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  • ‘The Retirement Plan’ Interview: Director Tim Brown

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    Opening in theaters on September 15th is the new crime thriller ‘The Retirement Plan,’ which was directed by Tim Brown (‘Buckley’s Chance’).

    What is the plot of ‘The Retirement Plan’?

    Ashley (Ashley Greene) and her young daughter Sarah (Thalia Campbell) must seek out Ashley’s estranged father, Matt (Nicolas Cage), for help when they wind up in the middle of a criminal enterprise that threatens their lives. Matt is living the life of a retired beach bum in the Cayman Islands when they track him down but are soon found by crime boss Donnie (Jackie Earle Haley) and his lieutenant Bobo (Ron Perlman). The more time Ashley spends with Matt, she realizes he has a secret past she knew nothing about.

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    Who is in the cast of ‘The Retirement Plan’?

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with filmmaker Tim Brown about his work on ‘The Retirement Plan,’ crafting the story, shooting in the Cayman Islands, directing Nicolas Cage and his unusual acting style, his character’s parental skills, Ron Perlman’s fantastic performance, putting the cast together, and creating the action sequences.

    Director Tim Brown and Nicolas Cage on the set of 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Director Tim Brown and Nicolas Cage on the set of ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how this project came together and why you were excited to direct it specifically?

    Tim Brown: I think I’d be excited to make any movie, frankly, but certainly this one. I think it came about almost in a bit of a different fashion. The Cayman Islands was Covid free at the time and the financier of the film was trying to find a way to bring a bunch of productions there. So I had an idea for a story and I said, “Well, what if John Wick just became a drunk on the beach for 20 years? What would he be like if it had to be pulled into action again after really not doing anything but being a drunk on the beach?” So it spawned from that idea. I thought it’d be like a Shane Black movie in a way, an action film that had a lot of comedic elements. I really like when the bad guys come into play and start talking about things that normally when you’re about to assassinate someone you wouldn’t talk about, like having a conversation about the bad service at Starbucks. Just something that takes you away from the real seriousness of the situation that you’re in to keep it light. So it really spawned from that and from having the location in the Cayman Islands and then having this sort of loose concept of a guy who has to be called back into action. And I just began writing, and as you write, that just evolved into what it became. So it was really an organic process for me.

    Nicolas Cage, director Tim Brown and Ron Perlman on the set of 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Nicolas Cage, director Tim Brown and Ron Perlman on the set of ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    MF: Tell us about shooting on location in the Cayman Islands during Covid, what was that experience like for you?

    TB: Amazing. They brought everybody in since they were Covid free. They had a very strict policy. They were one of the only places on Earth at the time that had no Covid whatsoever. So when you got there, they decided to do a slate of movies, and I was one of four at the time. I think they ended up doing two or three more films there. So they had built up a crew and they brought in every nut, every bolt, every dolly, every camera, and every person to operate that stuff, including the cast. When you arrived, you were put into a strict 16-day quarantine in your hotel room, bracelet, phone, lockdown, and two months in jail if you broke quarantine. So it was crazy strict. But when you got out of quarantine, I didn’t put a mask on for six months, so we were going to buffets, we were hanging out, living the life that we lived prior to the whole Covid business. So on production, having that freedom, I think the cast were initially kind of shocked. I remember talking to Ernie Hudson about it, and so I’m saying, “What’s it like?” And he’s like, “I feel like I’m walking around naked without a mask on my face.” I go, “You’ll get over that in about three hours.” Sure enough, he’s hugging people, high-fiving and running around the beach. So it was an amazing experience. The weather was phenomenal, although I know it was tough. Ronnie Perlman who was there, we’d keep him in an air-conditioned car because it’s 95 degrees, the humidity is about 98%, and the moment you get outside, it’s similar to being in a steam bath. He’s got to wear sharkskin suits, so he’s really in heavy clothing and doing fight scenes and things of that nature on the sand and the beach. So when it came to that aspect of shooting in the Caymans, that was probably harder on the cast than anyone. Because if you just walk outside, you start sweating, and you obviously don’t want that too much within your character, obviously on camera. So I think I evolved Bobo’s character a little bit into commenting on how hot it was. So anytime Ron’s saying how hot it is, he’d be telling me on the side, “Oh my God, it’s so hot.” So I’d go, “Say that. Just say that because at least it lends believability to your character who’s currently about to pour with sweat in about 30 seconds if I keep the cameras rolling.” So that was a bit of a challenge. But the people of the Cayman Islands are absolutely extraordinary individuals. It’s literally one of the nicest places I’ve been on Earth because they’re just so friendly and welcoming there. There are beautiful people there across the board, and we were really super lucky to be there.

