QLS Classics: Tessa Thompson

Star of Sorry to Bother You and Creed holds court about falling into acting, social activism, potato salad, Philly cheesesteaks and goat love.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of course.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode
was produced by the team at Pandora.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Yo Yo Yo, What up?

Speaker 3 (00:10):
This is fon Tigelow with this week's QLs classic. This
week we go back to June twenty seven, twenty eighteen,
with our guests Tessa Thompson, best known for her work
and Sorry to Bother You, and Creed Tessa Hillcourt about
falling into acting social activism, Tato salad, Philly cheese steaks,
and goat love.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
I don't know what goat love is. That sounds very Caucasian.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
I'm gonna have to check it out and find out
what that is. But anyway, this is QLs episode number ninety.
Enjoy y'all basic.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
On sit better Delivery. I'm no ex let's do it.
Suprema s s Suprema.

Speaker 4 (00:58):
Role called Suprema su su Suprema roll call, Suprema suck
Supremo roll call, Suprema s.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Supremo roll Some Thompson needs raincoats. Yeah Heenan Thompson's got chokes.
Yeah a mere Thompson's a show boat. Yeah Ta Thompson's
a go.

Speaker 4 (01:19):
Suprema suck suck Suprema roll called Suprema s Suprema roll.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
My name is sugar. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:28):
I was high on weed. Yeah when I recorded the seed. Yeah,
and when I saw cream.

Speaker 4 (01:34):
Supremo, Supremo role came Suprema supremo role.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
You're white people, Yeah, please use seasoning. Yeah, sincerely yours, Yeah, boss.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
Suprema sun Suprema roll came Suprema so soun Suprema roll call.

Speaker 6 (02:00):
Now y'all know I'm excited. Yeah, Tessa Thompson, Oh, my
sisters invited.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Suprema roll call, supremapt Premia roll call.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
What you do, Suprema Suprema Really ste.

Speaker 4 (02:30):
Supremai asshole, Suprema ruined.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
I was trying to help is ruined.

Speaker 7 (02:41):
Dear white Steve, go ahead, dear white Steve, gonna have
the microphone.

Speaker 8 (02:44):
Please thank you. I'm reclaiming my time. My intro.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
We can't punch in, We can't, no, no, you can't
punch and you can punch him in the face.

Speaker 8 (02:58):
You like three more, dear white people, and then we
either who.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Made the roll up that we can't have a do
over you. Then it kind of loses the spontaneity.

Speaker 8 (03:10):
Yeah, you want to hear it though, I mean I
was curious.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
To see how fast you because the thing is, whoever
my my determination on how good the interview is going
to go.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
No, no, it's based on.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
How fast you are on your feet with the roll call,
like Leon Silver is not answering questions.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
It was like, this's gonna be a hard interview. Actually
it wasn't. But you know, I'm just.

Speaker 8 (03:35):
Saying, man, yeah, but now you can't.

Speaker 7 (03:37):
We can't do do over now that you even applied
more pressure onto what it was going to be.

Speaker 8 (03:41):
It was going to be this spontaneous.

Speaker 9 (03:45):
Supreme live in the moment, I'm here to say, yeah,
I mean I'm gonna.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Go no, not see Steve never ever interrupt.

Speaker 8 (04:08):
Against what that was on accident of what happens to.

Speaker 5 (04:12):
Well, you hesitated and I thought you were frozen, so
I tried to give you the first line he.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Was trying to man splain, was like line no, definitely,
but never in the history of our listeners are confused, Okay,
because Steve done through us all anyway. Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to Quest Love, Supreme and Alternative Reality. This is
Quest Love and with Teams Supreme, Boss Bill. It's like Ea, Sugar,

(04:39):
Steve shout out to Fontigelow and his countertop and unpaid
bill somewhere on Sesame Street. But we're We're strong today.
Our guest today is the star of stage and the
small and big screen. Her credits include Creed from the
Rocky franchise Do You Write People? Uh, Selma, right, people,

(05:01):
I'm sorry that again? No do over, There's no do over,
No Selma, Annihilation, Thor for Colored Girls, and this summer
she stars as Detroit and be critically acclaimed already, so
so much claim about this film. It's not even coming
out to July, and we critically claimed Boots Riley the

(05:22):
directorial debut, and the science surrealist comedy Sorry to Bother You.

Speaker 8 (05:27):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
She's also been present behind the camera as well as
part of the Times Up movement, uh slowly helping to
redirect the course for women and people of color to
green her pastors and speaking of witch, speaking of pastors,
rumor has it that she's also a goat m Uh.
We would like to welcome the world's finest goat enthusiasts. Yes,

(05:50):
Tessa Thompson. I gotta ask, how did that whole testa
the goat thing come up?

Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (06:00):
That's a Twitter handle I expressed that I liked goats,
I guess on some public platform, wish he was here now,
And somebody started taking photographs of me and putting them
next to photographs of goats that look that are dressed
like I'm dressed, or posed like I'm posed, and it's
pretty impressive.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
It's kind of scary, though, goat because that the yellow
dress one. I mean, it's sometimes they made the outfit
and then put the goat in that yellow dress and
had it in the same facial express right.

Speaker 7 (06:34):
And then there's some people, some conspiracy theorists or some
people that don't believe in just good things that think
that I'm behind this account, and I just want to
say that I'm not.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
I have nothing to do with I know you're not. Okay,
that's the one thing in stalking you. Yeah. I went
through every every comment, everything, and I was like, Okay,
this is not her.

Speaker 8 (06:54):
It's not me.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
I understand.

Speaker 8 (06:56):
I wish it was. I wish I was that you
drink goat's milk and eat goatmeal.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
I don't.

Speaker 7 (07:00):
I'm not into goat products. I'm just into goats.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
I got it. I see. I really wish that, Sorry,
Zarah was here, right you're on the account. It's great, right,
it's god.

Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (07:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
Like that's the point where I was like, wait a minute.

Speaker 7 (07:18):
And and then some people were tweeting like at Desil
Thompson is such a good sport, Like there's this idea
that I also look like a goat, and I'm embracing
the fact.

Speaker 8 (07:28):
But and now I'm cool with that too, Like my
eyes are whites set apart, Like it's fine, that's funny.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Okay, let's start the interview. Stop. I just wanted to
know about the account. Yeah, welcome to this show. I
guess today you're.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Doing like a bunch of press junkets and things because
you're immaculately dressed.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, And all the years I've known you, I was like, wow,
I've never seen.

Speaker 4 (07:50):
This is you.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
When you're on television dressed. I never know. I mean
you know that, Like, I've never seen you look like
you look on TV.

Speaker 8 (07:59):
So that's what I say. She looks press junk ist
chic today.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yes, some people help me, who's your stylist?

Speaker 7 (08:06):
These guys named Mike and Wayman, they're dope. They're friends,
they like were competitors sort of. And then they were like,
let's just work together?

Speaker 8 (08:15):
How does one How does a starlet find the perfect style?

Speaker 1 (08:18):
I always want?

Speaker 8 (08:19):
I mean that's what you want?

Speaker 1 (08:21):
Uh?

Speaker 7 (08:22):
They they actually kind of stalked me. They asked if
I was wasn't working with anyone? See this is what
you're talking about. I didn't have my my proverbial ship together.

Speaker 4 (08:33):
No.

Speaker 8 (08:33):
I was just like I would just show up, like
I'll just wear this and then not for my life.

Speaker 7 (08:40):
But they dressed me for when I appear in public spaces.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
They I meant for the meg.

Speaker 8 (08:45):
Yeah, they dressed me for the Megal and Tom Brown
they made that dress for me.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
How does okay? I was going to say, how does
that work? Like does a designer? I think to you first,
like what what is the what is the uh kind
of the protocol for? Because that guy is such a
cool kids family club that the.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Rest of the world kind of watches like through the window,
like what's going? But how does one do?

Speaker 7 (09:15):
They are like tears of coolness even there, like you're
at least from.

Speaker 8 (09:21):
Okay because even I've reposted the picture. I think Lena
Waite posted the picture of your whole crew, and it's
funny because I reposted the picture it was you.

Speaker 6 (09:32):
It was you know, it was Lena, it was about
to say black Panther and his sister. It was Chad,
it was the T shirt. It was it was a
beautiful crowd of people and I was put under the picture.
I was like, you know, this is the photo that
the press won't send out, but this is the one
that you wanted to be.

Speaker 8 (09:48):
I know, well, I think it might have been.

Speaker 7 (09:50):
I mean, this is my first year, but it seems
like it's probably the blackest met that there has ever been.
And how that picture happened is there were a couple
of us just already in the hallway and we were like,
someone started taking a picture of zone, like we want
this picture. So everyone black after dinner meet in the
hallway and then it got just like loud and fun.

