Secrets from ‘The Best Man’ & ‘Girls Trip 2’ Tea with Malcolm D. Lee

(upbeat music) - From the best man to girl's trip to Roscoe Jenkins, his films are the ones we watch over and over again because they just hit. He's a storyteller who's been holding you down for over 20 years, giving us the laughs, the love, the drama, and the culture. He's built a whole legacy out here, centering black stories, pushing the game forward, and now dropping a new book and thriller? Come on home, the brilliant, the visionary, the legendary Malcolm D. Lee. Baby, this is Kiki Palmer. (upbeat music) ♪ No matter what we do in the car ♪ ♪ Just chilling a couple Amazon music ♪ ♪ Sit back and listen ♪ ♪ Life loves sex, science, hovering at all ♪ ♪ Especially the back of money always involved ♪ ♪ No matter what it is, we can make it make sense ♪ ♪ There's nothing else to do but kick it with the homies ♪ ♪ I can't, I can't, so grab you a drink ♪ ♪ And a snack you would enjoy ♪ ♪ You get into the vibe that only works ♪ ♪ You know it's your business ♪ ♪ This is Kiki ♪ ♪ Baby, this is Kiki Palmer, yeah ♪ This episode is brought to you by Airbnb. Tis, the holiday season, y'all, from spacious retreats and dream locations to their guests' favorite most loved homes, perfect for family gatherings. Airbnb has amazing stays for every festive escape. Now, let's start the show. Malcolm D, Lee, I cannot tell you how excited I am to speak to you. Like, your work has inspired me for, I mean, since I was a kid. - Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that. I'm very excited to be here. And I've been a fan of yours for a very long time, too. Ever since I saw Akila and the beat, jumping rope. - They tell you to say this? - Who? - Don't nobody tell, that was just you. - That's just me. - Wow, look at that, guys. I'm excited. Well, you did the pre-show pull-up question. So I have to see what type of vibe it is. - I wasn't ready for those. - You weren't ready. But let's go. - Okay, today I'm giving Harper with the side of Shelby. Now, I do feel Harper. I should, one of my questions today was going to be about your characters, if you pull them for your life, but you do have that wit like Harper. So I feel that Harper is in there somewhere. Now, what's the Shelby that's coming out? - I don't know, I'm just, I'm trying to match your energy and trying to be ready. So I can be, because Shelby's got that. So I want to be ready for that. I knew it was me and we used. I was like, I think I better bring a little Shelby. - I love that. - Today's Moody One Word Determined. Now, you told me he has some business stuff you were doing the other day. So Determined, is that about that? - Yeah, I think, you know, I just, you know, I'm juggling a lot of things. You know, I've got this book right here. You know, I've got a bourbon that I'm promoting. I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm cutting this movie of mine for Blumhouse. - All right, I live for that. We're doing a lot of things, but we're doing them well. - Yes. - Now, what did you listen to on the ride here? My, this riding, what is this? - I'm sorry. That's my chicken scratch. I'm sorry, I thought I tried, I tried really. In my editor and my voice. - Okay. So, I mean, I'm excited about this thriller that you have coming out with Blumhouse. We've got Chloe Bailey, Coco Jones, Lucy and Lava's Count who I worked with on Screen Queens back in the day. - Okay. - These are real cool dudes. - Yes he is. - I mean, what can you tell me a little bit about? - And then Whitfield. - Then Whitfield, the icon. I mean, come on, if they're in line between love and hate, I would do you go wrong. - Right. - So tell me about a little bit, tidbit about what, at least what's happening with the mood right now. You're editing? - I'm editing right now. We're getting ready for a screening and show it to the studio soon. - And you're gonna invite me? - Not quite, but you'll be at the premiere. If you can come to the premiere, please. But I mean, yeah, we're working, it's a new step for me, different genre. - Yes. - But I really like that aspect of trying some different, not always wanting to cut to the joke. - Yes. - And there's the rhythm of the thriller and comedies are kind of similar and that you're waiting for the great laugh or the great for the great scare. And this is not like a scare. - Scary. - But it's got some stuff. And it's what I would call an erotic thriller. - Natemi, what do you mean by that? Like, is it a love story that's the center of this? - There is a love story of sorts, yes. - Kind of a fatal attraction type situation. - Well, it's, there's those elements, yes. Yeah, it's very sexy. It's probably a sexy movie I've ever done. - Oh my gosh. - Without question. - And you already got some sexy people in it. So, I mean, we're all pulling up to theaters. I live for that. One thing that instantly makes you last, this question, yeah, because what makes you like, when somebody asks that, suddenly nothing's funny anymore. - Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. And I was like, I was trying to