Currently showing on Quibi is the “Movie In Chapter” and Antoine Fuqua-produced thriller drama “#Freerayshawn” starring Stephan James, Laurence Fishburne, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Skeet Ulrich and Annabeth Gish. All chapters are now available on Quibi.
Quibi is a short-form mobile streaming service which takes long-form content and breaks it into little bits, essentially one long story told in chapters, or ’10 minutes or under’ short form episodes.
Described as a modern-day version of Dog Day Afternoon, #Freerayshawn tells the story of a young, black Iraq War veteran named Rayshawn (James) who is set up by New Orleans police on a drug deal, runs for his life, and takes refuge inside his apartment building with his girlfriend and child.
With New Orleans PD and the SWAT team outside ready to storm his home, a social media frenzy begins as community members and news outlets arrive at the scene. During this growing mayhem, a sympathetic cop named Steven Poincy (Fishburne) plays the role of negotiator, and, over the course of one brutally stressful day, Steven tries to get Rayshawn to calmly surrender in order to avoid an escalation of unnecessary violence.
The project is directed by Seith Mann from a script by creator, executive producer, and writer Marc Maurino. Fuqua, Mann, David Boorstein, Kat Samick, and Justin Bursch executive produce.
Blackfilm.com recently had an exclusive chat with Fishburne as he spoke about the series, his character and working with the cast. He also spoke his upcoming Broadway play American Buffalo, which has been on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
What drew you to this project?
Laurence Fishburne: I would say initially, it’s the story, and secondly, the way the story is being told. Not just that Quibi is this new platform, which is pretty awesome I have to say, but the idea that Rayshawn finds himself in this altercation with police and they have a standoff. The fact that he’s using his phone to livestream what’s going on. I thought that was a really interesting component. It’s not something I’ve seen done this way before.
How would you describe Officer Pointy? He seems conflicted in what he has to do.
Laurence Fishburne: He’s a guy who’s been on the police force for a while. He’s seen a lot. He’s had one traumatic event in the in the course of his career. He shot a young person who turned out to be unarmed. And so he carries the guilt of that around with him. But I think like most police officers, he’s somebody who wants to be of service to his community. I feel he has a lot of empathy for Rayshawn as a young African American male who’s trying to do the right thing. I think of him as the father of any young man who is conflicted.
Are there any traits of Steven that you can relate with?
Laurence Fishburne: For me, t’s about the story. More than it’s about me. Does that make any sense? It’s really about how as an actor, can I service the story? I don’t really sit around thinking about how I like the character or not like the character. I’m really interested in getting to the truth of whatever the scene is, whatever the moments are. What is my part in helping to tell the story as effectively and as dramatically as possible?
Depending on the time period of when the film/ series is shown, it could have a different meaning. How would you best describe the film?
Laurence Fishburne: I think it’s important that we tell these stories. Obviously, this incident that just happened to Georgia is why we need to continue to tell these stories. And unfortunately we do. Because things like this keep happening.There are young black people and even older black people who are losing their lives unnecessarily in these situations that are really come down to misunderstandings, and it’s about people being afraid of them. And that’s just a shame.
Can you talk about working with Seith Mann and Antoine Fuqua and approaching the character? Was it all just based all on the script?
Laurence Fishburne: I love Antoine Fuqua’s work and it was really a dream come true to be working with him. I have known Seith Mann for a number of years, and almost got close to working with him once upon a time ago and found working with him to be nothing but a joy. I am an honorary citizen of the city of New Orleans where we shot #Freerayshawn. So it was nice to be working at home and to bring some work down there to that city. And young Stephen James is an amazing young actor as is Jasmine Cephas Jones. Our entire cast was wonderful. It was like a no brainer just to be able to do this work and to do it well, particularly on this new platform; this new way of storytelling, which I think people have been waiting for, without really knowing it.
Did you shoot this as if it were a film or a TV series?
Laurence Fishburne: We shot the whole narrative just as like one piece. And it was in the writing of it, that it was structured. It was structured episode by episode, but we shot it as if it was a long form piece, like a two hour film.
Where are we with the play American Buffalo?
Laurence Fishburne: We’re over LaGuardia and we’re waiting for the runway to clear. (Laughs) We’re in a holding pattern.
What’s it like coming back to the stage after so many years of being away?
Laurence Fishburne: Fantastic. I love the theater and we’ll just have to wait until the theaters can reopen and it’s safe to do so.
What goes into the projects that you say yes to?
Laurence Fishburne: It really down to every individual project. I don’t have a particular formula or a set of criteria that needs to be met for me to take something. I’m really interested in continuing to do a variety of things. If you look at my careers 40 some odd years long, and I do a lot of different things. So really, for me, it’s, it’s about the stories. It’s about the people involved and sometimes frankly, it’s about the money. But mostly, it’s about whether or not I the material speaks to me on some level.
Do we get to see the Bowery King once again in a John Wick film?
Laurence Fishburne: I hope so. Everything is on hold. They were in the middle of shooting another Matrix movie, which I was not involved in. But hopefully when we’ve settled this Coronavirus business, there’ll be more stuff like another John Wick film, Matrix and all that.
Loading…