(10:10):
And then Frances McDorman came and then she realized everyone
was black, so she was like maybe I should leave.
And then and then White was like, no, you're an
ally like get insists you're cool. But it was yet
it was a young black and gifted experience. It was
really it was cool. It was cool because you're right
in the sense of like from the rest of the
world's perception, there's this thing of like it's the cool kids.

(10:31):
It feels like it's also just like who's in the
zeitgeist at that moment and who's in the cultural conversation,
And so it felt good to look around at that
hallway and be like, folks that are in the conversation
and like moving and shaking, are all these really red
black people people of color?

Speaker 2 (10:47):
Like, based on what I saw on Instagram, you guys,
even though y'all would sort of be the perceived outcast,
i e. Not the Kardashians, Yeah, not Rhiann and not
j Low and you know, like the typical Blake Lively
or whatever, but y'all seem way cooler and based on

(11:09):
you know, the comments like that seemed like the coolest
met Gallip Ball someone someone put up like the first
year compared to oh, last year, and it was just
like there was no comparison then.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
It was like that.

Speaker 8 (11:22):
But anyway, Yeah, it's I guess it's a good time,
all right. So where were you born Los Angeles? Okay,
what part Hollywood?

Speaker 7 (11:32):
Well, Glendale technically was where I lived when I was little,
and then Hollywood and then moved to the West Side
to get to a.

Speaker 8 (11:37):
Better school district.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
Glendale with the world famous roller skating rink. Yeah, yeah,
that's the uh.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
Every Hollywood roll bounce.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Like any time that you've seen roller skating in a
video or in Hollywood, it happens at that place.

Speaker 8 (11:58):
About to savans uh disorderlease roll bouts.

Speaker 1 (12:02):
Seriously there.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
Simpson as the roller skating teacher. I don't know, but yes,
true story.

Speaker 7 (12:10):
I crashed Snoop Dogg's birthday party there one Oh wow.
Really was not an invited guest.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
Did you know that it was happening.

Speaker 7 (12:18):
Yeah, I heard it was happening, and I was in
another bar with my friend Shelby, and I was like,
let's go, We're just gonna get in there.

Speaker 2 (12:25):
You seem like the type of person that knows that
if you do something with confidence, it just happened.

Speaker 8 (12:31):
I also had this is the thing.

Speaker 7 (12:33):
I was like seventeen or yeah, seventeen or I was
not twenty one yet, and I had a fake ID
and I was out in Hollywood because I.

Speaker 2 (12:40):
Was the death Row years, Dangerous Snoop years exactly, my
uncle Snoop Years.

Speaker 8 (12:45):
Okay, listen.

Speaker 7 (12:45):
So I was walking with two girlfriends from mine and
Snoop Dogg was going in the back door of a
Hollywood club and he had like twenty six people with
him and he was like yo yo and told us
to come, and I was like it's Snoop, like we
gotta go, and we didn't go because you were like
do we go?

Speaker 1 (13:01):
Do we not go?

Speaker 8 (13:02):
So I was like, it's happening now, I'm going to
go to your party.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
I want Tom How I.

Speaker 8 (13:07):
Didn't really meet him. I just like rolled around. It
was really fund was scared of me.

Speaker 1 (13:14):
Because like death row Ara, Snoop is way.

Speaker 8 (13:18):
Differ No, but he's now No. I didn't go then.

Speaker 7 (13:21):
First I went to his birthday party and I think
that was like he was snoop lyon then, so we're fine,
oh yeah Snoop line is.

Speaker 8 (13:26):
Yeah, wow, yes, that's.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
Kindler, gentler Snoop.

Speaker 8 (13:31):
Yeah, kind of wait how long has he been Snoop lying?

Speaker 1 (13:34):
That was like not anymore?

Speaker 2 (13:36):
He maybe wind like what two thousand and seven, No,
it's like twenty twelve. I think, oh, Grandpap Snoop Now Yeah,
So in Glendale, Well, I okay, I'm gonna try and
act like I don't know your history already, but for
our listeners.

Speaker 8 (13:54):
Yeah, because I don't know, Shi tell me I don't
know anything.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, well I was still mind blowing that your father's genius.
How's he doing, by the way.

Speaker 8 (14:02):
He's really good.

Speaker 7 (14:02):
Okay, Yeah, he's really good. He moved to New York
when I was My folks weren't together. He moved to
New York when I was like seven or eight, and
so I would come here all the time.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
I came here.

Speaker 8 (14:13):
Yeah, I was by coastal.

Speaker 7 (14:14):
So he came here for a while because he just
signed a record deal and he was like supposed to
hear from music, and then he just fell in love
with the city and eventually fell in love and had
my little brother, my little sister. So I grew up
between here and Brooklyn, and my folks were on four
Green for like fifteen years.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
Your father being Mark Anthony to Chocolate Genius.

Speaker 8 (14:30):
Yea, And I will say, tell me something about his music,
like how would people remember chocolate genius.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
To be uh, he was part of a black renaissance,
like in the early arts.

Speaker 7 (14:44):
Yeah, and I think made work like he has one
record called black music. And I mean he's sort of
a musician that's hard to categorize. And I think so often,
particularly for like black musicians, they want to box you
into this space like you're an R and B artist
and that maybe isn't you.

Speaker 8 (14:59):
So he kind of a mirror kind of talk about that.

Speaker 6 (15:02):
She he likened him to like an early Martin Luther,
Cody Chessn. That's somebody who is kind of like out
the box.

Speaker 2 (15:08):
In the early arts, there was Saul Williams, Martin Luther,
Chocolate Genius.

Speaker 1 (15:15):
At some point.

Speaker 2 (15:16):
I mean, even I guess Rasign was sort of he
was still making stuff in the late nineties early ught,
so he was in that circle. I mean it wasn't
official circle, but sort of like the the alternative alternative black,
Like there was leftist center black, yeah, of Neils, and

(15:38):
then there was even the leftist center to that.

Speaker 8 (15:40):
So what is that like being growing up being the
door of a left left left left left artist?

Speaker 7 (15:44):
Did you you guys ever listen to Lightspeed Champion, who's
the before Blood Orange. Yeah, My dad like sort of
occupied that space before other people were occupying that space
in terms of not just like sonically the sound, but
also Chocolate Genius was this creation.

Speaker 8 (16:05):
So yeah, dad was a pioneer in ways.

Speaker 7 (16:09):
Yeah, kind of I think I don't know, I think
that he would say something different probably, but I don't know,
it was cool because it meant like being in New
York I was, you know, like especially Fort Green at
that time. I mean, it's still cool, but it just
felt so rich. It was before sort of like before gentrification.
So you know, we would be outside on our stupid

(16:31):
like mos stuff would walk by our like Rosie Perez
or you know, Spike Lee or it just and I
would go, you know, with my dad to the public
theater and like see plays and it just you know,
I was like sixteen at the time, so it just
felt like, well, I want to be a part of
this world of people making things and such.

Speaker 8 (16:53):
A difference in the culture from Glendale to Fort Green.
Yeah right, yeah, wildly so.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
So at the time when you you're witnessing this, were
you yourself thinking about a career in music or anywhere
in the arts, Like what was your talent as a kid.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
Or a teenager.

Speaker 7 (17:11):
I always acted in school, but I didn't think about
it as a career. I always thought that I would
I don't know that I would like be a teacher
or be a lawyer, go into politics.

Speaker 8 (17:22):
I don't know. I felt like I.

Speaker 7 (17:23):
Wanted to make a contribution in some way, and maybe
because of my proximity to being around artists.

Speaker 8 (17:30):
I just felt like, I don't know, is this possible
for me? Is this something that I could do or
will do?

Speaker 1 (17:40):
So what was the moment that you had the inspiration like, Okay,
this is what I want to do.

Speaker 7 (17:47):
I think it was just like at a time where
I realized it was such a compulsion that it was
like such a thorn in my side that it wasn't gonna.

Speaker 8 (17:54):
Let me go.

Speaker 7 (17:54):
And at that point, like I didn't go to college,
Like I dropped out, you know what I mean, Like
there was nothing else I was qualified to do.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
I was like, where you go to college?

Speaker 7 (18:03):
Well, I went to community college and then I was
supposed to transfer to Berkeley, and I like just decided
not to and took a semester off and started taking classes,
and I just I don't know.

Speaker 8 (18:11):
I was performing so much. I was doing theater in
la It just was all I really cared about.

Speaker 7 (18:17):
It was the only thing I cared about that the
idea of like being bad at it felt crippling to me.
Everything else I could sort of dabble in and not
be that good at and move on.