    Nicolas Cage and director Tim Brown on the set of 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Nicolas Cage and director Tim Brown on the set of ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    MF: Can you talk about your experience directing Nicolas Cage? What did you learn from working with him and can you talk about his approach to playing Matt?

    TB: I learned a ton of stuff. When you just start to look at his resume and think about it, you kind of get overwhelmed. The majority of the process with him that’s so fantastic is the amount of work he does before you start shooting. So all of the conversations and the majority of the stuff that we talked about in prep. He’s a cinephile at the highest level. So If you want to talk film, and certainly, I don’t think I’m at his level because he’ll bring up some German existentialist film from the ’20s that I’m lost on, but he knows it cold. We would talk films a lot, referencing his character. So he likes to dive in, I believe, at least with me, into other past cinema to feed his current performance. He called me up and he said, “I want you to watch a film starring Leslie Howard called ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel.’” Not everyone’s going to know this film, but it’s an older movie set in the French Revolution when this gentleman would dress up as the Scarlet Pimpernel. At day, he’s a very flamboyant, fun-loving, easygoing, rich guy. But at night, he dresses up and he masquerades and he rescues French aristocrats from getting the guillotine. So I watched the film and as I’m watching the film, I’m like, “What the hell? How is this connected?” Then we’d talk about it and we had this expression with Matt, which was “peeling back the layers of the onion.” You realize that this Leslie Howard character in ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’ is a master of disguise. So Matt is by all the things you see in front of him, he’s just like a drunk beach bum, but that’s just the facade. So Leslie Howard’s character was the same way. He had a facade, but underneath that he was an expert professional. So we would slowly pull back the layers until at the very end when he’s putting on a flak jacket, now the onion is fully exposed as this ex-agent character who’s fully back in action now. But I tried to do that slowly and with Nic and his focus on character and his engagement into the story is incredible. He’s so prepared, every day. I can’t imagine there’s a director that hasn’t worked with him that doesn’t say the same thing, that he’s just phenomenal to work with because he’s so prepared coming into it. When I first met him, we had a meeting in his hotel and the script was on the coffee table and it looked like someone carried it through Normandy at the beach raid because it was just coffee stained and it was the most worn script I’ve ever seen. So clearly, he had just read it a hundred times. He knew his lines, everyone else’s lines, but he also knew the conversations about how his character gets to where he needs to get to, that was fascinating. Then he brings what I would call, I think I referred to it as the “Nic Cage spice.” It was a secret elixir, a secret ingredient that added a flavor to whatever you were eating, to use an analogy of cooking, that was so unique. He would do it very subtly and he would improvise something very rarely. He was very adamant on script, but he would improvise a small little thing. I realized later it was a nuance to a film he had done in the past or it was a little piece of meta. If you really know Nic, you’ll see things in this movie that he does that have been taken from other films that he’s done, and I didn’t even know he was doing it. I remember he did something in one of the conversations with the little girl. He says, “Sarah, you always knocked me for a loop.” It was an improvised line because he is supposed to say, “You just asked me a million questions. What’s your question?” I said, “Cut,” and I walked over and he goes, “Oh, you didn’t like that?” I go, “No, it’s fine.” I just didn’t know why he added the, “Sarah, you always knocked me for a loop.” I think long after I’d finished the film, I was watching ‘Kick-Ass’ and when Chloë Grace Moretz says, “I want a puppy. No, I’m just kidding. I want a butterfly knife,” Nic says, “Oh, Hit-Girl, you always knock me for a loop.” I went, “He meta-ed himself in this film,” which was to me, and the fact that I discovered it and didn’t even know he did it on set, made my day. So things like that and the comedy, the subtleties, he’s a phenomenal comic actor, like crazy good. It’s just these little nuances that he puts into the character. I think he does it a fair amount with Matt, and it was a sheer joy to watch him work for sure. Again, it was tough on him too. There was a lot of fighting and action. There was never a day it wasn’t 90 degrees hot with humidity. So that was a challenge for him. But no, he was just a joy to be around for sure, and on occasion entertaining the entire crew on some days, which everyone just couldn’t have enjoyed more.

