Jumping The BroomAn Interview with Angela Bassett
By Wilson Morales
May 3, 2011
Coming out this week is the romantic comedy ‘Jumping The Broom,’ which stars a bevy of talent including Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Mike Epps, Loretta Devine, Meagan Good, Tasha Smith, DeRay Davis, Julie Bowen, Romeo Miller, Gary Dourdan, Pooch Hall, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Valarie Pettiford.
The film focuses on a weekend wedding in Martha’s Vineyard where two families from divergent socioeconomic backgrounds clash during their first meeting before the big event.
For Bassett, who plays Claudine, the mother of the bride, she returns to the big screen after playing Voletta Wallace, mother of the slain rapper Christopher ‘The Notorious B.I.G’ Smalls, in 2009’s ‘Notorious.’
The Harlem also gets to reunite with Loretta Devine, who starred with her in the 1995 blockbuster hit ‘Waiting to Exhale.’
While promoting the film in Los Angeles, Bassett spoke to Blackfilm.com about working the cast, her upcoming projects, and whether she jumped the broom when she got married to actor Courtney B. Vance.
What was the attraction to taking this project?
Angela Bassett: I liked the script. Met with (director) Salim Akil and it’s his first feature. Just sitting across the table, he seemed very knowledgeable and very decent, and very collaborative, and if you are going to take a leap of faith the jump the broom, it’s based on how you feel about a person and I felt it would be a good experience. It had the makings of that.Of course, I knew I would be working with Loretta (Devine), so I knew what she would bring to the table. The elements pointed to this being a good success.
The producers, director and even the cast have said you were the catalyst behind getting everyone onboard for this. What was the enticement to do this movie?
AB: Who onboard? I don’t think I was enticing anyone.
They said that once they had you everyone else came on –
AB: Oh, I think that they would’ve come on anyway, but okay. It was a good script. He’s a wonderful director, but I accept the compliment. It’s a great compliment. It was good. It’s a tremendous compliment.
Did you want to add anything to your character that wasn’t on the page?
AB: I just didn’t want her to be a stereotype. I could see that it potentially could go that way. You’re just held up, being proper and holding yourself that way. I just wanted her to be a real person. It’s funny and I’m glad that I had a chance to be in something that’s more of a comedy because my friends think that I’m really funny. But I wind up in dramas sometimes, a lot. So it was a good, just a breath of fresh air, but I didn’t want it to be so broad and unbelievable and stereotypical. It reminded me of ‘Exhale’ and ‘Stella’, those worlds that are populated by just for real, beautiful black people.
How was the dynamic between you and Brian Stokes Mitchell?
AB: Great. That was my second time working with him. We did ‘Ruby’s Bucket of Blood’ together where he was a non-sympathetic husband in that one, but I love working with him. He just has the biggest heart and he’s so giving. Our scenes together had to look believable because there’s a plot twist that happens. So the film had to have the right husband, the right guy and trying to believe that I’m her mom. I don’t want to tell too much. Spoiler alert. But I love working with Brian, and just as I was to suggest him they came back and said, ‘What about Brian?’ Trying to find the husband was very important to me.
Then there’s Valarie Pettiford. You two are great together –
AB: Do you believe we’re sisters? I had a lot of money over the years to hold myself together. Maybe I’m fifty eight or sixty or something.
How is your French since you said a line or two of the language in the film?
AB: I had to work at it. Fortunately they gave me that line early because it was written, but it wasn’t written in French in the script. ‘Give me the French stuff. Give it to me now. Give it to me early. Let me check the day, to see when it’s coming up and let me work everyday on it,’ because I think I had to do it a couple of times. I would get so confused. I spoke Spanish growing up and so the French was a little [hard]. And of course you get a little self-conscious, like, ‘Am I saying it correctly?’
Did you jump the broom when you got married?
AB: No. I didn’t jump the broom. I did some different things. Instead of saying, ‘Who gives this woman,’ what we did was, ‘Who stands with this woman,’ and my mother stood since my father is deceased and my father’s husband is deceased also. So, ‘Who stands with this woman,’ and my mother stood up. ‘Who stands with this man,’ and my husband stood. ‘Who stands with this couple,’ and then everyone at the wedding stood. So that’s what I did instead of jumping the broom.
This is a big summer for you. You have this movie and you’re also in ‘Green Lantern’. You’re all over the place. There’s a possible TV series –
AB: Sometimes that’s good. It’s a good period.
Are you feeling that this is the time that you’re seeking to do a lot of things?
AB: No, no. I can’t say that it’s a different time. I’m always openly looking for work to do, always looking. Some seasons there’s a lot and sometimes there’s less. And sometimes they all come to the marketplace at the same time and it looks like what it looks like.
In ‘Green Lantern’ you play a black character from the comic book. Fans will expect that you did your homework on Dr. Amanda Waller. Did you read the comic books for doing the part?
AB: Oh, my gosh! Let me go and do some more brushing up.
When you get approached for something like that, a comic book movie –
AB: Thank goodness for the internet.
Did you approach this role at all differently from what you’ve done in the past?
AB: No, not really. No. I can’t say it’s a different approach.
If there’s a sequel to ‘Green Lantern’ do you think you’ll be coming back for that?
AB: They certainly could. They could. I don’t know if they will or not, but I hope they will. I would hope they would, a strong black female scientist.
Then you have a TV series called ‘Identity’ that people are talking about. What was your approach to that, and is it a done deal that it’s going to series?
AB: We’ll hear in May if it gets picked up. The pilot is done. The pilot looks great from what I hear. I guess that I’ll see it soon. It goes to the network on Monday and then we’ll hear within the timeframe of when they say what pilots they’re picking up or not. But I’ve been approached for years about doing shows, to do different shows, and it was just never the right time. But it seems like more of a right time now because I was doing a lot of films then. Now that films are fewer in between, as an actor you want to keep working and this was a really good script, based on the British TV series of the same. There were maybe about three new shows that I was approached with this year. One was a great premise, but it didn’t come out right on the page. So that one didn’t happen. Another one was pretty interesting, but just didn’t keep going. This one was good on the page and got picked up. So I was fortunate.
So, if this film is successful do you think that we’ll get more films for black women?
AB: I don’t know about black women. If it really, really is successful then the business will want to look for more of that kind of success.
Between shooting the movie, a TV series and having a family what is it that keeps you balanced?
AB: Oh, I’m crazy as a bedbug. I get overwhelmed quickly, but it comes in waves and then you’re calm again. You just put your head down and go on, barrel on through it. It’s got to be done. This is a busy time. My husband has them covered there. I’ll see them tonight. I’ll see them tomorrow tonight.
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