(L to R) Producer and screenwriter Jimmy Humilde and Jay Dee talk ‘Clika’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jimmy Humilde and Jay Dee about their work on ‘Clika’, developing the screenplay, casting, Dee’s approach to his role, the music, working with director Michael Greene, and what they hope audiences learn from the movie.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, Jimmy, can you talk about the process of developing this screenplay and the themes that you wanted to explore with this movie?
Jimmy Humilde: It was one of them cool talks that I was having with my business partners in our office. We don’t have a desk; our desk is a poker table. We were just hanging out, just shooting it back and forth. We said, “Why don’t we do a movie? All the music we’re doing, it kind of feels like this culture and this movement that we’re building and creating needs a face to it. So why not get together and try to see what we put out?” We got going and wrote a couple of scripts and then finally got to one where we were like, “We need to get somebody involved.” We reached out to Jay Dee, called in a meeting, and brought it to the table and he was like, “I’m in.” I said, “All right, cool. Let me get it done and I’ll bring it to you. See what you think about it.” Sure enough, we did that with Michael (Greene) and Sean (McBride), sat down and put together a big piece of movie and ‘Clika’ came out of it. It’s been a long ride. It’s been five long years getting it ready to release since the first time we talked about it. I’m going to say it was right before COVID started, right about January and then went along from there. A couple of years later, we got done with the scripts, and a year later we get a talk with Jay Dee, and two years later we’re done with the movie and it’s ready to come out.
MF: Jay, can you talk about your approach to playing this character and were there elements of Chito’s life that you could relate to personally?
Jay Dee: Yeah, definitely. A lot of the lingo and some of the dialogue. There were some parts that I didn’t really have dialogue and my character was just going to be quiet. It was a perfect moment for me to just put in my dialogue, how I talk, my lingo, because it’s a different vibe to where I live compared to just any other city or any other place. The way we talk, the way we communicate, the Spanglish, all the extra stuff is just different.
MF: Jimmy, could you have made this movie with anyone else? Can you talk about the importance of casting Jay and working with him on this project?
JH: Jay Dee was the man for this and fit in perfect. It was the character we were looking for. It was the character that matched the script. It was hard finding the people to surround him, to play the other parts. That was the hard part. Other than him doing it, we were confident. Once we seen him do the first act and we went along with it, we said, “Dude, we got to find the correct cast around him.” We did it that way.
MF: To follow up, Jimmy, what were the challenges of putting together the rest of the cast?
JH: It was more attitude. It was more, do I believe you or not. We went through so much cast. Our casting was long. It was cool because I got to meet other personalities. I got to meet other people. Honestly, it’s like, “You won’t fit in this film, but I got you on the next one.” While we were casting, I was already thinking about the next film.
MF: Jay, can you talk about performing the music in the movie and did you have a role in choosing the songs?
JD: Well, with the whole music, everything is teamwork does the dream work. I can’t do this without my team. I got my opinions, everybody else got their opinions, so it’s a matter of getting together with everybody and making sure we make the perfect piece. We recorded a lot of music videos inside the scenes when we were filming the movie. So, I had a lot of say in that. I was very hands-on with the operation.
MF: In the film, Chito carries with him a notebook for his lyrics, and I understand that is something you do in real life as well. Was Chito’s notebook inspired by your own, and what is the importance of that lyric book to you?
JD: Yeah, that’s real-life. That’s me all day. If I don’t have a notebook in my pocket, I’m writing on my phone, I’m writing on a napkin. Whatever I could write on, I’m there. If not, I’ll just wait until we get to the booth and it’s already in my head. I already got it thought out. It was something Sean and the whole group decided because it was something that I would always do. I’d always carry a little notebook. I started making music a little bit different nowadays. I just get in the booth, and I don’t really write any more. It’s just more like a freestyle. So that fit the vibe of me 10 years ago when I was getting started with my music.
MF: Jimmy, can you talk about the important role music plays in this film?
