Set Visit Report: Taraji P. Henson On ‘What Men Want’Posted by Annabel Iwegbue
August 14, 2018
The classic 2000 Mel Gibson film ‘What Women Want’ will be receiving a modern day treatment in next year’s remake ‘What Men Want.’ From Paramount Pictures and the producers behind ‘Ride Along’ and ‘Girls Trip,’ the new film follows Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson), a successful sports agent who’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When Ali is passed up for a well-deserved promotion, she questions what else she needs to do to succeed in a man’s world… until she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts! With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best friends and a potential new love interest (Aldis Hodge) to the test.
Hitting theaters January 2019, ‘What Men Want’ stars Taraji P. Henson is the lead role of Ali, and the the cast also features Tracy Morgan, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Josh Brener, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Max Greenfield, Jason Jones, Brian Bosworth, Chris Witaske and Erykah Badu.
On set they were filming a large wedding scene that Henson took a quick break from to speak with us. Read below for how she handled tackling comedy, her thoughts on her character’s abilities, and how she passed on ‘Girls Trip.’
How does it feel to lead in this type of role that’s a departure from ‘Cookie’ and what you’ve done?
Taraji P. Henson: This is the role I’ve been waiting for! You know as a single parent moving to LA, doing a half hour sitcom was a dream role for someone in my position. Because I still had time to go home and and homework and you know so it didn’t require those crazy hours. But as God will have it I was always doing drama! So I’ve always been wanting to do this and I knew that I would have a lot to prove like you know ‘you don’t do comedy!’ and I’ve tried to put comedy in everything I do because in life you laugh one minute and you cry th next. And I think to me the best dramatic actors in my experience are comedic actors because they add another layer. They don’t don’t make it just about the deep, dark drama, they can find the nooks and crannies where we can be human. So I enjoy comedy!
Would you want to have [Ali’s] ability yourself?
Taraji P. Henson: I don’t want that pressure, its enough dealing with the voices in my own head!
In your everyday life and also as your character you’re always switching your look, so how does that affect you in your roles, and do you have input on your look with your characters?
Taraji P. Henson: I usually leave that up to the people that are hired to deal with it, because I have enough to think about as far as lines and where I am in the script. So honestly once they hire the person I have to commit with what they put on me, I really don’t fuss with them, I let them do their jobs.
You talked about Girls Trip and how you were almost one of the women in the movie. How do you feel like that has changed how your career has gone?
Taraji P. Henson: I don’t think it changed in anyway! I don’t think it helped or hindered, I’ve always been the type that, there’s enough work for everybody. I can’t do everything, I don’t want to do everything, I just can’t physically! I know Will [Packer] called me for Girls Trip and that was Tiffany [Haddish’s] blessing! I don’t know what role he had in mind for me, but at the time I just felt like that was somebody else’s blessing, I felt like I had my girlfriend moment. So then when he came back to me, Will, he knew what I was looking for! I was looking for my number one position to shine as a comedic actress. You know, sometimes you say no to things or something doesn’t work out and God has a bigger plan, and that’s how I move in life.
You’re actually in a wedding scene today, if you had the opportunity to choose someone dead or alive to attend you wedding who would it be, and what would you want for a first wedding song?
Taraji P. Henson: If we’re talking about somebody singing at the wedding of course Whitney, I guess ‘Ribbon in the Sky.’ I know that’s cliche but my cousin, when I was litter, got married and she had a fairytale wedding and they sang that and I’ve just been obsessed. I have a few!
[For your recent engagement] Big wedding, small wedding?
Taraji P. Henson: Small! Honestly, doing this scene is making me, I don’t know if I want all of that! It might just happen at the cookout and everybody will be like ‘Oh it’s happening now!’ For me it’s not even about the spectacle, it’s about who’s around. It’s about the circle, somewhere when things go bad and you try to leave that circle they go ‘uh-uh! So for me thats what its more about than ‘What dress is she wearing?’
Can you talk about your style in this at all?
Taraji P. Henson: The style with this is more professional! She’s in an all boys club so she can’t be too sexy because she needs men to focus on her brains. So it’s very sleek. In the beginnings she starts off with a very dark monotone color, because that’s where she is mentally, and then as she lightens up in life her wardrobe lightens. But everything is form-fitting. A lot of dark colors towards the beginning, nudes and lighter colors toward the end. That was Adam [Shankman’s] idea!
If you had one person on this earth who you could hear their thoughts who would it be?
Taraji P. Henson: My dog! You know like ‘Mom I really wan to sh-t and you’re not getting off the sofa!’ I really want to hear his thoughts. I can kinda guess, you know by facial expression, but with dogs you just don’t know. The older my other dog got he would do this thing where he’d just start shaking and I’d be like ‘what!’