think like, what makes me like, I don't know. Like, when I read that, I literally laugh when I read that question. - That is too funny. Last screenshot on your phone, no, deleting. - Yeah, that was me and Cassandra. Cassandra, that's my publicist. - Aw, absolutely. - My filming publicist right now. She was the first publicist on the first best man. - Oh my gosh. You guys have known each other for years? - Yes, we have. - I wonder if you've changed to her. I feel like I should pull her up and ask her how much you've changed, because she said. - You know what, I think I'm primarily the same person, by and large, I try to stay very grounded. I try not to get too high, too low, you know, I doubt myself. But I've gotten to a place right now, especially when I turn 50, I was like, I don't care, whatever. - Yeah, I mean, whatever goes. - Yeah, exactly. - Yeah, I'm looking forward to 50, let me tell you this. You're Capricorn, say one of my perfect matches, but then I found out that Dr. Camille, your wife, is Virgo, so you're surrounded by Virgo. - Well, not surrounded, but I got the key one that I needed. - Now that's right, yes, key one. Well, I am so excited. I didn't get a chance to run into you at the Essence Fest, but I know you were there, had a great girl strip us, you know, sitting type of situation going on, but you were there promoting your book, the best man unfinished business. I mean, what was the highlight for that weekend for you? - You know, it was great because I got to sit with my co-author, Jane Allen and Kennedy Ryan. - Awesome. - And we did a panel and it was, you know, the fans came out, you know, I'm sure they came out for Kennedy. This again, I want to be like, I doubt myself, right? - No. - But no, like they came out, and I think they're very much interested in the continuing story of the best man. I mean, that's where we pick up where the Peacock series left off. - Yes. - And, you know, so that was great to see everyone come out and, you know, get asked questions and talk about the book, you know, without doing any spoilers and then signing, you know, copies as well as, you know, gonna take pictures with fans. That was great. - Yeah, I mean, how was the journey of doing this in a book as a continuation? Because I loved the Peacock. And what I also really loved specifically was the fact that the story evolved with the characters, and I don't think that's easy to do. And what I mean is like, even in their age, like what Terrence Howe was experiencing, the fact that you can have marriage and love, and then maybe is this a divorce, you know, do are we separate, are we not grown together? Like I felt like the themes were so on point for where the people were in their life. And I really appreciated that. - Yeah, I mean, that's what happened with growing folks, right? Like, you know, I think when people get to a certain part of their lives and their marriage and like, they're developing as individuals and in developing as couples. And so, you know, life, as they say, be lifein'. And so, you know, so things happen and like, are we in this together? I think a lot of people look around at a certain age, I think once the kids are like grown and they're kind of like, do I wanna be with this person? Do I wanna hang out here, am I fulfilled? And certainly, you know, Robin was not fulfilled in that marriage and she felt like, you know what, you're not gonna change, meaning Harper wasn't gonna change. And so, he said, okay, look, I was done with telling that story at the Final Chapters because, you know, it was difficult, you know, trying to mount a television show. As you know, very difficult. There's money involved, there's, you know, there's studio demands, there's network demands, what have you. And I was like, okay, we're finished. But then a friend of mine was like, hey, yo, you should think about doing books. And I've always loved the written word. I'm a storyteller at heart. And I said, you know what, let me try my hand at this 'cause I always wanted to be a novel, not always, but, you know, I have fantasized about being a novelist. And I said, okay, let me try with some characters that are already established that I've backstory and just say, like, okay, let's see where we can go with this and teamed up with Jane Allen. And, you know, when we came up with something, I think it was very, very much an experience when you can talk about a book. I mean, people were like, why not a movie? Why not a television show? Very difficult to do. - Yeah, but also it fits in the world because, I mean, Harper was a novelist, yeah. So it's kinda like, you know, I'm thinking like, what happened in college? And what was that first original book that even Harper was writing? So I live for that because it's the story within the story. And there's nothing more that I love than an embedded storyline. - Yeah, yeah. - So it fits. - It does. And, you know, I think, and, you know, there's a lot of things going on in here with Harper and Harper, this chronicles Harper, Robin, and Jordan. And they're in this individual journeys. And each