BlackVoices Movies Q&A's
Cedric the Entertainer
By Jawn Murray, Special to AOL BlackVoices,
Posted: 2005-06-08 00:00:12
Cedric the Entertainer is just funny. There's no getting around it. He so carelessly cracks jokes that you find yourself laughing even when he's being serious. His success in Hollywood is no laughing matter, though. After a formidable stint on 'The Steve Harvey Show,' which earned him a syndication check, the uber-successful King of Comedy had audiences cracking up with his hysterical performances in the 'Barbershop' films and on his popular (but short-lived) TV variety show 'Cedric the Entertainer Presents.' The comic has also starred in 'Johnson Family Vacation,' 'Kingdom Come,' 'Serving Sara' and 'Big Momma's House.'
2005 is already shaping up to be a great year for Cedric the Entertainer. He starred opposite John Travolta in 'Be Cool,' appears with Tommy Lee Jones in 'Man of the House,' voices one of the lead characters in the upcoming 'Madagascar' and serves as both star and executive producer of the remake of 'The Honeymooners' with Mike Epps.
Chris Rock hosted the Oscars this year. Anyone in particular you'd like to see host it in the years to come?
Ah man, Busta Rhymes would be interesting. What about Suge Knight? He could go in there and scare the s--- out of everybody and the show would be over real quick. You know, you wouldn't have to sit through all of that nonsense.
Speaking of Suge Knight, was your character in 'Be Cool' based on him?
I play a rap mogul who is also a producer. He's a combination of Damon Dash, Suge Knight and Puffy and I just kind of mixed a lot of characters into this guy. He's pretty flamboyant but he's successful. It was a fun movie because it was a different kind of comedy.
Why did you decide to do the remake of 'The Honeymooners'?
Being a fan of Jackie Gleason, as a young man my grandmother was a huge fan of him, I always thought he had a very unique sense of humor. He was a funny guy but he always dressed it up and was smooth in clothes, wore suits and had this kind of ladies' man attitude on his variety show. There was such a unique piece of American nostalgia, by being one of the first true situational comedies that was on. The studio said they only really figured that I could pull it off and that they thought it was me that was the one that could capture what was the essence of what Jackie Gleason gave off. I took it as an honor and as a sign of respect and I was encouraged to do it. I thought Mike Epps was a great choice for Norton, with his natural kind of quirkiness and the difference in delivery, while at the same time hitting the heart of America.
You not only star in 'The Honeymooners,' but you're also the executive producer. What type of responsibilities does that bring?
Chris Rock hosted the Oscars this year. Anyone in particular you'd like to see host it in the years to come?
Ah man, Busta Rhymes would be interesting. What about Suge Knight? He could go in there and scare the s--- out of everybody and the show would be over real quick. You know, you wouldn't have to sit through all of that nonsense.
Speaking of Suge Knight, was your character in 'Be Cool' based on him?
I play a rap mogul who is also a producer. He's a combination of Damon Dash, Suge Knight and Puffy and I just kind of mixed a lot of characters into this guy. He's pretty flamboyant but he's successful. It was a fun movie because it was a different kind of comedy.
Why did you decide to do the remake of 'The Honeymooners'?
Being a fan of Jackie Gleason, as a young man my grandmother was a huge fan of him, I always thought he had a very unique sense of humor. He was a funny guy but he always dressed it up and was smooth in clothes, wore suits and had this kind of ladies' man attitude on his variety show. There was such a unique piece of American nostalgia, by being one of the first true situational comedies that was on. The studio said they only really figured that I could pull it off and that they thought it was me that was the one that could capture what was the essence of what Jackie Gleason gave off. I took it as an honor and as a sign of respect and I was encouraged to do it. I thought Mike Epps was a great choice for Norton, with his natural kind of quirkiness and the difference in delivery, while at the same time hitting the heart of America.
You not only star in 'The Honeymooners,' but you're also the executive producer. What type of responsibilities does that bring?
[joking] Everybody had to have sex with me. I [cast the movie] the old Hollywood way; get your role through the casting couch. I gave them warnings. I told Gabrielle Union that Vivica Fox was just in here and that Nia Long was really interested in the part and showed me some really unique tricks. So Gabrielle did what she had to do to get cast.
What was it like shooting the movie in Dublin, Ireland?
We shot the bulk of the movie in Dublin and it was actually a really good experience. It was different for me to live out of the country for a period of time. You go over there and you deal with the euro, and you find out that a dollar ain't really worth nothing over there. You need $1.30 to buy anything over there. But they eat a lot of potatoes and meats don't really matter. You get Fruit Loops there and you can best believe you're going to get a side of potatoes. It don't matter what you order, they going to bring you some potatoes. I did get a little thicker over there, but I know how to work that.
You star as the voice of the jungle in 'Madagascar,' which is expected to be an animation blockbuster and huge summer release. How was it working in animation?
Animation is probably the hardest and most unique form of acting because you're never in the room with the other actors. You're in a booth by yourself and the directors and the producers are giving you notes according to what you should be feeling and how you should be acting in this position. It comes out in May with Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Ben Stiller. So it's going to be thick.
You've had two successful runs with the 'Barbershop' flicks. Do you think there will there be a 'Barbershop 3'?
I'm not sure at this point. They did do the 'Beauty Shop' one with Queen Latifah, which is a spin from 'Barbershop.' They seem to be excited about that. There hasn't been any talk of a 'Barbershop 3' yet, so know one really knows. MGM is being sold to Sony, so at this point, I would doubt that there would be a 'Barbershop 3.'
What was it like shooting the movie in Dublin, Ireland?
We shot the bulk of the movie in Dublin and it was actually a really good experience. It was different for me to live out of the country for a period of time. You go over there and you deal with the euro, and you find out that a dollar ain't really worth nothing over there. You need $1.30 to buy anything over there. But they eat a lot of potatoes and meats don't really matter. You get Fruit Loops there and you can best believe you're going to get a side of potatoes. It don't matter what you order, they going to bring you some potatoes. I did get a little thicker over there, but I know how to work that.
You star as the voice of the jungle in 'Madagascar,' which is expected to be an animation blockbuster and huge summer release. How was it working in animation?
Animation is probably the hardest and most unique form of acting because you're never in the room with the other actors. You're in a booth by yourself and the directors and the producers are giving you notes according to what you should be feeling and how you should be acting in this position. It comes out in May with Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Ben Stiller. So it's going to be thick.
You've had two successful runs with the 'Barbershop' flicks. Do you think there will there be a 'Barbershop 3'?
I'm not sure at this point. They did do the 'Beauty Shop' one with Queen Latifah, which is a spin from 'Barbershop.' They seem to be excited about that. There hasn't been any talk of a 'Barbershop 3' yet, so know one really knows. MGM is being sold to Sony, so at this point, I would doubt that there would be a 'Barbershop 3.'
2005-03-19 21:33:06