    Ashley Greene as Ashley, Thalia Campbell as Sarah, and Nicolas Cage as Matt in 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Ashley Greene as Ashley, Thalia Campbell as Sarah, and Nicolas Cage as Matt in ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    MF: Can you talk about the family dynamic between Matt, Ashley and Sarah, and how Matt is adjusting to being a father again, and now also a grandfather?

    TB: Well, one of the blessed things about that was Nic loves films that have a family theme around them. If you know anything about Kurosawa or a lot of Japanese works, he thinks Kurosawa was the king of the hill. I think a lot of Kurosawa’s and a lot of Japanese drama deals with a family dynamic. He related to that really well. And actually Ernie Hudson said the same thing. He was really drawn to the picture because of the family element to it. I just think when you add a grandchild into it, it just raises the stakes. So when I gave her the MacGuffin that everyone’s trying to get their hands on, and it was tongue-in-cheek when I called it the “hard drive” because there’s not an action picture around that someone’s not trying to get ahold of the hard drive. So I mean, that was sort of a MacGuffin almost for the sake of the comedy of it. But I think that what family does is, I think it just increases the heart part of it. You don’t want to just randomly kill people and you want to have an emotional connection. I think if you’re trying to help a granddaughter and one you’ve never known before, that might’ve helped Nic and whoever was going to play Matt at the time get into that proper state of mind where it’s just an elevated situation instead of helping a stranger if you’re trying to save your granddaughter’s life or your daughter’s life. Of course, I made them estranged at the beginning so they can have an arc to get to at the end. But I think it adds the element, and I think a lot of films where you have family involved, it makes it a little more emotional. So I think that was probably in essence, the reason for it.

    Thalia Campbell as Sarah and Ron Perlman as Bobo in 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Thalia Campbell as Sarah and Ron Perlman as Bobo in ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    MF: Actor Ron Perlman really shines as Bobo. Did you write the role for him, and can you talk about his performance?

    TB: Yeah, Bobo was a great joy to write. It’s funny, I don’t think I really had a person in mind when I wrote Bobo. I think if anything I head in my brain was kind of the character of Marv from ‘Sin City,’ this sort of guy who’s understated, huge and really intimidating, but an old school mob guy. I thought he’s really come down to the end of his days when he’s working for this character that Jackie Earle Haley plays, which was a guy who’s just done his time. So when we first talked about the character, I wrote a pretty detailed biography for Bobo, and I did the same thing for Nic’s character as well, four or five pages of basically where he was born and where he was raised. I wrote a lot about the guy who raised him and it was almost like Charles Dickens. I think I used a lot of that, which is why I wanted to make him smart. I thought it was totally against type, the idea that he’s talking about Shakespeare and Othello and why Iago is betraying somebody. Of course, he’s talking to this little child who’s trying to understand it while he’s kidnapped her and is about to kill her. So I thought those little nuances were kind of fun. Then when someone had suggested Ron, I mean my head exploded. I just said, “He is Bobo. It’s perfect for me.” I couldn’t have fathomed another person for Bobo. I can’t think of anyone other than Ron. When we got him, I was pretty excited. I think the only time I got more excited was when I heard Ernie Hudson was going to come to the island. So that made me really happy.

    Ernie Hudson, Nicolas Cage and Ashley Greene in 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Ernie Hudson, Nicolas Cage and Ashley Greene in ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    Related Article: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Actor Ernie Hudson Talks New ‘Quantum Leap’

    MF: In addition to Cage, Perlman and Hudson, the movie also includes Ashley Greene, Jackie Earle Haley, Joel David Moore, Rick Fox and Lynn Whitfield. Can you talk about putting together the cast?

    TB: I think they were attracted to the script. Ashley talked about this a lot and Nic said it too, that they both thought it was really funny while they were reading it. They said that was different for them, for a lot of the projects they’ve been getting, where they get an action picture and really wanted to add comedy to it. The more I wrote, the more I found that I really wanted the tongue-in-cheek as firm as I could. I wanted to make fun of the genre of action pictures and the sort of dialogue around classic paint-by-numbers action films. So I tried to make fun of myself through the process and make fun of the genre itself. I don’t know exactly why they did it, but I do know that Nic and Ashley were very specific saying they really liked that it was so funny. So I thought that must be the main reason.

