Jumping The Broom DVD/ Blu-rayAn Interview with Laz Alonso
by Wilson Morales
August 8, 2011
Coming out the week on home video is the romantic comedy ‘Jumping The Broom,’ featuring an all-star cast 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.
Directed by Salim Akim, Laz Alonso and Paula Patton play an engaged couple whose future in-laws finally meet each other days before the wedding and mayhem ensues. The tense situations puts the lovely couple to ask themselves if they are ready for marriage.
For Alonzo, this has been a breakout year with this film as several project that puts him on the big and small screen at the same time.
Blackfilm.com caught up with Alonso as he spoke about the upcoming DVD, his TV series ‘Breakout Kings,’ and his music career.
Between being on the big screen with ‘Jumping The Broom‘ and on the small screen with appearances on TNT’s ‘Southland’ and your own series with A & E’s ‘Breakout Kings,’ how much fun has it been for you this year?
Laz Alonso: I feel blessed and really happy that everything fell into place when it did. I’ve been working really hard to do quality work and put something out that people will like and enjoy and be moved and inspired by. I feel really blessed that people are responding to the work that I’m doing and enjoying it.
With the home video of ‘Jumping The Broom’ coming out this week, and with as much that audiences saw on the big screen and enjoyed, what can we expect from the DVD/ Blu-ray?
LA: The DVD is definitely going to have a lot of behind-the-scenes momemts and the making of the film. It will also have a lot of commentary from Paula (Patton), Salim (Akil) and myself. You will see and hear a lot of stuff you just didn’t know about by just watching the movie. It’s also narrated by Paula, myself, and Salim. The same way we relate to each other in real life is what you see on the screen. We sat down together in a room and watched the movie and just started talking. We were cracking jokes and having a good time. I believe that there are some pretty cool outtakes and if there are, you know who will be on them – Mike Epps. Mike Epps stole the show when it came to improving on set and keeping us laughing regardless what was going on. Not too far behind him was DeRay Davis. Between them, Angela Bassett, and Loretta Devine, it was just as funny off-screen as it was on-screen. It will be an enjoyable DVD to have in your collection.
Compared to ‘Fast and Furious’ and ‘Avatar,’ how much fun was it working on the film with this cast?
LA: It was a blast because when you take the tiny little town in Nova Scotia where we shot the film, all we had was each other. We really did fact become a family. We would run into each other at restaurants and eat together. We would have cookouts at each other’s houses and everybody would bring something. I was on Mojito duty. I made Mojitos for the crew. It was just a lot of fun.
A little bit of your personal background is in this film in that your character is an investment banker and you started out as one before you switched careers to acting. Was that something you added to the character or was that part of the script?
LA: Actually, Salim added that to the script. I wanted to make him a sports agent and give him a sexy life where he had access to cool events and people, and that would give him some similarities to Paula’s past. In the film, her character did mention that at one point she dated an athlete. Salim didn’t want something that we had seen before. We hadn’t seen before a black man on Wall Street and he’s right. In spite of my background, it’s something that I had overlooked. It’s true. There are a lot of brothers on Wall Street doing their thing. These guys graduated from historically black colleges and Ivy Leagues schools and they are doing extremely well. I’m glad I was able to portray not just my past but a lot of my colleagues who I came with and who they are as well.
You’ve tackled the action films, the sci-fi world, and now the romantic genre. What else do you want to do?
LA: I think a good story is a good story so I don’t necessary look at it from a genre standpoint. I’m also thirsty and hungry for a good story, whether it be drama, comedy, or action. There’s room for tons of great stories in each genre every year. The beginning of a new year is always exciting because I say to myself, “What great script is going to come that I will be dying to play this year?”
With much time left this year, you still have Rod Lurie’s remake of ‘Straw Dogs‘ coming up. What’s your role in that film?
LA: ‘Straw Dogs‘ is a really violent world. It’s a world of people who are unrealized in their lifelong dreams, so they are taking it out on each other. My character is the town sheriff and he’s pretty much the moral code of the story. He’s the guy that’s trying to keep the piece in the violent community. For me, I really liked playing this character. He was a fish-out-water, he’s from down South and yet, he’s a law enforcement officer. There are a lot of undertones that Rod Lurie has in the film that show us how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.
Congrats on the renewal of ‘Breakout Kings’ for a second season. How excited are you about that?
LA: I’m very excited. This year will be a lot different from the last season. We are going to play a lot more with back-stories of the characters and show who are and how they work together. Now we are going to find out who they were before they got together. We have some surprises set up for this season that should drum up a lot of excitement.
Do you have other projects lined up?
LA: My writing partner, Rafael Riera, and I just wrote a film currently titled ‘The Untitled Haiti Script,’ but the film takes place post-Quake Haiti. We’re working really hard to have it in pre-production by November so that we can start shooting it by next year 2012. We’re really excited by it. We put our heart and soul into the script and the film has a lot of legs in the story. There are a lot of true to life issues that are not being discussed.
What are you currently doing now?
LA: Well, I’m in Toronto working on a music gig. While I was shooting ‘Breakout Kings’ here, I hooked up with a musical family by the name of Crown Loyalty (Fito Blanco) and they do Latin music. While I was up here working, they asked me to give it a shot. To my surprise, and I did study piano music my entire life and I pretty much every percussion instrument. I did so in the band at school. I didn’t know I had the ability to write. We’re been writing music since January and recording. One of the songs is currently playing now on Mega 94.9 in Miami called ‘Te Quiero.’ We’ve been encouraging everyone to request the song since they are giving it some spins.
Why should anyone pick up a copy of ‘Jumping The Broom?’
LA: ‘Jumping The Broom’ is going to make one laugh. It’s going to make one warm and fuzzy inside and it’s the kind of movie you can watch numerous times and enjoy it every single time.
