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How was it
working with fifty?
Joy Bryant: Mr. Cent…
Wonderful.
Were you
worried about the role?
Joy Bryant: I wasn’t worried.
I was excited. Especially getting the
opportunity to work with Jim Sheridan is
pretty radical. A lot of people have to
wait a long time to work with someone of
that caliber. I’ve been really
fortunate, I mean in a 4 year period to
work with Denzel and then Jim Sheridan?
I can go write my novel now. It’s all
good. We came, we saw, we conquered.
It’s time to move to Mexico and write
that novel now. Maybe maybe not. Not yet
maybe in 2 years.
How was it
filming essentially in your backyard?
Joy Bryant: That was Crazy!
When the scene where you first see me as
an adult or whatever? That was my
neighborhood. Like I could point to the
building and throw a rock “See that
window over there? I’m a break it” It
was really overwhelming and emotional. I
didn’t know we where shooting there, I
thought we were filming near Yankee
stadium which is kinda my neighborhood
as well. So when the car picked me up in
the morning, I’m expecting to get off
one exit to Yankee Stadium and we’re
going to the exit I would get off at
coming back from Connecticut; the one to
the projects. I was really confused
because no one told me where we were
going. And I was like are we going to my
uncle’s house? I thought there was some
kind of surprise and the driver was like
“no, we’re going to the set” and when we
were there, I was like “Oh my gosh” and
I was getting really emotional and I
couldn’t understand why. I knew it
wasn’t bad. I remember we kinda had a
pow-wow at the restaurant before filming
began and I remember looking out of the
window and it was really hot and there
were these kids playing in the pump and
I almost burst into tears. I was like
“Oh my gosh! That was me! That was me
walking down the street; ten years old;
playing in the pump and wondering what
was out there. And here I am year’s
later boom. It was full circle. So it
was very very wonderful.
What are you hoping people take away
from the film?
Joy Bryant: On one side, just
knowing more about fifty besides that he
was shot 9 times. I think that is one of
the main facts that gets mentioned all
the time “Yeah Fiddy got shot 9 times!”
But I think learning more about why he
is the man that he is and where he came
from and the things he had to do in his
life to survive. Whether you are a fan
or not, you are going to learn a lot
about his life and also, regardless if
you are a fan or not, learning that
there is a whole world out there where
people are born into a certain lot in
life and born into a certain environment
and the choices that they feel that they
have to make in order to survive are
very important and it is very easy to
sit back and judge them for doing what
they do. But you know a friend of mine
told me the most profound thing; “When
you know better, you do better” and when
you think there are people who do
whatever out there because they don’t
care, but for the most part when people
are given the opportunity or a chance
and they know that there is something
else out there for them, then they can
make better choices in their life. So
hopefully that’s what people will come
away with.
I was amazed at
the treatment of women in this movie.
When the guys come around, the women
move into the background. In fact, your
character gave up her career and dreams
to be with him. Am I getting that wrong?
Joy Bryant: I think we are
talking about, one, how women are
referred to… there was a certain type of
women who were referred to in a certain
type of way. Charlene wasn’t referred to
in that type of way. She got into a
couple of sticky situations, but she was
referred to and treated respectfully. I
think that in terms of her giving up her
life, I think that is something that she
wanted to do. I mean, people do that.
But is that the right message for
young girls and teenagers who will go
see this movie? That this is just the
way it is? Sure we're dealing with very
strong and very male driven situations,
but
Joy Bryant: But that’s what
the world is. It’s still very male
driven with all those sensibilities and
what not. I think for her .I mean I
didn’t have a problem with her giving up
in a sense. The way the movie ends, you
don’t know if she goes on. Maybe she
started teaching dance class in the
community or something like that. She’s
not 16. She’s of age and there is
nothing wrong with someone who wants to
have a child, who wants to start a
family. There is nothing wrong with
that. For me it…in my mind- there is a
level of hope. She has this child and
she wants to further her career in a way
that helps the community. There are many
other things you can do other than being
a star. She was very family oriented so
I didn’t have a problem with that.
How close was
she to the real Charlene or whatever her
name was?
Joy Bryant: Not very much. I
just know that she was around. I know he
was involved with a woman who got
pregnant when all of this was going on.