Speaker 1 (18:27):
Wow, that's crazy.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Like, because as productive and as busy as you are
right now, I would have thought like this took meticulous planning,
and you had vision boards and you did when you
repeat mantras, and you know, I would post it notes
one hundred million records more than thriller like, but you

(18:50):
just like you know, it was a throw on my side.

Speaker 8 (18:54):
I decided to well, yeah, maybe I'm underselling it. No
I don't. I didn't. I didn't have I didn't have
vision boards.

Speaker 7 (19:01):
But I think the other thing too, just just like truthfully,
I felt like there's just more interesting work to do
now if you look like me when I first started,
that wasn't necessarily the case. So I think I not
that I had ambivalence towards it, but there was a
part of me that was like is this sustainable, like

(19:23):
if I can I make a living at this? And
also is this going to be able to captivate me
and like hold my interest? And so yeah, I think
there has been an evolution.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
I was going to say that.

Speaker 2 (19:39):
Maybe around the time when Thor came along. Then I realized,
because I'm not go to front like I'm a marvel head.
I mean, I've seen a couple of Marvel films. But
in my head, I don't know the history of I
can't pronounce it me.

Speaker 1 (19:56):
Valkyri.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yes, I don't know the history of her. But I
would imagine that, maybe initially that that role was written Witten,
what's for on my ars? My man, I'll just be
a rabbit. That role was written for. It was written for,
I would imagine for a white character.

Speaker 8 (20:19):
And it was written it was written for a white lady.
They wasn't happy about this black lady.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
Whoa call anyway? No, but the fact that all of
your roles you seem to to.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
Masterfully uh steer your career in a place where it's
it's not typical at all, especially for for black acts
like I know worthy black actresses. Yes, I know worthy
black actresses that because roles are far between, they might
have to compromise some ship. And do you know Where's

(21:05):
the Where's the Potato Salad?

Speaker 1 (21:07):
Part three? You know, straight to DVD or just something
to Yeah it's a real movie.

Speaker 8 (21:13):
No, No it's not. Yes, yes, Where's the Potato Salad
is a real film.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
Yeah, there's actually really one hilarious scene and due wait
you watched it?

Speaker 1 (21:26):
Watched it in what year?

Speaker 8 (21:28):
Was that made I don't know, but.

Speaker 1 (21:32):
Hey man, trust me. When the interview is over, I
will say, the most funny thing is it funny? Like
that's funny funny? The scene I'm going to show you
is fucking hilarious, like genuinely nious.

Speaker 8 (21:48):
I think I rented it from next I want to
see it.

Speaker 1 (21:52):
Wait, slight rabbit Hole? All right? Are you?

Speaker 4 (21:54):
Are you?

Speaker 8 (21:55):
Why?

Speaker 7 (21:56):
Why?

Speaker 8 (21:56):
Why can't we have it? Why is that a problem?
I love dos my car? You have a point? We
just I mean, it's just that we don't have enough.
We don't have enough, but we don't have enough content.
We don't have enough and don't have enough representations, so
said the world.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
There's no balance there canna be used in my car.
But then there's Mississippi burning and all this other stuff.
But I think, and when it comes to black films,
I think we have too many serious films and not enough.

Speaker 1 (22:24):
No, we have earnest films like common film.

Speaker 8 (22:28):
We're still but we don't have a lot of Wherever
you're going with that.

Speaker 1 (22:31):
Route that I call him ernest camp. But what I'm
saying is we don't have it. We don't have enough.

Speaker 2 (22:38):
Like silly comedies aim to younger kids, you know, the teenagers.
There's not really that many of those right now, right now,
there used to be there. Yeah, I don't know, but
like I think Nick Cannon is probably feeling that, like
his production can become funny as far as funny stuff
like silly do work.

Speaker 8 (22:56):
They got dope kids, and that's not funny. Dope dope.

Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, I wasn't. I was too no.

Speaker 8 (23:00):
I like dope. It was dope, but it wasn't funny.

Speaker 2 (23:02):
You know why I was mad at the it's gonna
sound really really anal the band scenes. I hated the
band scenes because the music didn't match.

Speaker 8 (23:13):
The band scenes are always tough movies.

Speaker 10 (23:16):
Were the two that looks at your finger And it's
not even that, it's the fact you've got Pharrell's tenny
drums and plinky sounds and you've got people with actual
guitars and keyboards sitting there.

Speaker 1 (23:27):
It just I couldn't watch it.

Speaker 8 (23:29):
I'm sorry, you missed the plot. What about the plot
and the act.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
It was too distracting. It was too distracting. Sorry, Yeah,
it's funny. We have the same outlook, but I was
willing to let it go. I didn't even gate that Okay.

Speaker 8 (23:44):
Did you do a Twitter I like when you do
brands about things like Instagram retoring rants? Did you do
any rans?

Speaker 4 (23:50):
No?

Speaker 8 (23:51):
I didn't about dopey sounds and I do those you like?

Speaker 1 (23:59):
I believe you're first.

Speaker 8 (24:00):
I believe this is a widow. I don't understand it.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
Is about to lose invites and the ghost Where's.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, but that's that's a real film, Steve. Also, the
Roscoes Chicken and Waffle Comedy is also.

Speaker 1 (24:28):
A real film.

Speaker 6 (24:29):
Well, Roscoe's is a real film. Roscoe Go Back Home
or whatever? That's the Martin joint with.

Speaker 1 (24:34):
No, there's a.

Speaker 7 (24:37):
Alright, see this all you have to do assume I'm
gonna go home. If where's the potato cells on Netflix?
I will watch five seconds of it? So then my
whole feet is like because you liked you.

Speaker 1 (24:49):
Know what I mean?

Speaker 8 (24:49):
And that's even all the deep cuts, all the deep
cuts are like this is a film, like wait ahead,
but I like for a white pot Oh no, that's
not what I'm saying. Have you ever had Japanese potatoes?
First of all, what do who tells them to do that? Okay,
yes they do that, they do that.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
Have you had it?

Speaker 7 (25:12):
It's delicious. It's like it's like eating a cloud, like
it's very mashed. It's really good. I'm sorry, it's good.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
Where do you find this? I don't know.

Speaker 8 (25:22):
I mean in Japan. But also like potatoes in Japan.

Speaker 1 (25:25):
Huh, there's no potatoes in Japan. Cheese either, But.

Speaker 8 (25:43):
The Japanese love cheese. They love mayo too.

Speaker 1 (25:46):
Where's your source of information for this? Steve from from
eating in Japanese restaurants?

Speaker 8 (25:51):
Oh wait, it's been in Japan.

Speaker 2 (25:54):
It's about to be the most ignorant. All right, all's
ruined that. No, I'm taking my back.

Speaker 8 (26:02):
So can I just say so? What you're saying is
you prefer I did not see a record. Do you
prefer the Japanese potatoes?

Speaker 1 (26:08):
No?

Speaker 8 (26:08):
I didn't say that. I didn't say that. I just
said that. I don't I don't dismiss. I don't think the.

Speaker 7 (26:13):
Potato salad always has to be yellow. I don't want
fruit in my potato salad.

Speaker 6 (26:19):
But if you're coming to the cookout, but American potato
salad should be yellow, how about that?

Speaker 8 (26:23):
Can we agree on that? That's yeah, that's fine.

Speaker 1 (26:26):
Now y'all got me thinking, no raisins, No raisins.

Speaker 8 (26:28):
No, no raisins. But also I don't mind like a
different kind of mustard sometimes like a whole.

Speaker 1 (26:34):
Brain, like a.

Speaker 8 (26:37):
Yellow. But I agree with you Bill, y'all can't see
what he's doing.

Speaker 1 (26:47):
But I only get my black carveroot.

Speaker 8 (26:54):
Ain't no place invested, so she can she can let
her go with that one. We give her that one
because you win it.

Speaker 1 (26:59):
We found an incredible rabbitue did we did?

Speaker 2 (27:07):
How are you able to navigate and stay active in
a town that doesn't cater to you structurally to you?

Speaker 7 (27:17):
And I think maybe I have my dad to think
for that in a sense, because I feel like, you know,
I got to see my dad be an artist do
his thing that felt really singular and not make concessions.
And sometimes it meant that we were eating really good
and stuff was great, and we were shopping what color
do you wanted in? Like I don't gotta choose both,

(27:39):
And sometimes that wasn't the case, you know, And so yeah,
sometimes you make money and sometimes you don't because you
just aren't going to do certain things.

Speaker 8 (27:48):
But will we ever see you in a Tyler Perry
or will Packer moving? I've been in a Tyler for color, Okay, you're.