chapter's kind of dedicated their POV. And, you know, Harper's, you know, post-divorce, he's living in Brooklyn, where you was at, not in Williamsburg, but in Brooklyn Heights. - And nine, the baby are they in Africa? - Yeah, yeah, Robyn's in Ghana. - Ghana, yeah. - And she's opened up a restaurant as she's raising their, their, their, their preteen daughter. And Jordan is in Malibu, you know, she's left her corporate job, but still has the pull of, you know, the grind. - Yes. - And, but she also a little bit has a pull for Harper. - As always. - We'll see what happens there. - Woo! Well, very exciting. I think this is cool because everybody's not visual. So it's great for you to be able to use your mind when reading this. - Absolutely. - I mean, not only that because I think what the book offers you is the opportunity to use all five senses, right? You get to hear, you get to see, you get to smell, you get to taste, you get to feel. And, you know, we get inside these characters brains in ways that we have not done with these characters so far. - Oh, so exciting. Now, let's go back to the beginning, right? Because the best man was your directorial debut. - Correct. - And I think, I mean, that is, when I think about that now, it's hard to get. get your movies made. And when you think about that cast, the amount of money, and then it being a success, I mean, who was that person that said, okay, Malcolm, you can do it. I believe in you. How did that come to be? - Well, you know, the best man was my sixth screenplay overall. Right? - Yeah. - I had written like five prior, but you know, and honestly, I wasn't even trying to direct the best man when I wrote it. So I had written another romantic comedy. And I was like, I wanna try to make this movie happen and I couldn't raise the money for it. And then I said, my, a good buddy of mine said, listen, let producers raise money, writers write, write your next movie. So I'm gonna write something so commercial that I'm going to take that money. I'm gonna sell it and take the money and make my romantic comedy. So in the midst of writing, what was then titled, My Homeboy's Wedding? - Okay. - Yeah, yeah. - That's my homeboy's wedding. - And by the way, it was, I was never gonna be the title. - I love my homeboy's wedding. - I thought it's gotta be a black and it's gotta be a wedding. And how do I, and then I was like, this is gonna be black people on the poster. Don't use that. Anyway, I was writing my homeboy's wedding and in the midst of it, I said, oh, I can direct this. And so Spike, who's my cousin? Spike Lee's my cousin. - And what I mean, it should have been right there for me, but I just thought y'all both was Lee's. When I found out y'all were really relatives, I was like, yes, that's T-Bo. (laughing) - I got to work with him. Like he used to live in my parents' basement when he was in film school. - Oh my God. - So I got to see very early on the emergence of a great American filmmaker. - Absolutely. - And so, I'd always given him my scripts. He'd always give me a chance to work with him as a production assistant, and then it got to be a assistant at times. And so, I gave the script to him, and he had seen everything prior, but he was like, this is it. - Right? - Wow. - Yeah, so this is it. So right after that, I went out here to LA and was flown out by Columbia Pictures 'cause he had a deal there at the time. Said with Annie Pascal. (laughing) Yeah, I can't tell. - No, you can, come on. - Can I curse? - You can. - Okay, so basically, Annie was like, okay, I love this script, but I have a problem with it. I was like, okay, she said, Jordan's the smartest person in there, but no one was a f***er. And I said, - Yeah, be like that. - Ah. (laughing) You know, I said, that's not exactly true, but anyway, it basically, from that point on, 'cause Spike's a kind of person that said, you know, here's the movie we're making, and let's go. - Yeah. - Let's go. And if you don't, if you're not in, we're going someplace else. So, you know, Columbia wanna do some notes, and then he said, we're outta here. And so, we did that a little bit, and I was like, could we just maybe take a listen and maybe see what they wanna say first? Maybe there's something they wanna add. So, we got to Universal finally, and they said, okay, we have some notes as well. They paid me to do a rewrite, and he said, listen, we'll make them pay you. They don't like it, we leave. That's okay, fine. So, I did the notes, and I think two months later, we were greenlit. - What were their notes? If you could remember, was anything that majorly changed with the movie that we've seen on the original screenplay? - I will say, I don't remember, there's only one specific thing I remember. I remember, I written it. I can't remember exactly everything that they were looking for, but I got to a place where I thought it was good, and then one of the producers said to me, whoa, you know, I've got a note for you. And in an original script, Robin, who's played by Sonali, never came to the wedding, right? In my mind, it was like, okay, Harper's