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Brian White Talks Stage Plays, ‘Goods Deeds’ and More

Actor Brian White (Stomp the Yard, I Can Do Bad All By Myself) has been keeping busy as of late. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds, which White stars in, hits theaters Feb. 24, followed by horror thriller Cabin in the Woods, out April 13. His first stage play, What My Husband Doesn’t Know, recently was released on DVD, and White currently is hosting the United Negro College Fund “Empower Me” Tour via his organization, Black Carpenter, speaking to students about planning and building a successful future.

Home Media Magazine caught up with the multifaceted Boston native to discuss his experience starring alongside Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child in David E. Talbert’s What My Husband Doesn’t Know, what he looks for when choosing roles and working with the illustrious Tyler Perry.

HM: How would you describe your experience on your first stage play?

White: It was challenging and rewarding at the same time because it’s the most real of all of the acting art forms. There’s no second takes. The audience will tell you if they like what you’re doing or not, so it’s very organic and nourishing. It’s a group experience. The audience is the extra character, so there’s nothing like it. I had a wonderful experience. David [Talbert] is such a professional and a true master of his craft and he gave us such an excellent script to start from.

HM: In What My Husband Doesn’t Know, your character, Paul, displays a dark streak toward the end. That’s a role that I don’t think I’ve seen you play often. Is that something that attracted you to the role?

White: Yeah, I like playing characters that are disparate from Brian. I’m not interested in being the movie star. I’m happy to star in a good movie, but it’s not my goal to be a star. My goal is to be the best actor I can possibly be. To tell you the truth, I aspire to be like the Sidney Poitiers and the Harry Belafontes and the Billy D. Williamses and the James Earl Joneses of the world. It’s about the message and the performance, so I always look to try something new, to challenge myself and to get away from the routine. So David [Talbert] and Tyler Perry and some of these wonderful directors are blessing me with wonderful opportunities to challenge myself and explore.

HM: Did you have the ability to shape your character in What My Husband Doesn’t Know?

White: None. Zero. David is a shorthanded director, down to how I said the line, as far as accent, diction, to the dance steps. That’s all David. He knows every motivation for every line, the blocking, and we explored and tried things in rehearsal, but the final call — what’s up on the screen — is Mr. Talbert’s vision, his work, and we are hired as the people to make it three-dimensional.

HM: You’ve done movies, some TV work with “Men of a Certain Age,” and now stage plays. Which medium is your favorite?

White: As far as the acting itself goes, there’s different benefits, challenges and blessings between the three genres, but if you’re going to do just one all the time, of course it’s films. Films are by and large bigger budget, more posh. You get to fully explore whatever character you’re portraying for that time period and then move on. You know the beginning, middle and end to the story. … Film is the most artistically fulfilling and it is a career, so it’s the brass ring as far as what we all compete for. But theater is fantastic and it’s the most pure of all the art forms, so hopefully I’ll be able to do all of them for the rest of my career.

HM: What do you look for when you’re deciding to be a part of a project?

White: The message. The size of the role doesn’t matter. Let’s say Daddy’s Little Girls, which I did for Tyler Perry. I had two scenes. They’re memorable scenes but there’s a clear message. I wanted to portray a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I wanted to make a cautionary tale. You don’t have be the star of the movie if you can help support the … parable that the director and the writer are trying to tell. I grew up on the four artists I mentioned before, and shows and images like the Cosby family — doctors, lawyers, educated, proud, work out your problems together. I try to do everything I can in my career to steer people back toward those kinds of messages because that’s not exactly what we celebrate and glorify today. It’s important to me.

HM: In a recent interview, you made the observation that Will Smith has “never made anything that wasn’t for everybody.” Is that what you’re striving for, to branch out from making “urban” films?

White: No, I’m just trying to make films that appeal to me and the people that I love and know. I was raised by two moms — two strong black women who both went to college, they’re both graduates, both have climbed the corporate ladder, and both have taught me that there are no limitations, other than the way you think, and how much you empower yourself. I like telling stories that speak to that. I have pictures of my mom’s mom and my mom’s dad in the ’20s sitting in Cadillacs in furs. I like universal stories. When I was a kid, and I was watching Will Smith in Enemy of the State, it didn’t feel or seem any different than Tom Cruise in The Firm. Watching Denzel [Washington] opposite Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief didn’t feel or look any different than any of the cool Tom Hanks movies that I loved and still love. It was Sidney Poitier’s Oscar [for 1963’s Lilies of the Field] — his character was the only person in that movie that didn’t speak to him being black. Everybody else reacted but he didn’t. That’s why he was so regal almost, and people are like, “Wow.” How you carry yourself matters. How you think of yourself and your circumstance and your position in society matters, and it effects how everybody else sees you. So I’ve always loved those kinds of performances. … I just like to be part of the positive message, part of pointing out those kinds of elevated, positive, empowering ideas.

HM: So you’re starring in Good Deeds. You’ve actually been in quite a few Tyler Perry films. How was this time different?