Speaker 6 (27:56):
Cheating because I mean, really, you were in for Colored Girls,
and who could say no to the movie version for
Colored Girls no matter who did it. And I'm gonna say,
like I said to Miss Felicia that if Debbie Allen
would have Debbie.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Anybody, anybody, I gotta throw I wish, you know, and
Zing and Stewart had directed it like.

Speaker 8 (28:21):
Supposed to, I know, and her treatment sounded so beautiful.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
It was it would have propelled her past or at
least equal to right now.

Speaker 7 (28:32):
Yeah, it's yeah, but you know what, I truly believe
if the film were being made today, she would be
the choice.

Speaker 8 (28:41):
And this is no shade to Tyler. It's like they
wanted to get that movie made.

Speaker 6 (28:45):
Crazy when you think about her in retrospect, because at
the very least, I mean that we put her in
the least, but Ava would have been the director of
that movie Aba or in Zinger. I'm just saying, like
today in popularity and in sense of female empowerment.

Speaker 7 (28:57):
And cultural conversation, which is like for us by a
we want to be able to tell our own stories.
If it's a you know, it's not that men can't
be involved in telling our story, but like if it's
a female centric film, like yo, let a woman tell it.

Speaker 8 (29:09):
And he couldn't even give it to Debbie Allen. It
just makes me man your sisters, Yeah, she did almost
she did give us know that she was a part
of pronouncing her name wrong this whole time. Damn what
a culture for is? Please test it? How you pronounce
her name? Well, now I'm nervous that I'm pronouncing it.

Speaker 4 (29:34):
Ca.

Speaker 8 (29:34):
So you're right, it's Cassie Lemons. Okay, question. My dad
once told me that it's not SHOT's chart. That's Truegeria.
I think one knows that though.

Speaker 1 (29:44):
The thing like, yeah, pronounced pronounce.

Speaker 8 (29:51):
Everyone says, and also, did you guys see that I
was trying to do it?

Speaker 1 (29:56):
Channel the four of us can see it physically described
what you were about.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
We'll take pictures. We'll take pictures. Yes, oh my god,
this is like Wayne's World meets Let's just throw everything
out there. What did you have for breakfast?

Speaker 1 (30:19):
No?

Speaker 7 (30:19):
I had.

Speaker 8 (30:22):
The embarrassed you're from Cali? I know I had. I
had rye toast with some avocado, uh, some greens. Very la.
It's just very l A.

Speaker 7 (30:35):
I don't need eggs never in my life, not scrambled,
not omeleted. Not I have had a bite of for Toto,
that's it.

Speaker 8 (30:43):
Never know a bite of it. But I don't. Yeah,
so breakfast is a hard thing for me.

Speaker 1 (30:48):
You don't like yellow potato salad because well, the eggs done.

Speaker 8 (30:55):
Yeah, it's the mustard mirrors not.

Speaker 1 (30:58):
Yeah, I'm not I'm not sorry.

Speaker 8 (31:00):
Your's bougie, I know, but this is the thing. Can
you be like, if you're truly a foodie, you don't
want your potato salad all that yellow. I don't know
what you're saying, test, there's a limit.

Speaker 6 (31:13):
I mean, there's a limited a yellow, but you better
equal it out with some relish, you know what I'm saying, Like, Oh, hello, I.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
Want to see we can do a whole ninety minute
episode based on potatoes salad.

Speaker 8 (31:26):
I feel like I'm walking into dangerous territory. But I
will prefer Celery.

Speaker 1 (31:34):
I love you so much. This episode is gonna be
super lit.

Speaker 8 (31:39):
Thin ley slice. But I don't know. I like the crunch.

Speaker 1 (31:45):
Yeah, okay, I.

Speaker 2 (31:47):
See why don't they put cucumber and stuff instead of
Now you're now pushing it.

Speaker 1 (31:53):
I hate celery, Okay, I think it's I don't think
it's a purpose. It's the crunch. It's the crunch. Don't
you ship in there that don't taste like ship?

Speaker 8 (32:02):
Celery doesn't taste like anything?

Speaker 1 (32:04):
Mind?

Speaker 8 (32:07):
You know what's speaking of publicist?

Speaker 7 (32:08):
I've always said, don't you feel like sometimes when food
has a moment, like certain that has a publicist like
I s I E or like like remember or like Kale?

Speaker 8 (32:17):
I'm like?

Speaker 7 (32:21):
And also, who's the publicist for Romayne? Because Romaine right now?

Speaker 8 (32:25):
Can I eat it? Is it safe? I don't know,
they need to talk to the publicist for Kale because
Cale was killing it.

Speaker 4 (32:29):
I know, Ki.

Speaker 8 (32:31):
K's not that culturally relevant right now. It was. And
my grandmother was like, what are you all talking about?
We've been calling for Kale, but we weren't calling it Kale,
which is greens.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
What are you promoting right now?

Speaker 6 (32:49):
Just guys, ask Vakriye questions as you asked the Vacrie questions.
I just wanted to know, and you probably can't really
answer this question. Well, first of all, how did you
feel about Valkerie not being in the Avengers movie? And
then is she going to be in the second one?
Because it seems like they might need some help.

Speaker 8 (33:07):
I was I was I was cool with not you know,
I was doing other stuff. I was happy she lives.
That's hurt any word that she's going to be her assisting. Okay,
I don't know if you've seen The Avengers.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yes, I've seen it Black Panther either. You say I
haven't seen Black Panther. I'm the only black person in
the world that has not seen Black Panther yet. Wait
why because I was busy doing what Well, yeah, the
headaches and stuff, I get it, I get it, but
just it's now Yeah.

Speaker 1 (33:44):
Really I did not notice.

Speaker 8 (33:46):
How does how does?

Speaker 6 (33:47):
It's funny because I was thinking, since it was kind
of well Blackera was before a Black Panther, but as
a person in the Marvel scope of things, how did.

Speaker 8 (33:54):
That feel like just the Black Panther was existing in
your Marvel world? Because that's man exciting.

Speaker 7 (34:01):
Also just because like Ryan obviously is involved, and Michael
b so and Chad is a friend of mine. It
just and the film is I think so incredible. And
I think sometimes it's a tricky thing when you do
these big movies. You're like there's this sometimes implication inside
of the industry that like you have visibility, but in

(34:24):
some way you've like.

Speaker 8 (34:25):
Sold out or.

Speaker 7 (34:27):
You're diminished in some way, And it just felt like
it's so cool to see Black Panther mean so much
culturally and like push boundaries and open doors and be
a big old movie like that. It's sort of legitimized
why you you do movies that occupy that space?

Speaker 2 (34:45):
You know.

Speaker 8 (34:46):
Yeah, I feel like it helped people look forward to
Valkyrie too, because.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
H any truth to the rumor that they might consider
your demand for an all female kind of you know.

Speaker 7 (35:00):
The thing is, it's it's been spoken about so much
in the press that and I've asked Kevin Figi.

Speaker 8 (35:06):
I'm like, do you feel trolled by me?

Speaker 4 (35:07):
Like?

Speaker 8 (35:07):
Are we cool? And he's like, we're cool.

Speaker 1 (35:09):
I think, how did you pose it to him? Or
did you just post it?

Speaker 4 (35:13):
Oh?

Speaker 8 (35:13):
No, I like, we we asked him.

Speaker 7 (35:15):
So we were at this Marvel like ten year anniversary
photo shoot thing and it was like a circle of
just women talking and we were like, oh, this would
be so cool, Like I wish we could do a
film together.

Speaker 8 (35:24):
And I was like, well don't. We just asked him.
So we went up to him and we're like we
should do this? Should we do this? And then yeah,
it's exactly literally.

Speaker 1 (35:35):
Yeah, I would at least think that, at least for
today that.

Speaker 2 (35:44):
Even if not for the reasons why they should do it,
but they could see that this is would be such
a monumental moment.

Speaker 1 (35:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (35:53):
And also that it's commercially viable. I think that's the
other thing.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Are they still like being controlled by like the sexist troll?

Speaker 8 (36:01):
No, No, I don't. I don't think so.

Speaker 7 (36:03):
I think I think it's that they're their thing is
like super well crafted, and they have ideas in terms
of every phase they they they just have mapping and
they have they have ideas about timing and rollout and
you know, it's really masterful. So it's I don't think
it's that. And they also want to feel like they're
never you know, they have such an incredible relationship with fans,

(36:26):
but they don't like the idea that that they're ever
pandering to to fans, And so if they make a film,
they want to make it because they really believe in
it and it makes sense in terms of the scope
of the whole universe.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
It is a matter of somebody coming up with the
right story.

Speaker 8 (36:40):
Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 7 (36:41):
And also in terms of like I think they're always
trying to find cool crossover and that's happening anyways with
Captain Marvel, and like.

Speaker 8 (36:48):
You know, yes, that's what that was.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Were you into the Marvel universe as a kid?