gonna go on this journey. He's gonna leave his girlfriend, his current girlfriend in time, and try to like, you know, try to do a little twist with Jordan. It wasn't gonna work out, and he was gonna get beat up, but still get lance over the broom and whatnot. And he'd come back and he'd say to his girlfriend, you know what, let's move in together, right? And so, they said, okay, what about if she comes to wedding? That's ridiculous. That's stupid. That would be the story I wanna tell. But what I learned of that very time was, you have to put pressure on your characters. You have to give them opportunities to get out of things, or see how they're gonna react when crisis happens. So, once she, you know, came to the wedding, it just changed everything. And I was like, okay, so, not only, they're not gonna move in together at this point, they have, he has to ask her to marry him at that point. So, that's what happened. And so, that was a major thing. And by then, we were good to go. - I mean, the movie balance is so many emotions. Obviously, most people have seen this movie, but the best man, you know, slept with the wife of the groom that's getting married. And so, they've come to find all this out. That's what this whole trip is about. But the part that I wanted to ask you as a director is in the end when you're getting ready to get married and he's up there and they're saying they're vows. What made you have those flashbacks? That was so sick. - Let's see. - I mean, that was sick, and he's up there saying, get ready to say I do, and he can't get Harper and her sleeping together out his head. - Well, it was more like her he couldn't get out of his head that she was slept with somebody else. So, I mean, you had to do that. We had to do that. It's funny too. I remember, 'cause Morris took it very, very seriously. - Yes. - It was that. - And was crying and whatnot. And I remember being on the monitor and laughing. And being like, this is gonna be funny, right? So then, I said, okay, so in the edit, we tried some things and, you know, it just kind of worked out that way. - It was perfect. - It was perfect because Morris was crying, and it was the motion was so real. And then it was also like. - Well, you had to do it because it's like, you know, look, and at the time, you know, still today, I mean, like, you know, guys like Lance, who like, you know, kissed by God and, you know, super handsome. And, you know, they'd say, hey, I do all my thing, whatever. Oh, it's all right, you know, she gonna be okay. I want, my woman's on a pedestal. And then you come to find out, you know, she's not exactly what you thought. And so it was his come up as, but he's the only one of those characters that could have done that because of his faith in God. - Yeah, I really love that message. It was also really good to see that because, yeah, I mean, we living in sometimes a patriarchy in a place where the standard of what a woman's supposed to be is so insane. And so in this movie, it was really awesome to see that, yeah, you know, she's not perfect, but you accept her, you choose to love her. - That's right. - And that it ended with that positive. So that was great. But let's talk about how you got to this cast because I know that the auditions had to be playful at this. I'm like, who was auditioning for this? Who did you see for certain roles? You know, did you get the cast you had initially wanted? - It's interesting when you're writing. - Yeah. - And I had another producer from the mind who said, you know, like, think of, you know, like the biggest star you can get when you're writing for these people. So I remember when I was starting to write it, I read something, I think it was a Hollywood reporter or something. Will Smith had said, there's such a dearth of roles out there for black actors, that I can't even get a script with my wife and I. I said, I'm gonna write the best man for Will and Jato. - Wow. - So I had them in my mind. - And her is Robin? - No, no. - As Jordan. - As Jordan, yeah. And I had a bunch of people in mind, right? But that's, that's pie in the sky. Like, you know, and once you, once you get greenlit and the universe says, nine million dollars, it's like, we ain't getting Will Smith. (laughing) Don't you think? - Like, right, so it's like, okay, what is realistic and so, what it was so beautiful was, the acting community was so ready for it, you know? Like, here were eight healthy roles for, you know, for black actors who could display their skills and not just be the whole or the gangster or the sidekick or the sassy one or whatever. And so, you know, we met with a bunch of people, people, a lot of people came in to read, once, like, I'll give you an example, when Sonata Nathan came in to read for Robin, I'd not heard of her, right? Somebody had told me about her. She had done, I think, Blaine, and I think she had done the wood, but I hadn't seen those at that time, right? - The wood, yeah. - The neighbors of all time. - They weren't out at that time. So, when she came in, I had a bunch of other people in mind for Robin. But