Quibi has premiered the trailer for Antoine Fuqua-produced forthcoming thriller drama “#Freerayshawn” starring Stephan James, Laurence Fishburne, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Skeet Ulrich and Annabeth Gish. It premiere April 13 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 Stephan James as he spoke about the series, his character and working with the cast.
What was the attraction to doing this?
Stephan James: When I first I sat down with Antoine Fuqua, he pitched me this thing called “#Freerayshawn,” which is essentially a modern day take on “Dog Day Afternoon.” It’s one of my favorite films ever. For me, it was this intense, octane thriller. This guy gets set up by the police and barricade himself in his house with his wife and his son. So there’s that thriller element. It’s also this reality for a lot of young black women and men in this country as far as you know them having to deal with this system that’s not always in their favor and then trying to rally email social media now as sort of protection to help with the cause. So, for me, it just had all these elements that were timely, relevant and exciting to me as an actor.
How would you say you relate to this character?
Stephan James: I’m a young Black man and I live in America. I’m just as susceptible to this system as any young black man. When I look at a guy like Rayshawn, who’s been an upstanding citizen for his whole life, and a guy who is ex-military who’s served for his country and to have to come home and be subjected this sort of treatment, it’s telling. It says that if he could be subjected to this, anybody could be and to me that just it said a lot and I just took it upon myself to wear it on my back and tell this story.
Based on the trailer, Rayshawn is jammed in a pickle. Is your character perfect or is he flawed?
Stephen James: I don’t think anyone is perfect ever but if you watch the series play out and I don’t want to give much away, but nobody’s perfect. It’s really telling me you have to be able to let things play out and one of the things that #Freerayshawn does so well it is that it plays on your own prejudices and your own psyche and the way you grew up and the way you see things. They have certain judgments or certain reservations depending on where you stand in life. But I think that ultimately we have to let everything play out so we can see the truth.
How was working with Seith Mann?
Stephan James: Seith is a beast. He always let us go for it, always let us try whatever we want to try. If anything wasn’t working one day or in the moment, he was not scared to to scrap it and he does not care of suggestions from any of the actors. We’re changing things day in and day out, depending on the feeling and the mood. He was always game for it.
Because the series is set as chapters as opposed to episodes, did it feel different compared and when you’re shooting series like Shots Fired and Homecoming?
Stephan James: Honestly, it really didn’t feel like I was doing a television show. It wasn’t like we were blocked shooting the episodes. It felt like we were shooting a film. I was working on a normal film set, not exactly in order but they did a good job of actually trying to schedule our shooting schedule in the script.
Because you’re confined to one location and for the most part with Jasmine Cephas Jones and the kid who plays your son, did it feel like a play?
Stephan James: Yeah, it definitely had that element. There’s something intoxicating about just being in this environment where the whole movie is in an apartment. For us, it played into the psychology of our characters, sort of working nights and spending hours on end of what can be stressful work environment in the same place, and in a weird way it made for a work character development for myself, Lawrence and Jasmine. I think everyone was feeling it.
What goes into the roles you take?
Stephan James: I definitely love characters that are layered. I love human stories. I love to read between the lines and see what I can offer up to the story or the character that’s not on the page. Once I figure that out, that’s what really excites me. I just try to find not only great stories but things that are timely and means something the world that reflects life in a way.That’s the power that we have as artists, one that I choose to go to and as a rule I live by. If I can make art that is reflective of society and that’s timely and relevant and cultural and important, then those are the stories that I’m most excited about.
How was working along with Laurence Fishburne?
Stephan James: Incredible. Needless to say, he’s a legend. I grew up watching Fish. Not only is he a beast of an actor, he’s a good person, a great person to be around and a joy to work with. I had a lot of fun working with Fish.
You have Homecoming Season 2 coming up. Are you having fun balancing films and TV?
Stephan James: I love it man. I love it all. I love to work with a lot of cool people and be able to tell stories on different platforms. I’ve proven to not be shy away from from different platforms. Quibi is no different to something that’s exciting. I like that the content was made for their phone. It just seemed like something that was ingenious and I’m happy that I took the risk. I’m involved in the first sort of wave of whatever this is going to be.
What can you say about Homecoming Season 2?
Stephan James: Janelle Monáe does an amazing job carrying the second season and you will be pleasantly surprised with her performance. As far as Walter Cruz, my character, He’s just on a mission to get some answers. He needs answers about what happened to him in that first season.
What’s a good reason to see a #Freerayshawn?
Stephan James: It’s a ride. It’s intense. It’s thrilling. It’s suspenseful. It’s timely. It’s one of those things where you can’t really your eyes away from it. It’s going to be one of those things where you’re constantly going to wonder what’s going on. What’s happening next. Where does the story go. If not, just check out Quibi and see how that platform works. A lot of cool stuff on there. “#Freerayshawn” feels powerful, timely, and it feels relevant. It feels it feels now.
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