White: They’re always different. Tyler affords me the luxury to play characters that are the most disparate from Brian. I don’t get the opportunities that I get from Tyler anywhere else. What I really love about Tyler is he always has such a positive message. … He’s really pushing the envelope. What I love about Good Deeds — my mom, my wife and my friends got to see the premiere. My mom and wife cried. And they’re pretty much the harshest critics of movies that I know, especially the ones that I’m in. They keep it real. If they don’t like it, they don’t like it. If it doesn’t work for them, it doesn’t work for them. If it doesn’t touch them, it doesn’t touch them. And they were sitting up in the theater bawling. My friend, Angelique, gave such a nice compliment. She said, “Tyler Perry made a movie that, to me, feels like Pretty Woman — minus the whole prostitute thing, of course.” It feels like that kind of a movie. And the performances — Gabby’s (Gabrielle Union) amazing. Tyler’s incredible. Phylicia Rashad is haunting. Thandi (Newton) is wow, like stellar. And the movie works, so it’s exciting to even be a part of this machine that is Tyler Perry, and putting out these positive messages. Whatever you don’t agree with it or you don’t like it or you love it, whether you think it’s the best thing ever, you’re talking about it. He’s got a lot of positive messages that people are talking about and I love being part of it.

Black History Month Roundup: ‘The Tuskegee Airmen,’ ‘The Help’ and More

It’s officially February, which means it’s Black History Month, a time when we reflect on the accomplishments and positive impacts that African Americans have made throughout the years.

There are a number of films currently available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc that highlight historical African Americans, including Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Josephine Baker, the Tuskegee Airmen and Angela Davis, among others.

While it’s great to pay homage to the civil rights leaders and prominent figures of yesteryear, there are some wonderful things going on within the urban film genre that embody the sentiments of Black History Month.

Allen Blackwell, VP of Entertainment One’s urban film and comedy programming, had this to say: “I think where these films tie in [to Black History Month] is showing our diversity, showing our strengths and our weaknesses, and showing the evolution of us. I think that we have evolved to be very successful in many ways, and we still have two to three hundred years to make up on lost time.”

Here’s a list of some of the Black History Month-related titles that currently are out on home video or are coming soon:

■ ENTERTAINMENT ONE has Church Girl (DVD $14.98), a stage play centering on a pastor’s daughter struggling with her faith. It stars Robin Givens, A’ngela Winbush and Karen Clark Sheard. Arriving on Valentine’s Day is The Marriage Chronicles (DVD $19.98), featuring Vivica A. Fox, Jazsmin Lewis, Mel Jackson and Darren Dewitt Henson. It paints a picture of couples trying to stay together and building strong familial foundations.

■ HBO HOME ENTERTAINMENT offers Thurgood (DVD $26.98, Blu-ray $34.98), a one-man play starring Laurence Fishburne as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Also making their Blu-ray debuts are The Josephine Baker Story and The Tuskegee Airmen ($14.98 each), a perfect tie-in to Red Tails, currently in theaters.

■ MAGNOLIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT Feb. 7 offers A Mother’s Love (DVD $26.98), a story about three generations of broken women adapted from a gospel stage play. From director Tim Alexander (Diary of a Tired Black Man), starring actress and talk-show host Rolonda Watts and Vanessa A. Williams (“Melrose Place,” “Soul Food”), the film was an official selection at the 2011 Pan African Film Festival.

■ MPI MEDIA GROUP/IFC FILMS sounds off The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (DVD $24.98), chronicling the rise of the Black Power Movement in and prominent activists like Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, and Black Panthers founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Talib Kweli and Ahmir Khalib Thompson (Questlove) of the Roots, Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover and Melvin Van Peebles, among others, provide commentary.

■ PBS DISTRIBUTION celebrates the 25th anniversary of the landmark Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary, Eyes on the Prize (three-DVD set $69.99). The six-hour program from the late Henry Hampton documents the history of the civil rights movement, as is narrated by Julian Bond, a social activist, Civil Rights Movement leader, politician, professor and writer.

■ PHASE 4 FILMS has Church: The Movie (DVD $29.99), a Dove Foundation family approved film, starring Darius McCrary (“Family Matters”), Art Evans (Die Hard 2), Joseph Philips (“The District”) and Sam Sarpong (Love Don’t Cost a Thing). The inspirational drama has been characterized as a “musical journey of praise, forgiveness and redemption,” and received the Best Religious Film Award at the 2011 San Diego Black Film Festival.

■ SCREEN MEDIA FILMS offers Dog Jack (DVD $24.98), starring Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr., the story of a slave boy and his dog who escape from a plantation, join the Union army and eventually face their former master on the battlefield. The story is based on the true-life adventures of the mascot of the Pennsylvania 102nd. Edward T. McDougal directed the film.

■ WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT provides The Help (three-disc Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy $44.99, Blu-ray/DVD combo pack $39.99, DVD $29.99), about the diverse groups of women who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project in the 1960s South. Based on the best-selling book by Kathryn Stockett, the ensemble cast includes Emma Stone, Golden Globe winner Octavia Spencer, Critics’ Choice Award winner Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard. Bonus material includes a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, a music video for Mary J. Blige’s “The Living Proof” and more.