Speaker 2 (36:55):
No, not at all, not so, so how do you
did you feel as though you had to like, Okay,
I got to do my homework and yeah, because satisfy
these fanboys kind of yeah.

Speaker 7 (37:05):
Because I didn't really know anything about it. And then
also because like you said, I really was not written
for someone.

Speaker 8 (37:10):
Like me, so it was you know, really you know.
So yeah, so I felt like I really had to
understand the character in the world.

Speaker 2 (37:22):
What was the because of the what appeared to be
the physical grueling process of the film as far as
your action scenes and stuff.

Speaker 1 (37:32):
How much physical preparation did you have to do a.

Speaker 8 (37:35):
Lot, which was tricky because I was making Annihilation.

Speaker 7 (37:37):
I made Annihilation and then I wrapped that and like
three days later I was in Australia making Thor So
it was hard to balance those.

Speaker 8 (37:45):
But I had to learn like sword work and fighting
and I had never done any of that stuff before.

Speaker 7 (37:50):
And then also just like put on a lot of
muscle mass. You have the game wed yeah again, like
fifteen pounds.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
Of just like muscle bab see.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
I thought it was give you the grab. I mean
that's legit mean man, okay, I'm impressed.

Speaker 8 (38:07):
Yeah, that was not that I really had muscles. I
was strong. I could do a bunch of only cost
more money to put the muscles on you, you know,
through video than to actually just put the muscles on. Yeah,
but sometimes you just I mean, they v affects those
whole movies. So no, I really did. I worked really hard.

Speaker 1 (38:24):
Give me and I ate a lot of stuff potatoes.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
No.

Speaker 8 (38:31):
Rotein. We can move past. We have other things to do.
What I want to ask you because the more and
more you get into these, uh these commercial roles like
you know, the Marvel, the West World. You are, of
course a big activist period. I won't just even just
say with the women's movement.

Speaker 6 (38:48):
Have you felt somebody trying to kind of put the
class on you yet because you are now you're this
major commercial actress.

Speaker 8 (38:55):
In a way you mean in terms of how I
use my voice. Yes, yes, that's no. I think I've
just had like a couple of.

Speaker 7 (39:03):
Experiences where I'm like, is social media that the best
place to do that? And I think we're also in
this space right now of like internet activism, and it's
not enough. And I think the experience of really like
some of my experiences with times up and actually like
organizing and doing the work is just more powerful than
talking about what you're doing sometimes and you've been in people.

Speaker 8 (39:26):
I appreciate that let people know who is really about.

Speaker 7 (39:29):
That, But now I'm just mostly I just want to
talk about goats because it's like a safer space.

Speaker 8 (39:33):
It's just the same.

Speaker 2 (39:34):
So, I mean, I don't think you caught that much
black because a lot of people agreed with pretty much
everything that you've been saying.

Speaker 6 (39:43):
Yeah, and it made me follow you more to be honest.
Oh really well yeah, just in between that and the
essence speech, I was like, oh, I gotta go back
and get me some test of times.

Speaker 7 (39:52):
But see that's the other thing in terms of the
essence speech, like it's like those are conversations I want
to have and I'm available to. Like, colorism in this
industry is real, and it's like has benefited me obviously immensely,
and because of that, I feel like a responsibility to
acknowledge it and to have nuanced conversations about it. And
I do that privately inside of my space. There's certain

(40:15):
roles I don't take. There's certain things I won't do
because of that. But I think engaging in a more
public conversation is something I'm willing to do. I think
it's just hard it, you know, in terms of like also,
it frustrates me that like what journalism has become, that
you could look on someone's Instagram and take something they
say in a comment and write an article about it.

(40:37):
Like it feels unfair. And I'm newly sort of navigating
what it is to be a public figure in that way.

Speaker 8 (40:45):
And yeah, all of us, right, but so yeah, we
just live in public in a new way.

Speaker 7 (40:51):
And it's not something that I'm particularly interested and I'm
not fond of it, and i'm not frankly, i'm not
good at it. Like I'm not say what I'm gonna say.
I'm I'm petrified by it. So it makes me want
to take like a step back, and it.

Speaker 8 (41:07):
Makes you like retreat as you're about to post something
like well should I I don't that feeling of even
that is.

Speaker 7 (41:11):
Yeah, but I feel really like like Disney Marvel, like
I've been astonished, like no one's like, hey, like, you.

Speaker 8 (41:19):
Know, we need you to shut the fuck.

Speaker 1 (41:20):
No, okay, I'm sorry, hey man, it's this is the
way she said it. How do how does she say, Bill,
let's do it again.

Speaker 8 (41:35):
To shut the.

Speaker 6 (41:37):
He as you said at the end of that speech,
I'm sorry, says we just I'm in the speech because
I said notes and everything you said at the end
of the speech, at the essence speech that you were
hoping that you guys could have follow up.

Speaker 8 (41:46):
Meetings to that and whatnot. How has that been going
with the sisters?

Speaker 7 (41:51):
It's been good with the sisters, so so so one
thing that's exciting to report is probably so so in
terms of the structure of times Up, there are kind
of folks, there are subgroups, and I would say.

Speaker 8 (42:03):
One of the most like.

Speaker 7 (42:06):
Vibrant, active and engaged subgroup with d times Up is
called Woke Women of Color.

Speaker 8 (42:13):
Yeah, and it's lit. It's like it's like it's just
very like robust and real.

Speaker 7 (42:22):
And I think there's a lot there's just a real
acknowledgment that without that that we're such an important piece.
And historically, I think feminism too often has sort of
ignored the voices of women in color, women of color
and hasn't been.

Speaker 8 (42:40):
In don't even because I have to tell people all
the time. I used to hate when the Hillary Swank
trailer would come on for her women's rights movie or whatever,
and then it would come on right before like the
Housewives of Atlanta. I'd be like, so, did these white
ladies know that we can vote for another like almost
seventy years? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (42:58):
You know, like, yeah, how easy was it to navigate
your way in the Hollywood women's movement?

Speaker 1 (43:08):
You guys gathered almost in the hundreds.

Speaker 2 (43:10):
I know that you guys were, but how hard was
it to one explain, uh, to people that weren't aware
of the different.

Speaker 1 (43:20):
Levels of obstacles that that we face. Yeah, exactly, because
I know in the beginning it was sort of like
kind of koumbayas. But then I talked to you know,
people out of the chat and they were like, you know,
explaining this one of them, Yeah, it's and there was
something that meant, well.

Speaker 7 (43:40):
Yeah, for some there's this there's a steep learning curve.
I mean real talk, like, there are certain rooms that
I was absolutely invited into because.

Speaker 8 (43:49):
Of what I look like in the sense of safe.

Speaker 1 (43:53):
Right did you call it? This feels like tokenism or yeah,
well I.

Speaker 7 (43:58):
Was really lucky, like in instances that someone else called
it out for me, like like being in a room
and Jane fond of being like this is unacceptable, like
there just has to be more. And then that there
started to just be a conversation around like who's not
in the room and why And then also like once
you're in the room, like once you have a seat
at the table.

Speaker 8 (44:16):
Are you really is your voice like legit heard?

Speaker 7 (44:21):
Because a part of that when everyone is included is
like it just gets harder actually to do the work.
It doesn't get easier because everyone is coming from a
different point of view, you know, and so you have
to really like you're gonna be at the table.

Speaker 8 (44:32):
Longer, probably when everyone is invited. So yeah, no, I
I yeah, I called it out.

Speaker 7 (44:40):
But I think there was a real cognizance, you know,
a cognizance, and I probably.

Speaker 8 (44:47):
Have like I don't have a ton of.

Speaker 1 (44:51):
Uh, I don't know, it's clout.

Speaker 8 (44:54):
Clout no bad yeah and ba and I don't I
had less to lose, I guess you know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (45:02):
On the subject of the woman thing, It's interesting, how
I asked Rosario Dawson the same thing because even it's
there's a their color tears, and there's also like subgenres
of this industry. Like earlier, we were just talking about
how a certain company just pulled all our Kelly music
and I said to Rosario, I said, you know, when
you guys finished with the movie industry, you know this
music thing is a whole nother animal. Yeah, I mean,

(45:24):
so is the fashion thing when you really think about it,
like they it's a whole nother animal.

Speaker 8 (45:28):
It's more ground. So how do you guys feel about it?

Speaker 6 (45:32):
And I guess you would know that as well, because
even and Janelle is involved as well, But it still
feels like on a movie TV types of things.

Speaker 8 (45:40):
Yeah, it is. And Janelle she was saying this because
we had a meeting and she was saying, like.