The character was actually a lot similar
to me more so than her. I mean I grew up
kinda like that. I grew up in the Bronx
and I was very sheltered. She was very
much like me. I was a dancer and had
been since I was 3 years old. I was
raised by my grandmother and was pretty
sheltered as much as you can be in that
environment and then I went away when I
was 13 and I would come back and still
have some of the same friends or
whatever. It was similar more so to my
life than hers. And it’s funny, because
I can’t recall if that was deliberate or
if it just sorta happened that way.
How did you approach this movie as an
experienced actress
Joy Bryant: Experienced? Haha
Thank you.
Working with
someone who is new to the craft. Was
your process different with him?
Joy Bryant: No. Fifty was
very focused and on point every minute
that he was on set. So it didn’t feel
like working with someone who was green
or brand new. I think he put in the same
dedication and same focus that he does
in everything. I think he was very eager
to learn and humbled himself to be able
to learn. I mean the movie is about him,
his life story but there were aspects of
filmmaking that he just didn’t know
because he has never done it before. He
humbled himself to learn everything from
his lines; camera angles; lighting… he
was just open. And that is why everyone
from the gofers to the producers and the
head of paramount just loved him. He was
very easy to work with. There are actors
who have been around for a long time
that aren’t this easy to work with. They
are just rude.
What does it
take for a young urban woman to survive
in a city like New York?
Joy Bryant: Well I think
going back to “knowing better and doing
better:” I think just having goals. And
realizing everything that is going on
and just knowing that there are other
things out there in the world. And it’s
not about you even leaving the
community. Just knowing that there are
other choices out there. You have
choices, there are opportunities out
there. I think people are not aware of
them really. And I think also just
treating yourself with respect and then
other people will treat you with
respect.
Do you think that
because you went away it was helpful?
Could you have been one of “those”
girls?
Joy Bryant: You know what? I
could have been. If I had just made a
left turn at Albuquerque…You know?
Luckily, when I was growing up, I was a
nerd and I wanted to be like those fly
girls and I wanted to run the streets
and my grandmother so was not having it.
And at the time I wanted to hang out and
I was like “Arrrggh” but she was all
about the books. Read an encyclopedia
and get some knowledge and you better
cross your T’s. So for me, that
definitely helped me out because I
wasn’t smart enough… I wasn’t slick
enough to handle all of that. I would
have liked to have been, but, I wasn’t
really slick enough or cool enough to
handle all of that so it’s a good thing
that she did keep me sheltered from all
of that. And I’m glad she did it. That
left turn at Albuquerque was right there
and I could have gone in that direction.
I think the people who thrive and
survive are ones that have at least one
person in their lives who helps them
stay on track at least until they’re 18
and then you can do whatever you
want. From boarding school and going to
Yale and thinking that just because
people have money that their lives are
easier. Yes having to struggle
financially is stressful, but most of
the rich kids that I knew who had
problems had parents that didn’t give
them any time. Luckily, I was fortunate
to have a woman who cared. And loved me
unconditionally and kept me on the right
track. So many people don’t have that.
What would be
your advice for young people?
Joy Bryant: Hit the
books. Once you get to where you are 18
or 19 years old, there is a whole world
out there for you to do or not do, but
up to that point? Hit the books and
educate your mind. I know it’s easier
said that done, because the educational
system is not set up to encourage that
especially when you come from the places
that we come from. But I think now with
the internet and the world sort of being
opened up, there are a lot of resources
and information out there and there is a
whole world out there waiting for you.
It’s not going to be easy. There never
is a surefire whatever. It’s hard, but
just educate your mind then you can make
choices. If you choose to do that, then
cool, but set your mind up right.
Can you tell us
what it was like working with Jim
Sheridan? For growing up in Ireland, he
seems to have a pretty gritty knowledge
of growing up in the streets.
Joy Bryant: Well yeah cuz he
grew up in a gritty part of Ireland.
