JB Smoove Interview
JB Smoove Gives Us The Scoop On Larry David And The State Of Comedy
Tyler Lemco (TL): How you doing, man?
JBS: I’m doing great, bro. What’s shaking?
TL: Oh, you know… the usual. So you’ve got a new movie out; Top Five.
JBS: Yeah man! You know, we’re running right now! The press for this film is so amazing. We’ve been meeting some amazing people, the screenings have been amazing; from Toronto doing the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) to some amazing film festivals. We started out there, then the movie got bought by Paramount, and we have been flying ever since. We’ve been screening this movie, meeting people, getting feedback; it’s amazing. And it’s the only movie like it right now, you know? Sometimes you put a movie out and there’s movies that are in the same vain, but this movie has hit a portal, like the universe opened up and we found a little portal there and we hit it. This is the perfect timing for this movie.
It’s the little things that you don’t even think about. For example, Tracy (Morgan) got into this terrible accident and he’s getting better, so this is an amazing way to see how funny this guy is and just to remind you that he’s getting better and he’s in this movie and he’s great in the movie also. It’s a way to make people smile. They can see he’s getting better and it’s good to see what Tracy does, what we love about Tracy Morgan, and to see him again on the big screen. It’s like all these elements have lined up perfectly, man. I was telling someone yesterday how it seems like everything around this movie has just landed in the right spot. From the timing of it being purchased to the people in it; everybody in this movie seems to be on their way. It’s like the intersection of different journeys. I think Chris (Rock) has taken what he’s done over the years; he’s directed before, he’s written movies before… this movie right here, though, is like his next big thing. This is going to propel him in a different light, like everybody in this movie. Think about how many amazing things everybody in this movie is doing. You know, Sand (Adam Sandler) is doing amazing things. Kevin hart is hot as hell right now. Gabrielle Union is hot as hell right now.
TL: As always.
JBS: I’m on my own journey. Leslie Jones; she’s on the new cast of SNL. Michael Che is doing (Weekend) Update on SNL. All these amazing things are happening at the same time to a bunch of amazing people who are all in this movie. You can’t predict this kind of stuff. I told Chris (Rock) the other day; “Chris, you are a writer, a director, a star in this movie, and also a mind-reader or a time-traveler because you have found a way to put all these people in this movie and also everybody is in this movie at the right time.” It’s the right time. Rosario Dawson; amazing in this movie. Everybody was free to do the movie, everybody’s schedules worked out. Sometimes you don’t get all the pieces falling into place, or you don’t have the patience for all the pieces to fall into place, so this is a great time for this movie. Plus we need some laughter right now.