial tension.

HW: How do you think this story will resonate with today’s black youth, being far removed from the ‘60s and the issues that came along with it?
KL:
I think it will. I think they might have an interesting reaction. They might have an emotional reaction.

[IMG:L]HW: What about radio, and how it differed in that day? Radio was a real social changing mechanism that doesn’t quite exist today.
KL:
What’s happening now is that everything is owned by conglomerates. So there isn’t the same freedom. Like, one guy [Martin Sheen‘s character]–ok yeah, he’s a white guy in a suit–can [singulary] make a decision that’s interesting that empowers this little station. There’s so much more noise [today]. There’s 900 TV stations. The internet. There’s something sexy about the intimacy of radio…their voices are entering your car and your home. It’s just them and a mic.

HW: You actually, emotionally, experience Martin Luther King’s death as if you were there—instead of the distanced and numbing presentation most works rely upon.
KL:
That’s exactly what I wanted. I talked to them [the actors] a lot about hearing my mother scream. A sound like you can’t imagine. And that she screamed. And she kept screaming. It’s a horrifying thing when you are a little kid to hear your mother scream. She was rocking back and forth. In my child’s brain I thought she said, “The King is dead.” It rocked my world honestly…I’ve never heard anything like it before. I wanted to hit the moment right.

HW: It’s an amazing soundtrack. Did you have trouble getting the rights to any of the songs?
KL:
Yes! It was very expensive and very difficult. Every step of the way with movie making I thought I would “die” if I didn’t have the song. Like, it become, “What am I going to do-o-o-o?! There is no other song??” It became painful at times but we had a lot of triumphs.

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[IMG:R]HW: Easiest song and hardest song to obtain?
KL: 
James Brown and Michael Jackson, respectively.

HW: Being a female director, are the doors opening a bit wider for you to enter, now having directed three feature films?
KL:
I’ve been kind of anonymous in Hollywood in general. I had an interesting experience where my manager was pitching me for a movie, pitching me for a movie, and they were fed up with her pitching. [Now smiling] And the guy called back and goes, “Kasi Lemmons. I know all about HIM!!”

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