Exposure: Regina King
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ICG MAGAZINE ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI + PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN + YEARLY DEPARTED + REGINA KING Q&A EXPOSURE Regina King DIRECTOR ! ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI BY VALENTINA VALENTINI PHOTOS BY PATTI PERRET One business breakfast – back when we could still have those – Regina King met with ICM Partners’ Harley Copen: “He asked me very pointed questions about the types of stories that I wanted to tell,” recounts King now (via Zoom, of course.) King served up different ideas to Copen, including a love story with a historical backdrop. By way of example, she began naming films in that genre, which were, unsurprisingly, told from a white perspective. “I don’t think you see that many [historical love] stories being told from a Black perspective in cinema,” King describes. “In a lot of ways, One Night in Miami for me is a love letter to the black man’s experience. When Harley emailed me the script, I felt like he had fulfilled [my request].” 34 JANUARYJANUARY 2021 2021 !". #!#" FILM FILMFEST FESTISSUE ISSUE 35 EXPOSURE Of course, King has been directing television for Is directing more fulfilling than acting, or vice some eight years now: Emmy-winning and Emmy- versa? I can’t say it is more fulfilling. While they “It was John nominated shows such as Being Mary Jane, Scandal, are both absolutely connected, they’re just very Insecure, and This Is Us; the TV movie Let the different. Directing allows me to have a little more Singleton who Church Say Amen and the more recent The Finest. agency with whatever the project is. As a director, King, who began her acting career at 14 years old I do get the opportunity to work with more people opened me up to playing Brenda Jenkins on the NBC sitcom 227, has that have to do with the storytelling process – understand what won a slew of acting awards herself over the last the cinematographer, the production designer, three decades, including four Primetime Emmys, a wardrobe, producers. It gives the opportunity to a director does Golden Globe, and an Oscar for Best Supporting have in-depth creative sessions and discoveries Actress. The latter two were for If Beale Street with more than just your castmates, director, or beyond just the Could Talk. Hot off her lead role in HBO’s genre- wardrobe designer, which I kind of feel for an bending and award-winning Watchmen, King’s actor is the extent. relationship with feature directorial debut, Amazon Studios’ One Night in Miami, releases amidst a year of nationwide What did you learn from directing television an actor.” calls for racial equity in all areas of society. I talked about crewing up? Directing TV taught me a to King about owning up to mistakes, how the lot. It was kind of the point, actually – doing all industry continues to incrementally expand its that TV before directing this film. I used it like representation, and why she chose One Night in my school, and I’m very thankful for people like Miami to be her first feature film. Shonda and Mara Brock Akil who gave me those first opportunities to go to school, if you will. You’ve said that Marla Gibbs was the first boss Once I realized that I wanted to be a director, lady that you saw up close. Did that impact your Chris [Chulack] and Paris [Barclay] helped point career choices? Regina King: Oftentimes, in life, me in the direction I needed to go. I shadowed you’re learning by example, but you don’t even both to see what a director has to do beyond realize that until after the fact; it’s that “hindsight working with the actors. As for crewing up, I is 20/20” saying. I was in the close company of a learned that communication is paramount. A good woman who was accomplishing things that we talk communicator for me is a person that one: doesn’t about now and applaud. I was in the stage play yell, and two: takes the information and can distill version of 227 that Marla put on at her performing it so we can have a shorthand, because time is arts theater that she owned, [acting in the lead never your friend. When you’re able to identify role], and then I saw her sell it to NBC and become crew members who are great communicators, the executive producer, where she fought for or your communication styles are compatible, it than ever before, but not black faces – especially things to be a certain way. Today, many women are makes for solution-based thinking. I don’t care behind the lens. How does that change? A lot making those types of projects, and there are so how much you prepare; you’re going to run into of pressure lands on those of us getting the many examples, but not in 1984. And while I wasn’t something where you have to come up with a opportunities now. If we are successful, it creates sitting there taking notes, it had a big impact on solution quickly. more opportunities for others. It’s unfortunate it me from a very young age. has to be that way – that how a Shaka King or a Despite its period setting, One Night in Miami Gina Prince-Bythewood does determine if Black Who else has influenced your career? My mother echoes current racial equity issues. Was that crews are going to be given an opportunity. It’s is a teacher, which I think is a very powerful job, something that drew you in? Absolutely. That not fair, but that is what history has shown. I do but it’s just not lauded as a heroic occupation. made it even more powerful when I first read it. feel that articles and conversations like this one As an adult, I’ve come to realize how much of It’s not like these conversations haven’t been are helpful. When journalists and outlets decide to an impact teachers have in everyone’s lives. going on, whether it’s 1950, 1960, 1990, or 2020. report on the subject matter, it keeps the spotlight And I could name other women – and men – all I read somewhere that someone said they felt on the fact that there are so many talented people day who’ve influenced me: John Singleton, Paris like our film was trying to point a finger, weighted out there who are not getting an opportunity, and Barclay, Christopher Chulack, Debbie Allen, too heavily toward current events. And I was like, for no legitimate reason. Shonda Rhimes, to name a few. Like many people “Wow, that clearly is a person who probably isn’t who have had success, there’s a whole list of Black.” [Laughs.] We are all guilty of being in our With #OscarsSoWhite and the social justice people who have been influential in some way or own bubble. I don’t know you and I don’t know what issues from this past summer, do you think another. After I did Boyz in the Hood with John, you’ve gone through; it has no bearing on me, but Black representation will continue to change and I auditioned for and got the role in Poetic this is an American story. And that person clearly this industry? I think it has to. I do hear often Justice, I didn’t realize that directing was going has no connection to experiences other than their from [other people of color], who say that they to be part of my career trajectory. But it was John own, and the American histories they’ve been fed. hear these conversations about Black and white, who opened me up to understand what a director but what about them? I feel that this is opening does beyond just the relationship with an actor. Black storytellers are more visible in Hollywood up the conversation for them to take the charge 36 JANUARYJANUARY 2021 2021 !". #!#" and for us to do it together. But the reality is, and then say later!” [Laughs.] But what’s done is more than 50 percent of our crew were not white there is a storied history between Black and done. It won’t stop me from trying to continue to cisgender males. White people in America. And so much of that achieve that. history has been revised. Because of that, we Even before COVID-19, features were trailing have to fight for Black people. It’s not that we’re Why haven’t you been able to hire at least 50 small-screen content in many ways. What do saying we don’t care about Latinos, or Asians, or percent women? We are in this space now where you think the future holds for the theatrical Native Americans, or anyone else in this country so much is in production, and that’s a wonderful experience? I love going to the movie theater. I like who isn’t white. It’s just a very specific story on thing. But that also means there aren’t as many the whole experience – the sound, the big screen, how America was created that has to do with the [female crews] available to go around. In some the popcorn and candy! In the past ten years or history of how Black people came here, how they cases, when I had hired women for a specific so, we had the dinner-at-the-movies experience, built the country, how Black bodies died and were position, whether it was scheduling or whatever, and oh my god, that’s an experience.