35 And Ticking/ Jill Marie Jones
35 and Ticking
An Interview with Jill Marie Jones
By Wilson Morales
May 16, 2011
Coming out in limited theaters this week is the romantic comedy ’35 and Ticking,’ which is directed by Russ Parr and stars a bevy of talent including Nicole Ari Parker, Tamala Jones, Kevin Hart, Keith Robinson, Meagan Good, Jill Marie Jones, Kym Whitley, Clifton Powell, Dondre Whitfield, Mike Epps, and Aaron D. Spears.
The story centers on a group of friends who are approaching the age of 35, and are all struggling to build the families they’ve always dreamed of.
For Jill Marie Jones, the film offers her a chance to work with friends. Best known for her role as realtor Toni Childs on the UPN/CW sitcom ‘Girlfriends’ before leaving in series after the sixth season, the Dallas, TX native has done some independent films and appeared in the 2007 film ‘The Perfect Holiday,’ opposite Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard and Gabrielle Union.
Jones recently starred in the short-lived TBS series ‘Gillian in Georgia’ opposite Darrin Dewitt Henson.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Jones talks about her character in ’35 and Ticking,’ and her currently stint in Je’Caryous Johnson’s ‘Marriage Material’ stage play.
What was the attraction for you to be part of the film?
Jill Marie Jones: When Russ Parr sent me the script, he wanted me to read the script because of the character. I read the script and the character Coco jumped off the page to me. I called him back and told him that I loved the script and the character. He said that’s the character he wanted me to play. He wasn’t sure if I would do it because she’s not the most liked character in the film. He said the some actresses don’t like to play unlikable characters, but I’m a creative artistic soul and I like to try things I haven’t done before, so it was perfect for me.
How would you describe Coco?
JMJ: Without giving too much away, she is the wife of Keith Robinson’s character. She is a mother of two children. She’s not the liked person in the film, but when I take on a project, everything might not be on the page, and so I build my own back-story if it’s not there just so that I’m able to get my places that I need to get to. I think Coco is in a position she never wanted to be in, but because of peer pressure and outside influence, she finds herself in this marriage and in this family, and it’s never what she wanted. She gets to a point where she acts out in an ugly way.
How was working with Keith (Robinson)?
JMJ: Great, because he’s actually a friend in real life, and strange because he plays my husband, and we have a love scene and that was weird. He’s like my brother in life. We have a good time. A lot of the cast knew each other before the project started.
How was the chemistry on set?
JMJ: On set, there are lots of laughs. Of course, you have Kevin Hart, and we were cracking up all the time, but we shot the film in almost 12 days. I actually worked only two days. Depending who my scenes were with on that given day, but I see them all the time. Black Hollywood is very small and we are at the same events and stuff and it was fun. We were at the Pan African Film Festival this year, and everyone showed up and we had a good time. It’s great when you get to work with friends.
The film also deals with people unsure about their lives at a certain age. Did you think about that when you read the script?
JMJ: I didn’t think about it for me, and even though I live in the real world, I do live in the entertainment world also, and I see older women having babies all the time. I don’t have any children, but I wasn’t think, “Is my clock ticking?” but I think it’s very topical and when I go back to my hometown in Dallas, most of my friends are married with children. You walk away from the film feeling for Nicole Ari Parker’s character. You also asked yourself some questions as well. It’s hard because if you know you want a family and you’re about 34 or 35 years old and there’s no one in your life romantically, you then have to meet someone, and then date them for a while, and if it’s a guy, then comes the marriage, and then a baby. That could take close to four years and now you’re looking at 40. What does that mean?
Since you left ‘Girlfriends’ in Season six, you’ve done some independent films. How’s that going for you as an actress? How are you finding roles these days?
JMJ: I’ve been very blessed. I haven’t had difficulty getting in rooms for auditions. The type of actress that I am, and I realized this early in my career, is that I’m really a character actor. I’ve very blessed to have done some amazing projects. I have a film out now that’s playing in New York and LA called ‘Meeting Spencer’ with Jeffrey Tambor where I play a transsexual. I also played a lesbian in this dark comedy called ‘Drool’ that came out some time back. I’m drawn to characters that are off the beaten path. I’m happy as a black actress that I’m still able to work. It can be difficult at times as we all know.
With BET bringing back ‘The Game’ after a year off, do you think it’s possible for ‘Girlfriends’ to come back on TV?
JMJ: At the end of the day, anything is possible. I love my fans and I have my Twitter family and followers. They even started a Facebook petition to bring the show back, which I thought was so sweet, so anything is possible. You just never know. For network, it boils down to business, and I don’t know that side of it. I would be open and willing to entertain the thought of something in the line of ‘Girlfriends.’ I don’t know if a TV show is necessarily what I would want to do, but anything is possible.
What play are you currently doing now?
JMJ: It’s called ‘Marriage Material,’ which is co-written and directed by Je’Caryous Johnson, and I’m the lead female. I play a character named Koren and she’s been burned by love often in her life by most of her boyfriends. She’s finally found this guy who’s amazing, and shows her that love does really exist. They are engaged and he ends up cheating on her with her best friend. We cut to two years and she’s with another amazing guy but she can’t see how good he really is because she’s been burned in the past, and it’s their one year anniversary. She thinks he’s taking her to a bed and breakfast for a weekend getaway and it happens to be a marriage retreat to see if she’s really ready, but of course, she doesn’t believe in happily ever after. She agrees to stay the weekend and it so happens that her ex fiancé and ex-best friend are still together and have a child and are the same retreat and it’s run by this crazy bishop and his wife. My stuff is heavy, but it’s also a comedy and really fun.
How are you enjoying the theater world?
JMJ: It’s never the same once you get on stage. It might be the same words, but the audience is different. It gives you more room to move. My performance is different every night. I was terrified to do the play. I had never done it before. Five pages on a film is lot, so imagine knowing 134 pages and having to do it on a show. It sharpens my memory took and your adrenaline is pumping. I love it.
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