■ WARNER HOME VIDEO presents on Blu-ray ($34.99) for the first time Malcolm X, the biopic of the influential Black Nationalist leader portrayed by Denzel Washington, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the part. The 20th anniversary release includes hours of special features and a collectible 40-page Blu-ray book with rare images, cast biographies, production notes and more.

Seek and You’ll Find

I recently had an illuminating conversation with Brett Dismuke, SVP of acquisitions at One Village Entertainment, Image Entertainment’s urban film division, about this quarter’s slate of titles.

I must say, it does my heart proud to see that there are so many films (presently and forthcoming) that portray blacks in a positive, authentic light and relay the various situations that are part of our experience. Whether you enjoy a serious drama (as in All Things Fall Apart, starring Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), vivid stand-up comedy (see I Ain’t Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac) or a saucy stage play (a la What My Husband Doesn’t Know), it’s all there for the watching.

It reflects a concerted effort on part of certain studios to provide an assortment of quality urban content.

“It’s been an age-long tale that African Americans in this country have not had the opportunity to see a diverse mix of images that reflect their experience,” Dismuke said. “So it’s important, especially in a day and age where African Americans are only getting four to six major theatrical releases per calendar year, that we (Image/One Village) supply a wealth of content from an independent perspective.”

Urban films are even making their foray into less-chartered genres such as horror. Last year I had the privilege of interviewing Effie T. Brown, the producer of The Inheritance, a horror movie with a predominantly black cast. Image/One Village released it on Blu-ray and DVD in April 2011.

The Inheritance was an excellent film with an intricate yet compelling plot line and persuasive special effects on par with some of the mainstream movies. This, admittedly, came as a surprise to me.

“There’s a misperception in some circles that ‘independent films’ means that they’re bad films, which is not necessarily the case,” Dismuke noted.

I, too, once held that inaccurate belief. That was until I began to explore for myself and found some outstanding movies. The Image/One Village films that I previously mentioned are all examples of great urban storytelling.

By the way, these movies also star talented, respected black actors such as Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story), Mario Van Peebles (Ali), Brian White (The Game Plan), Clifton Davis (“Amen”), Golden Brooks (“Girlfriends”), Darrin Dewitt Henson (Stomp the Yard), DB Woodside (“Single Ladies”) and Adriane Lenox (The Blind Side), among others.

My advice to those growing tired of waiting for the next Tyler Perry flick to see our stories on the big screen: Take matters into your own hands and see what’s out there. Like me, you’ll be surprised at the treasure you find.
 

Calling the ‘Courageous’

With all the trials that life’s been throwing our way these days, if ever there was a time we needed encouragement, it’s now. When was the last time you saw a movie that impacted you so much that it made you resolve to change your life, for the better?

Well, for my father, a former Marine and a follower of Christ, it was when he saw faith-based drama Courageous, which hit theaters in September 2011. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film Jan. 17 on DVD ($30.99) and Blu-ray Disc ($35.99).

The inspirational film follows four police officers, each in different stages of fatherhood, as they make a pact to maintain a stronger presence within their households. After facing challenges, the men are driven to live lives that honor God and to make love the centerpiece of their relationships with their children and wives.

I see my own dad in star Ken Bevel — also a retired Marine — who plays officer Nathan Hayes. In the gripping opening scene of Courageous, Nathan thwarts a carjacking by risking his life and going after the bad guy. It’s only when the SUV screeches to a halt that we realize why he was so intently trying to get his vehicle back: His baby is in the back seat.

I know my father would have done the same for my brother or me, if put in the same situation. After seeing Courageous, my dad and his friends have pledged to make resolutions to be better men, similar to the ones made in the film.

Courageous has affected me too, however, in a different way. Its title theme song “Courageous,” by Christian rock band Casting Crowns, has provided me with much-needed encouragement while listening to The Fish (KFSH 95.9) on my morning commutes. 

In particular, its lyrics resonated with me: “Seek justice/ Love mercy/ Walk humbly with your God” (derived from Micah 6:8), and the stirring plea that lead singer Mark Hall belts out, “Lord, make us courageous.” These are practical affirmations that every believer should strive to embody. It’s something that I’m constantly working on.

Ready to Step Out

The start of the new year presents a time for new endeavors and a fresh outlook. Thus, it is with much enthusiasm that this first month of 2012 I present to you my blog, “Stepping Out: A Conversation About Faith and Urban Films.”

You may be asking yourself, Why the name “Stepping Out”? It means many things to me. For starters, I love Jesus, and I am proud of my heritage. For the faith aspect of the blog, “stepping out” pertains to boldly proclaiming the Christian values that are exhibited in inspirational films. In regard to the urban component, “stepping out” embodies who we (blacks and African Americans) are as a people: bold, confident, self-assured, vibrant and so much more.

Movies about faith and the urban community, in my opinion, could use some additional exposure. With this undertaking, my goal is to shine a light on the positive things that are happening within these two diverse genres, from the backstories of the filmmakers, to the intricacies of the stories being told, and beyond.

You can expect the latest news, interviews with filmmakers, actors and industry insiders, and more. Feel free to share your news via email at aratcliff@questex.com.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’m ready to step out. Hope you’ll join me.