    Nicolas Cage as Matt and Jackie Earle Haley as Donnie in 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Nicolas Cage as Matt and Jackie Earle Haley as Donnie in ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

    MF: Finally, how challenging were the action sequences to shoot?

    TB: Well, the whole thing with budget is time. The lower the budget, the less time. We had no rehearsal. So all the stunt sequences, those were done on the day. I mean, we really couldn’t rehearse much. Nic came on his day off to run through the hotel scene and to rehearse just to help us out because we didn’t have the luxury of two weeks of prep. I wrote some big set pieces, especially the hotel out on the balcony when they’re hanging up. So that stuff’s really challenging to do. I was very lucky to have Mark Irwin as my director of photography. His resume is crazy. He’s done a ton of comedy. Obviously the Farrelly Brothers he’s worked with a lot, and Jim Carrey and I learned a lot from him. He helped me a lot in the cheat department where I thought, “How am I supposed to show this POV?” He said, “Ah, let show you what 40 years of cinematography will get you.” He helped me out pretty quickly with that. So that was a great bonus to have that. I was surrounded by a terrific support team, but we were lucky. I had a great rigger who came literally right off of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie. He came to help with the rigging of some of that stuff. I figured if those guys can keep Tom Cruise safe, they can certainly keep our guys safe. So it was great to have that. But those sequences even on budgets that are $60 or $70 million, they’re tricky. When you’ve got less than that, to say the least, it’s really tough, but we seem to get through it okay. Thankfully, no one got hurt.

    Ashley Greene, Ron Perlman, Nicolas Cage, Ernie Hudson and Jackie Earle Haley star in 'The Retirement Plan.'
    (L to R) Ashley Greene, Ron Perlman, Nicolas Cage, Ernie Hudson and Jackie Earle Haley star in ‘The Retirement Plan.’ Courtesy of The Retirement Plan.

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  • ‘Harlem’ Season 2 Interviews: Meagan Good and Jerrie Johnson

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    Premiering on Prime Video beginning February 3rd is the second season of the popular series ‘Harlem,’ which was created by Tracy Oliver (‘Girls Trip’).

    In season two of ‘Harlem,’ after blowing up her career and disrupting her love life, Camille (Meagan Good) has to figure out how to put the pieces back together. While Tye (Jerrie Johnson) considers her future, Quinn (Grace Byers) goes on a journey of self-discovery, and Angie’s (Shoniqua Shandai) career takes a promising turn.

    The series also features Tyler Lepley, Juani Feliz, Jasmine Guy, Andrea Martin, and Oscar-winner Whoopi Goldberg.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Meagan Good and Jerrie Johnson to talk about their work on ‘Harlem’ season 2, how their characters have changed since last season, what will happen to them this season, and the overall themes of the series.

    Jerrie Johnson and Meagan Good star in Prime Video's 'Harlem' Season 2.
    (L to R) Jerrie Johnson and Meagan Good star in Prime Video’s ‘Harlem’ Season 2.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Good, Johnson, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, Tyler Lepley, and Tracy Oliver.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Meagan, can you talk about where we left Camille at the end of last season, and what she’ll be dealing with in season 2?

    Meagan Good: At the end of season one, she is dating this amazing guy who is a lot of the things that she’s wanted, but she still feels feelings for Ian, her ex. She’s deciding between Jameson (Sullivan Jones) and Ian (Tyler Lepley). Then she doesn’t really have a choice with Ian because now he’s getting married and we finish last season with Quinn going to take Ian’s fiancé’s dress that she designed and all those wonderful things. Camille goes inside of the building and runs into Ian, they have this moment and they end up kissing. That’s where we end season one.

    So season two we pick up right where we left off, dealing with the aftermath, the consequences, the conversations and what actually is going to happen because technically Camille’s still dating Jameson and Ian is getting married. Is he getting married? Are they going to get back together? Who knows?

    In this season, I think that the biggest arc, the through line that I can share for Camille, is that she’s discovering a lot of who she is and she’s discovering a lot of who she isn’t. I think that she’s getting a lot of revelation about things that she thought about herself, or things that she thought about life, or relationships, or whatever it is and just really getting these illuminating realizations.

