About Last Night Set Visit Report: Michael Ealy Posted by Damien Smith
September 23, 2013
Coming out on February 14, 2014 is the romantic comedy, About Last Night, which is directed by Steve Pink and stars Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Regina Hall, Joy Bryant, Christopher McDonald and Paula Patton. This is a remake of the 1986 Edward Zwick film that starred Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins.
This is a modern reimagining of the classic romantic comedy, this contemporary version closely follows new love for two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world.
Danny (Ealy) and Bernie (Hart) are two single men living their lives on the wild side. But when Danny meets Debbie (Bryant) at a bar and the two start a relationship with a one night stand, Danny’s life takes a different turn. How does this passionate night become a full affair and what effect will this relationship have on both people and their friendship with their best mates?
Blackfilm.com had the opportunity to visit the set while they were filming in downtown LA. Ealy, who will soon be seen in the Fox series ‘Almost Human,’ plays Danny and gets to reunite with his ‘Think Like a Man’ producer Will Packer and co-star Kevin Hart on this film.
People will make comparisons between this film and ‘Think Like A Man.’ What’s the difference? Can you talk about your role in the film?
Michael Ealy: I play Danny Martin and Danny is a restaurant supply guy just like Bernie. He’s a blue color guy who’s looking for a little more out of life and also trying to get over his ex. I think where we separate ourselves from ‘Think Like a Man’ is that with this particular film, we get into the minutia of the relationships. There are good and bad times. You start to understand how a relationship can go array when two people spend two much time together. They tend to overlook all of the red flags that are popping up early because they want to make it work and they want to believe that it’s right. Ultimately, this movie is all about timing. Is it the right time for Debbie and Danny? Is it the right time for Bernie and Joan? I think ‘Think Like a Man’ was a bit more neat and had more comedy and this one has much more drama.
This is your third project with Will Packer. What keeps you coming back to work with him again?
ME: It’s always about the material. Will has a good eye for good material. Once you have developed a certain relationship, it just becomes family at that point and I consider him family.
When you do something that’s a remake, do you think about what’s been done before when you come into a role like this?
ME: No. I don’t personally. I did not watch the original. I looked at the script as a separate movie. I know there’s a movie called ‘About Last Night’ out there and I know who’s in it, but it’s important for me to approach it as a fresh idea. I find that if I look at the old one, I may try to repeat that. Whereby, if I take it as fresh script, then I will put my best foot forward.
Did you see the stage play of this?
ME: Didn’t do that either. For some actors, they can watch that stuff and do what they want to do, but for me, I’d like to do that stuff afterwards. It all started when I first started acting. My first scene was from ‘Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune ’ the play. The movie was the one with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was a habit that I picked up. I didn’t watch the film and for that particular performance, I took a scene from the play and it was what it was. It stood on its own. When I saw the movie, afterwards, I saw their interpretation. I think there will be multiple interpretations from ‘About Last Night.’ We have a much more comedic version but at the same time we get into the minutia of the relationships.
Will you go back and watch it after you are done with this film?
ME: Absolutely. I’ll probably watch it next week. It’s important for our movie to stand on it own. I know that’s difficult to ask when you are doing a remake of a classic film but when you are redefining a project like this for a whole new audience, a lot of people who were born after ’92 and have no clue to what ‘About Last Night’ is, for them, this will be their version. It’s important to have a fresh take.
In recent times, we have seen remakes of films that initially had a predominantly white cast and now we are seeing them with a black cast like Lifetime’s Steel Magnolias. Do we see this film as a black movie or a movie with black talent? How would you like to see it?
ME: It starts with the script. Just like ‘Think Like a Man,’ this script doesn’t have character descriptions of race. You read it independent of race and ultimately, if it’s cast predominantly black, so. It’s a movie.
Was there a scene that you felt compelled by?
ME: Yeah. We did a breakup scene the other night. Unlike my character in ‘Think Like a Man,’ I’m highly flawed in this movie and that’s actually part of the appeal of this role and it’s so interesting to see this guy haphazardly wrap himself up in this relationship and then just lazily be terrible about getting out of it. He’s sloppy about it and it’s so much fun to play and compelling because he ignored everything he should have seen. He was caught up in the glow of love or what he thought it was and things are different. I think there are a lot of people that can relate to that. I know I can and as you get older, you learn not to make those same mistakes. You learn to be more careful and play attention, especially in the early stages of the relationship. He just drives a truck into a wall.
And you enjoyed doing that scene?
ME: He drives a truck into a wall and then talks about it. With the scene that we did, how do you explain what just happened and his excuse is somewhat pathetic. At the same time, he’s finally being honest. That’s what I learned in a relationship most. It’s most treasured commodity you can have in a relationship, good or bad.
With the comedy aspect, how much comedy do you get to do?
ME: We try to keep it somewhat light. I think Danny and Debbie’s storyline is a bit more romantic, especially in the beginning. There’s a lot of sex. The comedy sort of comes. With Bernie and Joan, they are written funny. They act funny and they are funny non-stop. We bring gravitas to the entire story and there’s comedy in that. Obviously, the breakups and fights that we go through, it can get pretty intense.
You got to work with Kevin before on ‘Think Like a Man,’ and saw some of his zingers. Are you used to it by now?
ME: There’s no version of Kevin catching me off-guard with his comedy. If he says something that’s unbearably funny, I just laugh. I try to hold it back, but sometimes you can’t. What we discovered on this one is that we now have a familiarity, a certain rhythm. We know how to set each other up. I consider myself like Chris Paul and he’s Blake Griffith. We just set each other and play off each other. We had more fun on this one than on ‘Think’ because we are much more familiar with each other.
A lot of people were cracking up while you were shooting. Does that happen often?
ME: We did a scene last night where the two couples all meet for the first time and they were so on fire. Regina did something that, in the middle of the take, brought tears to my eyes. I was just balling. I could not stop. The good thing is that Danny and Debbie is for the most part separate from Bernie and Joan. We only had a couple of days together. Most of the times, I held it together because I didn’t have to watch them. You can not help, but it’s more fun that way.
Can you talk about the location of the film, the downtown LA location?
ME: Obviously, the original takes place in Chicago and definitely an urban environment. It’s a character within the play. What we try to accomplish in this one, and by keeping it in an urban area like downtown LA, there will be people in Chicago that can relate, people in D.C that can relate. If you are in an urban environment in a major city, you understand how to live this life and I think that was one of the smart things we did.
