BS: Well, we will keep an eye out for it and the film.
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BS: Kwyn, give us a synopsis of Loving Jezebel? It's a very provocative title.
KB: Well, Loving Jezebel is the story of a young man who spends his whole life loving other peoples' girlfriends. From the time he is a little boy in kindergarten until he falls in love with another man's wife. I was definitely venturing into dangerous territory while injecting a little humor into the story.
BS: Is this a biography?
KB: Everyone wants to know that when they see the film. It's a work of fiction but there are some unfortunate parallels. I guess the mischief I got into in my life gave me a lot of material. At the time that I did it, it was almost therapy.
BS: Well hopefully not too many old girlfriends will call when they read this interview. How did you get started with this project? I understand this is a Starz production in association with BET.
KB: Yes, well I wrote this script a long time ago before I even thought of making a movie and I hooked up with a great producer named David Lancaster in Los Angeles. He took it to Starz and they liked the script a lot and were willing to put up the funding for it. As an independent filmmaker, this was an incredible opportunity. I was fortunate in knowing that the money was in place during production and shooting.
BS: That's very different from a lot of other independent filmmakers trying to complete projects.
KB: Yeah, in the middle of editing I did not have to send someone out to raise $20,000.
BS: No running up the credit cards or anything?
KB: I was lucky that everything was always up and running.
BS: The film has recently hit a number of different venues including New York. Tell us about that.
KB: Well, we hit the Acapulco Film Festival and I had literally finished production the week before. It was great because I felt like I was back in the real world again. Then we just did the Urbanworld Festival which is important because without these festivals, it may take a long time before audiences see your film. With events like Urbanworld, you can see their reactions right away. It also shows studio executives that we can grab an audience and it encourages distributors to jump on board.
BS: How do you feel audiences have reacted to the film?
KB: It's been great and what I like is that audiences react in a personal way. People say, "I remember guys like that or women like that." You can't beat that type of response.
BS: Well, I definitely saw something myself that I could identify with.
BS: There are a lot of incredibly beautiful and exotic, but flawed women in this film. Are you making a statement or is there some type of pattern here?
KB: Well, in fact, he (Theo) was a flawed character as well as the women and most of the characters in the film. To me, I find those characters quite interesting. The actresses also really took it "there" in the film.
BS: There are a lot of familiar faces in the film.
KB: Yes, Hill Harper is Theo, who has done work with Pierce Brosnan in a film oversees. Phylicia Rashad came on board. At first I was a little scared because after all, she's the mom on The Cosby Show, but she was great and she told me how happy she was to be there. I felt like the energy on the set was really good. Nicole Ari Parker was also great and was the first person to come on board.
BS: Wasn't Ms. Parker also in Boogie Nights?
KB: That's right, and Two Girls in Love. My cousin, Lisa Donovan, from Clueless, was also in the film.
BS: What a great cast. Kwyn, whenever people see a young African-American independent film director, people can't help but make comparison to Spike Lee. How does that make you feel?
KB: Part of what made me feel like I could make films was Spike making them. I love the fact that he puts together a very precise vision in his work and that has definitely influenced me.
BS: There are few films being made about brothers from the burbs vs. Boyz 'N The Hood. Do you consider this a risk compared to Hollywood African-American formula films? It seems like in every film with Blacks there is a brother with a ski cap on his head and a gun in his hand.
KB: Well, there are a lot of us that are not living that lifestyle and I wanted to put forth a world that I knew was true to me. I think there needs to be more films like this and there will be. It's funny because this script was actually seen as a political statement because of things like the multiracial cast. That happens whenever we do something interesting and different. Hopefully someday it will be seen as just making movies. We have to get to the point where Spike can make films like Summer of Sam and no one gets on his case because he's not Italian.
BS: People, both Black and White, are still uncomfortable with interracial relationships (outside the village in NYC). Are you at all concerned with this? Or maybe people will not give you a good reason for disliking the film?
KB: I'm actually fine with that. I knew it would be a challenge because both Black and White executives would ask, "What is your market?" They could not figure out who was going to be watching this film. They thought it might frighten people. I think that thinking is unrealistic. We have to break down those doors. If it challenges an audience, that's great.
BS: Well Kwyn, we applaud your efforts. My next to last question is, how did Hill Harper go from bald to dreadlocks in the film?
KB: Just one word, "wigs!" No budget for special effects.
BS: Is there a soundtrack for the film?
KB: Absolutely. We worked with Grammy winner Tony Pendat and it includes Roy Ayers, Jungle Brothers, Wendy and Lisa from Prince and the Revolution and Gangstarr. The music is very cool and we are working on the soundtrack deal now.
BS: Well, we will keep an eye out for it and the film.
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