    How it shows itself is pretty interesting and fun to watch because I think everybody can relate to it. It’s not like, you almost kissed the groom and then we cut to a year later and let’s see where everyone’s at. We get in there, we have the moments and we have the real conversations. What would you do and what wouldn’t you do? Why did you do it? Why was that important? I think the biggest thing, the through line, is just self-discovery, self-reflection and discovering who she is, which I think she’s very surprised with what she finds out about herself.

    Meagan Good, Shoniqua Shandai, Grace Byers, and Jerrie Johnson in Prime Video's 'Harlem' Season 2.
    (L to R) Meagan Good, Shoniqua Shandai, Grace Byers, and Jerrie Johnson in Prime Video’s ‘Harlem’ Season 2.

    MF: Finally, Jerrie, can you talk about what Tye is going through this season?

    Jerrie Johnson: There’s a lot at stake for Tye with the health scare, with her husband showing up and dealing with what that might look like and not wanting to address that, but having that in close proximity. Then also not being completely honest with her friends about her husband and him not leaving. I think she is afraid. She doesn’t want to say that she’s afraid, but she is afraid because Tye has always had control of her life.

    Ever since she left home, she’s always had control over her life and she’s banked on having control of her life because she didn’t have that control when she was back home. This is one of the first times in her adult life that everything has spiraled out of control.

    So I think for season two she is trying to deal with as much as she can as possible. Some stuff has to fall by the wayside but I think maybe her biggest mission is to prove Brandon (Kadeem Ali Harris) wrong in what he said about her not having love in her life, so now she wants to find love and I think that’s her mission of season two.

    'Harlem' Season 2 premieres February 3rd on Prime Video.
    ‘Harlem’ Season 2 premieres February 3rd on Prime Video.

  • The ‘Harlem’ Cast On The Show’s First Season

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    ‘Harlem’ is a new comedy series on Prime Video about four best girlfriends living in Harlem NYC. The series was created by Tracy Oliver, and features Meagan Good, Jerrie Johnson, Grace Byers, and Shoniqua Shandai as the stylish and ambitious women that the show follows. Tyler Lepley plays a former flame of Good’s character, and all of these talented folks spent time talking to Moviefone about their new series.

    (L-R): Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, Jerrie Johnson, and Meagan Good in 'Harlem.' (Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios)
    (L-R): Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, Jerrie Johnson, and Meagan Good in ‘Harlem.’ (Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios)

    First, Meagan Good and Jerrie Johnson talk about how much fun they had on set.

    Moviefone: So, let’s talk ‘Harlem.’ Listen, I can truly appreciate a real sisterhood. These ladies had each other’s backs, genuinely. They were there for one another, through their wins and their losses. Or I would say lessons actually, right?

    Jerrie Johnson: Yes.

    MF: So Meagan, Camille is a professor, but I would say that she learned her most valuable lesson through her life’s journey. So what is something that Camille could teach us?

    Meagan Good: Oh gosh. What I love about Camille is that she’s hopeful. She’s always hopeful. Something can get her down and she can get really disappointed and hard on herself and feel a little bit crazy. And then she always resets her mind and goes, “You know what? It’s okay. I got this. I’m going to figure it out, and it’s going to be great. And no matter what, it’s going to be fine.” You know? I love that about her, because I think that we all, at some point, need to take that approach. Because we do get down on ourselves, and we do get hard on ourselves, and we do get really discouraged.

    And being discouraged can cause depression and all kinds of stuff. And I think we need to have the mindset of, you know what? It’s always going to always be okay, and no matter what. And we will figure it out. And it’s okay to not know and not have the answers for a minute and to walk this thing out called life. So I think that’s what I’ve learned most from Camille, and I hope that it’s something that the other people take away as well.

    MF: So Jerrie, if you can give Ty any advice based on her love life, her passions and careers, what would you say to her?

    Johnson: I would tell her that she can be a little bit more vulnerable. I think her heart chakra may be a little blocked. Yeah.

    Good: She’s cold as ice.

    Johnson: (Laughing) Oh!

    MF: That’s good. This series, it just seems like it was so much fun to film. What was it like with everyone on set?