JH: Definitely. I had a lot to do with it, but at the same time, brought in a lot of different executives from our company, Rancho Humilde, and I gave them the opportunity to look at certain scenes and have them help us with whatever they thought of because they’re the experts here too. They’re the ones that are day-to-day with our fan base, with everybody that’s socializing and participating in this music. So, I wanted them to have an ear for it too. That was the whole point.
MF: Jay, what was it like for you to be acting in this film with veteran actors like Eric Roberts and the late Peter Greene?
JD: Man, it was a rollercoaster really, because I was putting in emotions in the movie that I had never thought I would ever experience in filming. I don’t cry in front of nobody, I don’t feel sad, but there were moments where I had to get into that persona for the film to come out perfectly. It was like a job, basically. I’d had to just be on set, I’m there at 5:00 in the morning, and I’m clocking out at 5:00 in the afternoon. But other than that, it’s really a blessing. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and for it to be presented to me this way, it’s nothing but a blessing.
MF: Jimmy, why was Michael Greene the right person to direct this movie?
JH: I met Michael and Sean together. I got introduced to them by another friend. We wanted to do, I think it was a reality show or a documentary on something, and I said, “You know what? Why don’t we do a movie?” Then they were like, “All right, cool.” They have some experience, which is great. Michael’s a director. I’ve seen him do other stuff, and I think he was a perfect fit. He kind of studied us. He knew what I was doing, and he knew what I was talking about. They knew what my whole goal with this was, which was important. Our goal was to give a face to the culture that we’re creating.
MF: Jay, what was your experience like working with director Michael Greene and was it comparable to when you’re working with a producer and recording an album?
JD: Correct. Except when I first came into this, I thought the director was going to be yelling at me. I thought they were going to be telling me, “You’re messing up.” So, I just had a whole different vision of how things were going to be ran. But as soon as I started meeting the cast and everybody, I started getting comfortable, for sure.
MF: Finally, Jimmy, what do you hope audiences learn from watching this movie?
JH: Just hope, that there’s hope. There’s hope to everything and never give up. That’s the main thing that we’re shooting for.
Aspiring small-town musician Chito (Jay Dee) is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican American music and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.
What worked (mostly) for ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Marvel’ can work for everything, right? That appears to be the lesson that the producers of ‘John Wick’ have taken from Disney’s hunger to expand all of their storytelling universes outside of the movie sphere, with linked TV series on Disney+.
Which means that the ‘Wick’ world is ever-growing, with a movie spin-off (‘Ballerina’, starring Ana de Armas) due next year, and before it, a TV prequel that aims to dig into the predictably violent history of the Continental hotel that forms a key part of the stories in each movie.
It doesn’t hurt, of course, that the most recent main entry, ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ has scored a healthy $270 million worldwide since it landed near the end of March.
f9HakKt6vPZWClZUV638w3
And now we have a first teaser for ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ to offer a look at the show which, as you might expect, is full of bloody violence and guns. Lots of guns.
‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ will air on Peacock in September.
According to the official blurb, the new “TV event” (think three 90-minute episodes, a little like the way the BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ used to run) will explore the origin behind the hotel-for-assassins, which has long become the centerpiece of the ‘John Wick’ universe.
This will be accomplished through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, who is dragged into the Hellscape of a 1975 New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the New York’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the iconic hotel, which serves as the meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals.
‘Ambulance’s Colin Woodell plays the younger Winston (the character brought to life in the movies by Ian McShane) while Ayomide Adegun is Charon (the future concierge of the hotel, where he’s played by the late, great Lance Reddick).
At this point in the story, the Concierge is someone played by Sallay Garnett. And possibly the biggest –– and most controversial –– piece of casting is Mel Gibson, who plays a character called Cormac. He doesn’t appear in the trailer, so it’s impossible to say how he fits into the story.
What we do know is that the show is bursting with 1970s style and the usual brunch of quirky assassins.
Given the time period, we doubt Wick himself will make an appearance, unless there’s a sneaky shot of an orphaned child or teenager being shown how to use a gun.
‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ will air on Peacock in September.
‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ will air on Peacock in September.
Other Movies Similar to ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick:’