when she came in, she was Robin. I was like, that's, she's the one. Like, everyone has to reach that bar. And if they can't, she got the part. You know, take, you know, came in at first, right off of Stella, we saw him in there. Like, okay, he'd be a good leading man for this. Terrence came in and read. I mean, there were so many people. Like, would Harris read-- - Would Harris read for World Rock? - He read for Quentin? - Wow! - Yeah, I knew Wood since, when we were at NYU. He was an acting program, I was a film program. And I did my second year movie with him. And he's a tremendous actor. And his brother Steve, like, read for Lance. And we were very close to casting him. - Oh my God. - Very close. - What movie was that that you guys did? - Oh, it's a short call Morningside Prep. - Wow. - Yeah, yeah. But yeah, but yeah, Wood read for that. Michael Jai White came in and read for Lance. You know, there were a bunch of people that I came in. Regina King, man. - Regina, whoa, whoa! - She was looking at Jordan. - Wow! - No, wait a minute, if it was done in today's day, what character do you think I could have played? - You're Jordan. - I'm Jordan Downvooks. - Yes, I would tone fierce Harper. (laughing) - Would you slap him upside his head? - Yes! - Wait a minute, I heard that was an improv. - It was not. - Okay. - They're saying that story. - Now listen, I will tell you. ♪ Baby, it's this ♪ ♪ He keep all the yeah ♪ - Here's the thing about traveling. While postcards are nice, the real magic happens when you dive into local life. And trust me, there is no better way to unlock a culture's heart than through the kitchen. When fools on the table, we're all speaking the same delicious language. - Speaking of which, I've got some exciting news, y'all. I'm hosting my very own Airbnb original experience in Chicago on December 17th. And it is all about cooking up some love in the kitchen. Imagine this culinary dream. 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Say goodbye to payment hassles and hello to seamless transactions. Pay the Apple Way and keep your holiday travel smooth and secure. Terms apply. What did happen that morning was I had written some new pages because he had gotten beaten up so bad that it wasn't going to work the way it was scripted because he could come in a little bit more aggressive and it just didn't quite work. And so there's new pages, so they were like trying to catch up, the whole crew was trying to catch up to everything. And there was supposed to be a stunt person on set. And I think there was. I can't remember exactly what happened, but obviously Tay was a little bit caught off guard with the impact of what happened. And so that's why he has a woo, you know, at the end, you know, on that. But it was definitely scripted. It was never, it was never not something that she just went ahead and smacked him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would have been like, that would have taken a way, way longer or a day though, you know, Hey, wait a minute, you can't do that. That was in the script. I'm not going to not go down like that at all. So you said something that was interesting that made me think about a conversation that I had with Rick Femme who was on the show before. You said it took nine million dollars to make the best man. And then you guys came in at what? Well, we're opening weekend. We made nine million and then I think we ended up grossing in total of 35. Now I will tell you had the wood not preceded it the same year, like only like five months earlier. I think we would have made more. Wow, because I just think the people got confused. Yeah, they were like, oh, this black wedding movie and Tate Diggs and Sonazan. It was almost the same. It was almost the same type of movie. Yeah, but totally different. I mean, you know, they're different movies. But it's just like, you know, that that I remember. I remember Spike saying, we got to come out before them. And I was like, we're not going to we're not going to be able to do that. He was like, well, we got to do something because we don't want to be the second one. I mean, both classics and I was talking about this with him. Like in that VHS, that DVD era, like that's also how black films want is because people I got to have that. Yes, but what the real question I want to say was, do you think it's true? Because this is what he said. He said, if we can make that this is the reality. If we can make our movies for under eight to 10 million, then they'll always be successful. Well, if they're good. Right, he said, but if you can make it, you got to make it for that low. And that just kind of to me was like, damn, so the movie's got to always be low because the chances are so slim. It was just an interesting thing. He has a lot more experience than that. When he did dope, dope is a freaking fantastic movie. So good. And like, and he made that for a very little money. And, you know, so he's got practice, you know, in that, in that I'm sure it was under eight million or in that vein. Yeah, I mean, I think it depends on, you know, audiences taste or whatever. Do they have to be all, you know, under $10 million? That would be helpful for sure. But then obviously we have situations like what you did with girls trip. I mean, that's rare. That's not common. So, but how do you make that happen? I mean, that can't movie came in at a hundred. It grows over a hundred million domestically. I mean, this was history. 