    Good: Like this. Just absolutely ridiculous. One second, we’re praying, the next second, we’re twerking. Just, one second, we’re singing Lloyd’s, “Lay It Down,” and songs from, what is the movie called with Robert Townsend and Leon?

    Johnson: Oh yes, yes. ‘Five Heartbeats.’

    Good: And then we’re singing, ‘Dreamgirls,’ and she’s doing Effie’s part and there’s just so much going on. And it’s so wonderful, and such a breath of fresh air, because it’s not always like that. And with TV, it’s different. It’s not a race, it’s a marathon. You got to pace yourself. And there’s nothing more wonderful than coming to work, and you’re excited about the role you get to play, and you’re excited about the people you get to play with, and you genuinely love them, and you genuinely pray for each other, and hold each other down, and confide in each other, and pour into each other, and love on each other. And then you leave set, and you go do that in the real world with the same people.

    Johnson: Yeah.

    Good: t’s really special and wonderful.

    MF: That’s beautiful.

    Johnson: There was a moment where I was sick and Meagan was on FaceTime with me, while I’m in the hospital. And Devon came in and prayed over me, and I’m, “You gonna sit here with me while I’m in this hospital?” And she’s, “Yes. I want to make sure you are okay.” And I think it’s just a testament to the kind of people that were hired to be on this show. These women, we know what it costs to be nasty. We just know that we don’t have to do that. We’re not in competition with each other. We’re actually in flow with each other. We’re actually building with each other, and that makes us all rise to the occasion.

    Good: Yeah.

    Johnson: So the set was a good old time.

    Good: Yeah.

    MF: That’s great.

    Good: You ever see that picture? It’s an animated meme where you see the woman, here, put your foot here, and you go like this, and then they go like that and the person pulls them up. That’s what it’s like every day on set.

    Next, Grace Byers & Shoniqua Shandai discuss the challenges their characters face in the first season.

    Moviefone: So Grace, what is it about Quinn that did not allow her to give up on her passion despite the ups and downs of the business?

    Grace Byers: Oh, I think that there is a very pure part of Quinn. And honestly, I believe that this lives in all of us where we are born and built to love, we’re born and built to connect. I think that’s why whenever we disconnect, it’s so difficult because it takes no time to fall in love with someone or to express love with someone or to really feel a comradery or a closeness to someone, but it takes forever to disconnect. And so I think that Quinn really zeros in on and amplifies that desire and that need for love because I believe that she truly feels like it’s a core part of her identity. And I think without love or without the hope or idea of love, I’m not sure that she would even know who she is. And I think that that’s all of us, just in this world as human beings.

    And so I really love that about Quinn. I love that no matter what, she will pursue that love. She will go for that love. And she won’t ever stop chasing after that because I feel it truly is the strongest kind of energy that can permeate throughout the world.

    MF: Absolutely. Absolutely. Shoniqua, I love Angie.

    Shoniqua Shandai: Thank you.

    MF: She’s so vibrant and real, she’s the type of girlfriend everyone needs in their circle.

    Byers: Yeah.

    Shandai: Absolutely.

    MF: Yeah. So, what challenges would you say that Angie faced when it came to her career, her love life, her passions?

    Shandai: Yes. I think the challenges she faces in her career and her love life are actually very similar. Angie almost had it. She was looked at somewhat as successful in school and always had this trajectory of being the star, getting exactly what she always wanted. And she suffered this disappointment that completely rocked her world, that came out of nowhere. And now she’s doubting everything while also putting up this outward persona of, “I got it together. I’m cool.” But inside, she doesn’t know whether it’s going to come. She doesn’t know whether it’s possible for her. And it’s the same thing I feel like in love. She has these relationships that are almost impossible to keep together. Almost setting herself up to know that, “This won’t last because then it won’t hurt me. It can’t disappoint me.”

    And I think really her biggest journey is going to be healing from that. And also beyond that, getting the confidence. As much as she’s outwardly confident, it’s having the confidence to trust in something she can’t control. Which is, “I can’t control whether people receive me or not musically. And I can’t control whether of people receive me in love, but I’m going to go for what I deserve,” in spite of always feeling like she is deserving. She is a big old complexity.

    Byers: Yes.

    Shandai: Yeah. These complications.

    Byers: We all are. That’s the truth.

    Shandai: Yes.

    Tyler Lepley talks about his character, Ian.