Speaker 7 (45:46):
It's tough in the music industry because there isn't the
same sort of like enemy to rally around that there
wasn't Harvey winstting there isn't this like public enemy number
one that you sort of take down. And in some
ways I think that that makes sense that it doesn't
just state the same kind of like intensity, But it
also felt like a problematic thing in terms of the
Harvey conversation because people don't want to acknowledge them that like,

(46:08):
if there's a systemic issue, like when you talk about,
you know, a gross abuse of power, you have to
also acknowledge just like the imbalance of power, which is
just as gross, you know, and victimizing, and that is
like much harder in some ways to take down than
a Harvey on.

Speaker 8 (46:26):
The subject of that are kind of thing. It's hard
too because, like we were saying, he touches so many things.
There are so many other artists He's written for dudes.

Speaker 6 (46:33):
Like it's like, how far as women do we, for
lack of a better term, take these dudes down because
there's so much.

Speaker 8 (46:41):
And yeah, and it's also not just these dudes.

Speaker 7 (46:45):
It's also just like this this system, and there are
also like women that support that system.

Speaker 8 (46:50):
It's not just men, you know too, Yeah, because women
a lot of women have profited.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
So I know you're saying for profit, but do they
support it or is it just a thing of like
I can't fight it, so I might as well roll
with it enabling.

Speaker 8 (47:03):
It depends on a woman, don't you think there's a
certain way and your system.

Speaker 7 (47:08):
Yeah, so there's this really rad woman that works with
Times Up but worked with the Annenberger name is Stacy Smith,
and she talks about women that support the patriarchy. This
is so nerdy, but they say that she says that
they have high social dominance, which means that you have
like a vested interest in protecting a system.

Speaker 8 (47:29):
That empowers you, like the overseer exactly, so that they're
so that. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (47:34):
So sometimes people will say, like, particularly these conversations about
like just hire more women, It's like, but what kind
of women are you hiring?

Speaker 8 (47:41):
Because just hiring a woman isn't enough.

Speaker 2 (47:49):
Being as though you haven't had designs on acting younger
and you just quote wound up in it.

Speaker 1 (47:56):
And I'm certain that you didn't think, like early in your.

Speaker 2 (47:59):
Acting career, like doing the Veronica Marsdiy's whatever, that you'd
be doing all this social activism.

Speaker 7 (48:05):
And I don't know if that's true, though I think
that was the thing for me where I was like,
I don't know if I want to be in the
pursuit of something I admire I don't admire, Like I
think I've always wanted to be involved in in activism
in some way, and even when I look back I
didn't realize it at the time, but when I look
back at Veronica ka Mars, that character, you know, like
there she would say lines like you know, someone said,

(48:28):
why why are you standing around here stalking?

Speaker 8 (48:30):
And she would say, what you mean standing while black?

Speaker 7 (48:32):
Like even that character wanted to sort of subvert ideas
of like the sassy friend on a television show where
like the very first part I ever played was an
episode of Cold Case where I play a queer woman
in nineteen thirty, you know, who can't live with her
partner because that wasn't available to her at the time.
So I feel like the things that have always compelled

(48:54):
me have have lived in that space by designer subconscious
by design or by by kis med.

Speaker 8 (49:03):
Or I don't know all right.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
Well, as far as uh, your work, I want, I
definitely want to talk about how did you prepare for
your role as Diane Nash and sma.

Speaker 7 (49:16):
Uh, Well, I I got really lucky in the sense of,
you know, a lot of the leaders that were still
around and available to talk to us did and then
I read tons I didn't. I couldn't meet Diane before
we made the film. There were some complications around that
it's complicated. I think when you're telling story, when you're
telling a story about people that lived during that time,

(49:37):
and you also want to have a balance of being
able to take artistic license and tell the story that
you need to tell, and and so.

Speaker 1 (49:45):
It bigraphies are a little harder to do the person.

Speaker 7 (49:49):
They're hard to they're hard to do. But Diane, after
seeing the movie, was super happy with it. She told
a really funny story that she you know, she they
did ask her in terms of who she liked, and
she just like, I just want someone cute, which was
she's just being funny.

Speaker 1 (50:03):
But I did. I went.

Speaker 7 (50:04):
I went to Chicago where she grew up and and
you know, sort of trace her steps and talked to
a lot of people that knew her, and.

Speaker 8 (50:11):
Yeah, you know, found as much as I could about her.

Speaker 11 (50:14):
Speaking of prep work, she sticks, yeah, wait, wait, wait,
pat wait, I just say you said, but Selma just
wanted to ask you because I know you're going to
create was that your heaven, me being surround being with Ava,
being with you know, being telling that story.

Speaker 8 (50:35):
Those actors that cast Oprah the end of World, the
end of my world, just like the sense of who
we imagine Tessa is in my in my head, I
was like she was happy. I was happy.

Speaker 7 (50:57):
But it was funny because we had a lot of
conversations and cast like we would talk like, well, what
kind of what part do you want to play? And
so often it would be like a character that's existed,
like so and so wants to play Lean to Horn
and so and so I wants to play James Baldwin
and that's great, and I have a list of people
that I'd love to play. But I also I'm like,
what about just playing a fictional character that's iconic and

(51:18):
and so that's my heaven too, Like to get to
play something that does that isn't real?

Speaker 1 (51:24):
Do you scream right? Like do you have aspirations of Yeah.

Speaker 7 (51:28):
I've been writing a little bit something and kind of
want to do I was talking to Greta Gerwig. I
sat next to her at the met Ball and we
were talking a lot about writing. She has such like
incredible things to say. Sometimes you have this idea that
you just like you have to wait for some lightning bolt,
And the truth is it's just like working diligence and
sitting down and like committing to write something and be
bad at it for a while and get better.

Speaker 1 (51:50):
I love her approach to like, I'm a big fan
of her. The mumble Chord me were part of that.

Speaker 8 (51:56):
No, so this is the thing I really wanted to be.

Speaker 7 (51:58):
So I went to this period where I was like,
I'm gonna make a mumble core movie like that that.
None of them have existed for us except for Medicine
for Melancholy, which was my introduction, of course to Mary Jenkins.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
It's a movement Greta Gerwork, who uh she directed. She
was up for a director this year The Girl for Ladybird,
but she did Francis Has. It's weird now because it's
sort of like she's the commercial darling and the newbie
on in the commercial.

Speaker 8 (52:26):
Which she's been around for. She's been seeing her face before.

Speaker 1 (52:30):
Mumble Core. I mean, I guess you can say it's
a brand of is it Brooklyn.

Speaker 7 (52:35):
It's sort of like twenty somethings. Oftentimes it's it's oftentimes
the film takes place in a very short swath of
time where like nothing happens, but everything happens. I think
it got the word mumble core. Sometimes non actors are
in it because this sound design sometimes wasn't good.

Speaker 8 (52:52):
So that's sort of how but there's a whole movement
like dialogue more than plot exactly.

Speaker 1 (52:58):
It's it's uh.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
I would say that, no, no, no, it's it's our
It would be the American version of Dogmen ninety five,
where Dogmen ninety five was like there was there was
a film challenge of Okay, a bunch of Danish filmmakers
said that, okay, we're going to make film.

Speaker 1 (53:19):
With natural light, no soundtracks. It's it's almost like a
bunch of.

Speaker 2 (53:22):
Students or or knowledgeable filmmaker makers challenging themselves.

Speaker 8 (53:29):
A filmmaker makers, you you bring.

Speaker 1 (53:32):
Out the three year older means stop. Okay.

Speaker 8 (53:34):
Meanwhile, I'm like, you're not talking about that Dogma with interest?

Speaker 1 (53:38):
Join now, I'm not talking about Dogma of the movie
Dogma ninety five was uh. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
It was like a movement uh in the nineties of
filmmakers challenging themselves to these restrictive uh ways of making
film as a way of the equivalent of walking on
top of the Empire State Building drunk with your eyes closed.

Speaker 7 (54:01):
See the interesting thing, So the genre is really I mean,
apart from Barry Jenkins medicine for melancholy it's all white filmmakers.
And I remember, like this was before I really knew
about like Charles Burnett, like and you look at his
film and you're like he was doing the very same
thing but doesn't get credit. And I mean he's not mumblecore.

(54:24):
But just like being like, I'm going to make a
film with what I have available to me, right, you know,
and use non actors and tell a story that's contained
that I can do, and make beautiful images and not
have it be plot driven.

Speaker 8 (54:36):
But yeah, there was a period when I was really like,
is do I need to make a movie?

Speaker 7 (54:41):
Also because I was playing parts where I was like
I was doing I was stuck in this period of
working on television and really dissatisfied. And so I first
found Greta in that time, and so to see her,
to see what she's done now, to see it enter
this space where she's being acknowledged.