And I think what he experienced being
Irish and growing up in that environment
has given him a great understanding of
someone like fifty growing up where he
grew up at. And I know that we were all
blown away in rehearsals by Jim and his
preparedness. I mean of course we knew
he was going to be phenomenal, but I
mean how deep he went into the work was
really amazing because he started…you
know we’d be talking about a particular
scene and he would give us sorta gives
us his… in his research, he went so deep
into his research that he went all the
way back to slavery. Okay? His intent
was not to convey a lot stuff in the
scene to beat people over the head with
it You know, “Well the black man is like
this because of this” but to sorta give
that information subtlety and we were
just sitting there like “we can’t even
believe that you actually…we all knew he
was thorough, but there are not to many
people black or white who would go that
deep for this type of story. And that’s
what it needed. It didn’t need to be the
stereotypical type of gangster movie.
There’s a lot of depth in it and that’s
what needed to be conveyed. He set it
off from the get-go in terms of what he
wanted to do and we were just like we’ll
follow you to the ends of the earth
because clearly you have a respect for
him and the culture and just everything.
And that’s pretty much all that anyone
wants is respect .
Given that you
had such a strong presence in you life
with your grandmother, what keeps you
from judging others who came from your
same situation, but who didn’t make it
out?
Joy Bryant: Because it
was very easy for me not to have had
that woman in my life. Very Very easy
from the beginning. So I don’t judge. I
have plenty of friends who weren’t as
fortunate as me and I tell them all the
time my grandmother used to say that you
were born in this world and you will die
in this world and no one owes you
anything at the end of the day. So you
can’t sit around making excuses. You
might have been treated unfair or abused
or whatever and those are things you
need to deal with, but at the end of the
day, it’s you and you alone. And it’s up
to you to make your life or break it. So
you have to go out and face everything
that has happened to you and make it
happen. This is a tough world and no one
is going to hand you anything. And if
you go out there and expect anyone to
give you anything, then you are screwed
from the get go and that’s how I live my
life and when I’m giving advice to
people there’s no easy solution. You
have to work hard and when the deck is
stacked against you, you gotta work 10
times as hard. If you can do that, you
can do anything, but you can’t do it by
sitting around and talking about it. You
have to be proactive in your life.
Were you at all scared while on the
set that someone might come through and
start a shoot out? Some people are
saying that there might even be
shootouts at the theaters?
Joy Bryant: I think that’s
kinda funny actually. I can’t even
really think about it because it is
sorta of the mass hysteria. When we got
to Toronto to start filming, he was all
business. He doesn’t have a million
people around him making him feel like
he’s the man. He’s here to do a job and
he didn’t need all that. So it was fine.
What do you
think about the controversy surrounding
the billboard with the baby and the gun?
Joy Bryant: On the one hand I
understand how people would think that,
that it’s not sending a positive message
and I think they are entitled to feel
that way. But there are plenty of
pictures without a gun. It’s easy to
just write them off as crazy, but when
you live in their community it’s a
different story. I think that too, again
there are plenty of posters and
billboards of this movie out there,
where there isn’t a gun. I kind of hope
that people make a big stink about a lot
of other things that go on in our
culture instead of singling out one
particular thing right now and they
haven’t even seen the movie yet. There
are a lot of things going on right now,
like the educational system. We need to
be making a stink all the time, not just
about this movie.
But there are
hundreds of posters with guns. Why this
poster in particular?
Joy Bryant: Because, well I
can’t say racism when black people are
the ones saying it, so I’m not going to
make that claim. There is something
about perception. There is a level of
racism. I’m not saying from these
particular groups. But its okay when
this person has a gun no one makes a
stink about a little Kiera Knightly has
a gun in her ad. There is sorta level of
racism there that people don’t want to
talk about, but it does exist.
Not specific to just this movie or
Hollywood. But when this country moves
beyond and starts to really address race
in a very honest and fair way, maybe
then we won’t have such a big stink
about stuff like this.
Like when people are saying this type
of movie glorifies violence, but no one
says that about “Gangs of New York” for
example.
Joy Bryant: Exactly! I think
people need to see the movie first. And
see that it just shows what he went
through and what people like him go
through day in and day out. If this
movie was offensive and I’ve read plenty
that are to women and people of color
that I don’t want to be any part of
them. I wouldn’t be a part of it at all
if it were offensive. It portrays a
certain life style accurately and
fairly. You get to see black sexuality
on film without it being demeaning or
degrading. So I don’t find it offensive
at all. I find it offensive that people
find it offensive without having seen
the movie first. That’ what’s offensive.
What are you
doing next?
Joy Bryant: Going on
vacation.
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