120 hundred. I mean, that's maybe 110. I can't remember, but 140 more wide. I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah. How do you do that, man? It's, you know, movies are about timing. You know, you have to have the right. And I tell everybody, best man was the right script of the right time. Sure. You know, girls trip was the right movie at the right time. Right? Everyone needed a laugh. Right? We had just elected somebody. Yeah. And I think people needed to laugh. And I think that, you know, at a certain release date, certain materials have to kind of all coalesce so that boom, it can take off. You just don't, you can't necessarily plan for it. You know, you can try to the best you can. There's so many factors at work with that make a movie launch successful, particularly these days. You know, people aren't going to the movie theater as much as they used to. Not at all. And they want to go if they're, it feels like an event if they can't miss it, right? And it's so great because you said in Forbes that a director has to have one ear in commerce and the other one in creativity. And I feel like that really tracks what everything you just said. I mean, everything that we're seeing you doing, but I'd love to know exactly what you mean by that. Well, I mean, you know, I think it's not pure artistry, right? You know, you could be an artist and that's great, but you could also be a starving artist. I don't want to starve. Yeah. Right? I didn't ever want to starve. Like I wanted to like, you know, make something that people would understand and be digestible. So you have to see, okay, how do I get my movie made? When I, when I wrote the first best man, I was timing it for when soul food came out because yeah, great movie. George Tim, one of my guys, when I saw that that was coming out and it was going to star, you know, Nia and Vanessa and Vivica and babyface was producing it. What a soundtrack. Back with soundtracks was doing something. Yeah. And I said, okay, like this might be successful. And if it is, that's what they're looking for the next soul food. This is a copycat industry, right? So they want, so you have to like look at, okay, what's, what's playing? What's what's going to, what's going to work? Same thing with best man holiday, best man holiday, like we got to a place where, you know, black, so called black moons, we're not working and they weren't making them, right? And then I pitched them the idea for it. I said, here's the idea and they said, okay, what's next? I said, I gotta wait till jumping the broom comes out. Oh my gosh. And if that's successful, then they'll say, okay, well, this is a proven wedding movie. Even though mine was not a wedding, it was going to be a funeral and they were like, does it have to be a funeral? I was like, yes it does. That's what we're doing. Wow. It's not that you have to have an eye on what's trending, what's, and how do you fit into that? Yeah. And how does your artist be fit into that? So that's how, like my mindset has been. And I think even more specifically, what do these things mean about black storytelling and about our window of time, you know, I mean, don't want to always put emphasis on it, but it does, and the emphasis has to be there because either they're not enough people that are at the table to understand this aspect, you know, I think maybe that's it. You don't understand how to tell our stories or how to market our movies. And so does that put more on the creatives or? Yeah, I mean, you know, look, like everything I've ever tried to do. to their universal stories, meaning like any group of people could fit into these characters, right? They has cultural specificity, but these are universal stories, you know, about love, about friendship, about family, about whatever, right? Settings that people all can understand and relate to and put a face on it that is, you know, culturally specific. - Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. So any T-ion girl's trip to, how do we make this happen? - We hope, we're working on it, we're working on it. And see, here's the thing about any sequel that I want to do, right? Like the expectation bar for girl's trip, you know, the first one was like, oh, it was about here, and we met and exceeded that, right? So the bar is here now, and so girl's trip, too, has to meet that bar, or and or exceeded, and that's not easy to do. So the script's gotta be great. The actors about to be ready to go. I have to be on my game, to direct it. And so that's where we're all trying to figure out. - And you don't feel sick, I mean, you did space jam, you did scary movie five. - Don't mention that one, don't mention it. Scratch that from the