Speaker 8 (54:57):
It's just so cool. It Yeah, it takes a while.

Speaker 1 (55:00):
I see that for you, not that I'm trying to,
you know, push my vision off.

Speaker 7 (55:07):
Will love you for it, because he's like anytime I
get new stuff, he's just like, cool, cool, When are
you gonna write?

Speaker 8 (55:11):
When are you gonna make a movie and now you
know you have a producer here that will give you
the money for it. No Jesus no, but it's a movie.
You always need more money. Yeah, don't you always need more?

Speaker 1 (55:24):
I'll be at her door, Yeah, tell her mir Thompson
a mirror.

Speaker 8 (55:29):
That's days like.

Speaker 1 (55:34):
Us quest love.

Speaker 2 (55:35):
Maybe I'm trying to hint towards a job here, okay Philadelphia?

Speaker 1 (55:43):
Yeah, now, no, no, no, this is not what the
question that you think it is.

Speaker 2 (55:48):
But when you told me that you were going to
start researching your role for IM about to say Rocky uh.

Speaker 1 (55:57):
For Creed Rocky eight wacky ye wait, but.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
I remember distinctively, distinctively telling you, yeah, what you shouldn't.

Speaker 7 (56:14):
Do, you did, like because you were also do you
remember you were concerned for my well being?

Speaker 8 (56:19):
Mysage? Yes, why he didn't want me on Broad and Erie.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
Like she did the very things that I told her
not to do.

Speaker 8 (56:29):
North Philly. Yeah, she went Max Cheese Steak. Yes, that's
not even my favorite place, but that's goods Max two times. Yes,
I know you still have this maxes b What happened
with Max?

Speaker 1 (56:42):
Give you not dog?

Speaker 8 (56:44):
They like they don't know not not that And Philly
you know, they don't be knowing you.

Speaker 1 (56:49):
Here's the deal. You're right, You're right, you're right. But
here's the thing.

Speaker 2 (56:53):
Though, Like, if you're going to treat me like an asshole,
be consistent about it, Like I want you to be
insisted about it, but don't three seconds later find out
I am who I am and you start chasing my
car down the block like bro, wait, wait, we.

Speaker 1 (57:08):
Didn't know the street I have.

Speaker 2 (57:12):
I have always listed them whenever any international magazine asked me, like.

Speaker 1 (57:18):
Name your cheese steaks? No, no, they are number one.
And so when she said, like, you know, go to.

Speaker 8 (57:29):
Larry's yours, I'm chicken cheese steak. No, I'm chicken cheestick
to as far as chicken cheese steaks, cables got it?

Speaker 1 (57:35):
Okay, Well I mean.

Speaker 8 (57:37):
You know what I am now, I'm mushroom cheese steak.
Well there are Cape City veg Yeah, yes, because I'm
l a Now so I'm a burger. Oh my god, listen, mommy,
thank you. I've also never had a hamburger in my life. Really,

(57:59):
I've had.

Speaker 1 (58:00):
A part that is not fair.

Speaker 2 (58:09):
Well, I was just saying that, uh me telling you
what spots to avoid in Philadelphia to research your roles.

Speaker 1 (58:18):
You the exact opposite, because that's because what made you
do that?

Speaker 7 (58:22):
Because I was like that, that's some real Philly ship.
You're trying to prevent me because you don't think I'm ready.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
So when you went to Chicago, you went to Kabreena
and Green. No, oh, that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 8 (58:34):
Yeah, what is decrete was a different movie? Right, like
it was a different it was.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
Yeah. I'm just saying that, you know, did you talk
to anything? Would you go? Would you go would you
go to Ethan Butler? Damn? Yeah, you think I've been Butler? Yeah,
but you know about Eightan Butler.

Speaker 2 (58:53):
So I'm just saying, like I would be like, yo,
you know the spotsicles that you might not want to
go to Athan Butler at.

Speaker 8 (58:59):
Nobody's talking with Tessa Thompson Like at the end of
the day, I don't think so I think nobody really
I don't know. I think so.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
Okay, I'm just well, you did it already, so congratulations
and now you're.

Speaker 8 (59:11):
Doing it again. Right You're in Philly as we speak,
doing another greed.

Speaker 4 (59:14):
I was.

Speaker 8 (59:15):
I was at Max's the week before last. Are you
and Ryan back together too? Is he back in Creed.

Speaker 7 (59:20):
No, a new filmmaker named Stephen kemple Jr. Really dope
dude made this film called The Land that was it
Sundance face.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
No, I just don't like messing with any formula that's
not broken. So I didn't know that Ryan wasn't doing
Creed too.

Speaker 8 (59:36):
He's not. It'll still be great. It's gonna be great.
Stephen kimple Jr. Is a great filmmaker.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
You don't have to Oh, I was saying enough people
rocky in it? What is uh?

Speaker 6 (59:51):
Two actors I want to ask you that you work
with that first of all, Jeffrey Wright and the Keith
stans film.

Speaker 8 (59:58):
I just have to know, how is it acting opposite
of those two men? Are you thirsty?

Speaker 4 (01:00:04):
Well?

Speaker 8 (01:00:05):
When it hold up?

Speaker 6 (01:00:06):
I'm not thirsty on Jeffrey Right. Jeffrey Right is everything
as far as an actor to me, he's.

Speaker 8 (01:00:10):
Your talent thirsty. No, I'm not, don't do it. I'm
not hold up now.

Speaker 6 (01:00:15):
I'm the keep thirsty because he is one of the
only black male actors that I know that you know
prophesizes about the black woman.

Speaker 8 (01:00:21):
So in that sense, yes, I am in level of
Keith Stansfield.

Speaker 6 (01:00:25):
Yeah, but I got I guess I'm on the regular,
so I'm not really chasing, but I'm curious as an actress,
what's it like with Jeffrey Wright.

Speaker 8 (01:00:32):
I mean, he's so good, Like he's so good, and
he's like, yeah, it's sort of like a not a masterclass,
but he's yeah, he's just he's just really, really really good.
That's all I can say. It's like a pleasure to.

Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
Have you ever been intimidated by a fellow actor that
that has such a pedigree or such a level of
acting or Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:00:58):
Harris, he scared me scared. I was a little scared
to work with him. Really, yeah, I was a little
scared about and.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Also in terms of I must deliver this perfectly or
he just.

Speaker 7 (01:01:11):
Scared Like so, so I I went to the Sundeath
Labs one year and I workshopped this film that I
just came out. I tried Baca this film called Little Woods,
and Ed Harris was the acting advisor, which would mean
you'd be shooting these scenes and the acting advisor comes
in to see how things are going and give and
gives tips and he just doesn't mince words. So I
was like playing the scene I had this idea that
this character had, you know, really sort of stiff spine

(01:01:34):
and anyways, I had this idea and he came in
and I could just hear him at the monitor like
stiff stiff, and he came over.

Speaker 8 (01:01:43):
To like give me a note.

Speaker 7 (01:01:45):
He's just like he just says what he feels and
he's so impulsive and he's so gifted. And then the
first day that I came to work with him on
West World, he just said to me, I voted for
you by the way he liked my work and created
and that made me so proud, but also like just
intimidated me because I was like, oh God, I have to.

Speaker 8 (01:02:04):
Like be good today. But he's he's so yeah, he's
so good. I'm such such a fan. And la Keith,
can you tell the people how close he is to
this character in Atlanta in realize, because I know a
lot of people really think that in Atlanta he's not acting.
But as far as sorry to bother you, yeah, he
is an actor.

Speaker 7 (01:02:22):
So he's an actor. He's so he's so gifted. I mean,
I think he brings a lot of himself to Darius,
and I think he ad lips and stuff.

Speaker 8 (01:02:31):
But you know who is nothing like his character that I.

Speaker 7 (01:02:33):
Think people assume is Brian who plays paper like he's
like that's that's a whole different human, like he's a
shape shifter and not that la Keith isn't.

Speaker 8 (01:02:43):
But but Brian really like it's night and day. This
is us too. Yeah, because Brian did this is Us.
I'm still in the first season when Grandpa's bye, I
live for that. I was got by Grandpa. So he's
one of Grandpa's old friends. You'll see it's really good.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
Yes, the.

Speaker 8 (01:03:01):
Season two and y'all are just late. We're in season three.
If this is Us, no, I'm just like, it wouldn't
have been a spoiler. We didn't live in a binge.

Speaker 1 (01:03:14):
Watch World's just okay.

Speaker 8 (01:03:18):
It was like a too you gotta get this is us.

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
I wasn't playing to watch the show. It's too emotional
for me. I watch it. We love it, and I
know I think it started like the same time my
father died. That's what I'm saying. Process.