    Moviefone: So, let’s talk about Ian, because Ian comes in, and he shakes some things up.

    Tyler Lepley: For sure.

    MF: So, give us some insight on your character. Who is he, and what is he about?

    Lepley: He’s about finding who he is. He’s about finding his purpose. On one hand, he’s this very gifted, creative, studied chef. He’s studying under a world-renowned chef to try to find out his passion and how it’s going to come to fruition. He is a very passionate, driven person, whether it’s about his work life or his love life, which, really, where we meet him at, he’s left in conflict between the two. And he’s like all of us in the sense that he’s just a man trying to find his way. He’s in the process of trying to figure out who he is and where he stands. That’s how we’re introduced to Ian.

    MF: So, Tyler, if you could give Ian… If you could give him any advice about his career or relationships, what would you say to him?

    Lepley: First, I would say, “Ian, pull up a chair, I want to have a talk with you.” I would say, “It behooves you to chase your passion.” We’re not here to settle, we’re not here to pay a couple bills, and then just croak out. At least in terms of how I feel, not to take it too deep. But, you’re right. Even though you’re going through some obstacles, and you’re going through some conflicts that may feel negative, you’re right on the path you’re supposed to be.

    And you’d be surprised, if you just take a few more steps, what it’s going to bring back to you. In terms of your love life, let’s figure out what your priority is first. Is it finding who you are, or is it making your girlfriend happy? And, based upon your answer, we can figure out if you’re in the right space. So, I believe, based upon watching your 10 episodes, that your answer is your passion. So, then, we may have to try to revisit this, or put it to bed as is, because the secondary can’t come before the primary.

    MF: Wow. That’s good. Do you think he would listen to that advice?

    Lepley: I don’t know. Ian’s like myself, we’re a little hardheaded. He might not listen, but I think even if he didn’t listen, he would feel that though, because, even as we watch the show, that’s what he does. He chases his passion, as opposed to letting the passion go and letting his dreams go, and then just sitting here in a space that he already knows. So, I think he would… As a matter of fact, I’m going to change my answer. I think he would end up listening.

    MF: So you were surrounded by amazingly beautiful, talented women. I mean, what was it like? What was the experience on set, working with everyone?

    Lepley: What I realized is that… I had a hunch that it was going to be like this, but you look on the outside, and they’re all so beautiful, but then to work with them, the beauty is on the inside. It really resonates from the inside first. They’re all, I mean… It’s just such a… I used this analogy earlier. They’re just like… I know it’s about two, but they’re really like four peas in a pod, and to see them play off each other and to watch their bond, to watch their sisterhood, it’s inspiring. And to have them be so welcoming, to open their arms and have me be a part of this, not just on the script, but in real life too, it’s just a treat, man. It’s just been a blessing to be around those ladies. And I learned a lot from them on set, as an artist, and it was a great thing to be able to work with them, but it was even a bigger treat to be able to build a friendship with them off of set.

    Series creator, writer, and executive producer Tracy Oliver shares her inspiration for the show.

    Moviefone: How did the concept of ‘Harlem’ come about, and why Harlem?

    Tracy Oliver: Well, it came about just from real life and the stuff that I was looking at the time was showing New York. ‘Girls’ was really popular, and ‘Broad City’ was really popular, and I love those shows and have so much respect for the creators. I just didn’t see myself and I didn’t see a lot of black and brown people in New York represented. And just in general, over the years, I’ve just noticed New York doesn’t have a lot of diversity, and it shows when they’re set there and Harlem almost never was getting shot in comedies, in particular.

    It just was, they would shoot it every single neighborhood in Manhattan, except for Harlem. And for me, I just always felt I was kind of home in Harlem, even though I’m not from there. I just felt it was a place that I belonged and it was beautiful. And it was a rich history there. And I just wanted to give it some love, to give the residents and the people of Harlem who are so special some love. And I wanted to do that way back in the day because there was just nothing like it. And yeah, so it just came from a place of love for me. Because I enjoyed my experience there, and it was a really magical time.

    MF: I love that. And the cast was great too. Definitely, great cast. Everything definitely came together, and I could definitely foresee a lot more seasons of ‘Harlem’ to come. So I’m excited for that.

    Oliver: Oh, I hope so. Fingers crossed!

    ‘Harlem’ is now streaming on Prime Video.