Speaker 8 (01:03:35):
This is the thing.

Speaker 7 (01:03:36):
The show is Earnest, and I like that. You don't
think it's Ernest's.

Speaker 2 (01:03:43):
I don't believe it's Earnest. Like Ernest tries and earnest
means well, but ernest it may be a ground world
double never home run, but I feel.

Speaker 8 (01:03:56):
That's your death. Yeah, I don't know about your death definition.

Speaker 1 (01:04:00):
Oh definition, Okay. I think earnest means.

Speaker 8 (01:04:05):
Well, but felt are they.

Speaker 1 (01:04:08):
I believe in this is us.

Speaker 8 (01:04:10):
I believe in this is us to me too. I
believe it's like it's real. It makes it evokes.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
There are some earnest things that I roll at, like,
oh boy, and it's.

Speaker 6 (01:04:19):
Real life conversation and some of these conversations were not
having but we should like the fact that the white
daddy went and got.

Speaker 8 (01:04:24):
The training to raise the black boy and oh my god,
it was Yes, they're just borre.

Speaker 6 (01:04:29):
I think they're too progressive. They're progressive at times it's like, oh,
some people aren't ready for this.

Speaker 7 (01:04:34):
It hardens me though that because it's a very successful show,
and I'm like, that's cool that America is into that
right now?

Speaker 8 (01:04:41):
Yeah yeah, yeah, right, yeah, yeah legit. Yeah yeah, because
sometimes I can be I don't watch a lot of
like television, like network television, but I watched.

Speaker 2 (01:04:49):
That and I was like, all right, I was shocked
because when I happen to be at the upfronts. Upfronts
is basically, in the shortest way possible, it's sort of
a convention for advertisers and they come to see which
shows they're going to invest in. So all these networks
put together these little workshops, like NBC will rent out

(01:05:11):
Radio City Hall for maybe two days, and the President
will come in and Jay Loo will come in with
the Thursday night lineup, and Jimmy Fallon will come in
and do some comedy and you're basically watching night day
after day. Monday night, our lineup will be no No, no,
no No, The Voice and no no, no No. And
as an advertiser, you're like, Okay, I want my product

(01:05:32):
on the Voice and this particular show, and I think
I like this, and they introduce what the news shows
are going to be.

Speaker 7 (01:05:37):
I swear I actually, until this moment, did not know
what the upfronts were. Like I have participated, but I
didn't realize it was for advertisers.

Speaker 8 (01:05:44):
Hell yeah, thanks for that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:45):
Anytime you watch TV and you see commercials or product
product placement, yes, upfront, so they get in early so
like and sometimes it backfires.

Speaker 1 (01:05:56):
So think of like when Michael J. Fox was returning
to COY with the Michael J. Fox Show. Advertisers were excited,
so they all lined up like Okay, this this looks
like it's going to be a ratings winner, and then
they put all their money into The Michael J. Fox
Show and then it busted after a year.

Speaker 2 (01:06:13):
So that's sort of who infamously, I think Kevin Hart
show got dropped at he found out that his comedy
on ABC, that his show got dropped right before you're
supposed to go and stand. Yeah, so that's the downfall
upfront anyway. So at the upfront I saw this is
us and was sort of like, I don't know if

(01:06:33):
this is going to work for m And then so
can I ask how did knowing Boots Rally Wolly, This
is ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (01:06:48):
Okay, knowing Boots Riley the way that I do, I'm.

Speaker 2 (01:06:57):
Extremely shocked at the amount of instant support that he had.
I knew that he had a friend in Patton Oswald
and that he had a friend in David Cross. And
David told me how he almost this project almost passed
him by, Like I think like his assistant saw the
script read.

Speaker 1 (01:07:16):
A little bit and was like, Yo, you really need
to read this.

Speaker 2 (01:07:20):
David was going to pass on it like, yeah, I
got your script, I'm busy, and then the system was
like you gotta do this shit? How were you all convinced?
And I never knew that he had this, this, this
level of talent in him.

Speaker 8 (01:07:36):
I think this this.

Speaker 7 (01:07:37):
Script was so singular and he had been trying by
hook up at Kirk to get it made any which way,
Like he made.

Speaker 8 (01:07:42):
A record by the same title, sorry to bother You
to entice people to make the movie. He's just like
he had such he was had such a clear vision
and he also has such.

Speaker 1 (01:07:56):
Yeah it took hooks like her.

Speaker 7 (01:08:03):
Yeah, but it's like he really does you know what
I mean, Like he's just like he's he's he's gutsy
because he comes from a place of just like belief and.

Speaker 8 (01:08:12):
Yeah, it's it's that that's sort of intoxicating to be around.

Speaker 2 (01:08:15):
And the truth is cynical Hollywood though you just say,
like rapper for twenty years really didn't make it to
the mainstream level?

Speaker 1 (01:08:23):
Was he have to offer me?

Speaker 4 (01:08:25):
Like?

Speaker 7 (01:08:25):
But I think, don't you think we're in a time
right now where like everybody's looking for the outlier to
like bandwagon with because so.

Speaker 1 (01:08:32):
How did it come? How did it come across your radar?

Speaker 7 (01:08:36):
Well, funny, funny enough, he wrote me a letter two
years ago and offered it to me, and then essentially
resended that offer by then asking me to audition for it,
because in the space of two years he felt like
I like popped off too much to then be in
his like ind movie, yeah, and so he asked me
to audition. So I auditioned, and I wasn't in the

(01:08:56):
same city as him or Lakeith. So we got on
a skype call and then he felt like it was
really instantaneous and he couldn't say no to me.

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
I don't even think that happens to any direct Like
it's what do you mean? That's luck I mean on
his end, but uh, what, how do you feel? I
feel as though this will be descript is.

Speaker 7 (01:09:22):
Literally unlike anything I had ever seen or dreamt of.
And then I also think in terms of like I
really love films like you know, Being John Malkovich or
Eternal Sunshine in the Spotless Mind, or like Michelle Gondry's
films like I like, you know, weird shit, and I
just felt like that was always a genre that wasn't
gonna be available to me because like I don't see

(01:09:43):
any black folks in those movies.

Speaker 2 (01:09:44):
I saw the trailer for Sorry to Bother You, and
I was like, I've been waiting for a black film
like this for like.

Speaker 1 (01:09:49):
Twenty five years.

Speaker 8 (01:09:50):
Yeah, legit.

Speaker 7 (01:09:51):
So that's how that's how I felt like that when
I got that scripted answer to call that, like, I
just had literally been like cool, I'll never get to
make a film like that unless I make it, and
I don't know.

Speaker 8 (01:10:01):
I don't know that I will, And so it's like, yeah,
that's how.

Speaker 1 (01:10:05):
I thank you Jesus. That is awesome. Well, I know
we have a gazillion more questions for you, but we
have to love it.

Speaker 8 (01:10:17):
I really like being here, Gus. Can I also tell
you that I love the magic whatever influence. I don't
know if it is, but the power of you and
Janelle together has opened up her or her and away
to her fans to watch the evolution. That is just
a gift.

Speaker 7 (01:10:30):
Yeah, I'm really like, I'm so happy for her and
so proud, like I like, outside of you know, I
just really love the record.

Speaker 8 (01:10:40):
Like I listen to the record.

Speaker 7 (01:10:41):
It's weird sometimes when it's like if someone that you're
close to and your friend, You're like, I'm geeking out
on your stuff, but I legitimately just like really love
the record.

Speaker 8 (01:10:50):
Yeah, it's it's kind of cool.

Speaker 1 (01:10:52):
I used to him all the time.

Speaker 8 (01:10:53):
Yeah, so I so I feel that way about it.

Speaker 7 (01:10:55):
So I'm just like so proud because I just think
it's like such a beautiful record and so dope. And
then also just in terms of her evolution, you know,
she's in a space where she really like is allowing
her work to be more personal and that's like just
setting herself free. But in doing that, you said a
lot of other people free.

Speaker 8 (01:11:14):
So it's cool.

Speaker 1 (01:11:16):
That's what's up. Well, thank you. Ms Thompson.

Speaker 2 (01:11:23):
All right, well, ra and behalf of Boss Bill and
paid Bill Front Ticcolo Sugar Steve, It's Aliyah.

Speaker 1 (01:11:31):
It's a Leah wow, ls Man, I'm paying for this.
It's layah uh.

Speaker 2 (01:11:38):
Antessa Thompson, thank god, there's no ours or else in
your name. This is Quest Love signing off for her
Quest Love Supreme. We will see You, or the dext gobund.
Quest Love Is Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This
classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.

Speaker 8 (01:12:00):
One.

Speaker 2 (01:12:00):
More podcasts from iHeartRadio visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.