record, please. (laughs) - And then obviously you've created this friendship. - Barbershop. - Barbershop, I was in Barbershop, too. - I was did number three, you should've made it for me. - I know, dang, we're falling work together. - It's gonna happen. - Oh my gosh, please, it needs to, you heard it here, I'm baby this Kiki Barmer. We have to hold Malcolm to it. - Hold me to it. - How did you approach deciding to continue the story of the best man? Because it would seem to most people that, oh, this can only be one. But then you did the last holiday. And then you guys did the peacock and now the book. So how? - Yeah, it wasn't really kind of planned, you know, there was talk of doing the first, I mean, a sequel to best man right away. But I was like, it's my first movie. I don't wanna be a one trick pony. I don't wanna tell this one story. I need to grow, the characters need to grow. I'll revisit these characters in like 10 years. So that's what happened. And just so happened though, when it came to it, again, very much strategy involved. As I said, what's my brand? My brand is best man because like there wasn't a lot of work happening for me at the time. I was able to revive that, revive the cast. They all needed it too. And we made it happen. And we left it open, ended with best man holiday. And it was like, universal was like, well, we're not gonna make this movie right away. They couldn't, we couldn't agree on a budget at the time. So I was like, okay, how do I flip this? Cause we left people hanging on who's Quentin gonna marry, right? So I was like, okay, streaming was very much in a good place. So we'll do eight to ten episodes on that. So that worked out. But I was done after that, you know, but after the smoke clear and the dust that I was like, let me try this novel thing that I've been wanting to do. And so we continued, so again, plus the fans that they wanted more. They said, okay, we're, we love it. We're done. I'm finished great. Then I would have been, okay, we're done. But they wanted more and I want to try my hand at novel writing. And I think we've given them an experience that is not only literary but cinematic. - I cannot wait to read it. Cause I'm definitely one of the fans that wanted more. - Oh, you're gonna love it. - Yeah. - You are going to love it. - Now you said something interesting when you were talking about the best man being your sixth screenplay. - Yeah. - I'm just curious. Have we seen those other five screenplays? Have you ever revisited them? Do you revisit your works? - Shh, man. Those, let's see, no, the only one that came close was the one that I was trying to sell the best man for. A couple of times it's a romantic comedy. - What was it called? - Feast and famine. - Feast and famine, what was it about? - It's kind of like a classic New York love story. College friends, you know, who became lovers. - Whoa. - Yeah. - Starring. - It could be, let's, hey, let's discuss. - Oh my God, 'cause I have to tell you, I had to tell you on, and we were just sitting here talking about those romcoms. I mean, the golden era of your, I mean, we think about the best man, we think about the soul of all the movies we were naming. - Love Jones. - Love Jones, you know, what do you think? Has something happened or are we just living in nostalgia? You know, nostalgia sometimes we just love what was, or is there truly something missing with the romcoms of today? - I think there's a combination, you know, I think there's people have nostalgia for the '90s and in the early 2000s, and like, oh, I want that feeling back, right? But, you know, those types of movies don't get put on the big screen, they're not as magical if they're not on a big screen to me, right? And so they're streaming and they're on, you know, television and stuff, and you know, they're happening in longer form series like forever, right? - Yeah. - Like, it's not really a romantic comedy, it's a romantic comedy, yeah, love story. And so I think people want that, I don't think they want it on a big screen, and they're not gonna put the kind of marketing dollars behind it, unless you've got like two undeniable stars in it. You know what I mean? I think, I think-- - And you think that literally is just the impact of streaming and just the way people make it. - I think that's part of it. I think that's like, you know, youth pretty much drives movies, right? Like, at least those types of movies, or, you know, unless they're like big event movies, and I think that it's harder because people can get there with their romantic comedy, you know, Jones fixed, you know, with a smaller screen. I would love to see a big romantic comedy come back. Like, when Harry McSally and Annie Hall was in like so much my favorite movies. - Yeah, mine too. And it does feel like there's been a difference, but it's interesting to see that, you know, sometimes there's just so much happening. We having so much content. You don't even know which way to look. - Right, right. But, you know, we should go into the studio. You and me, put a script down and be like, let's make this. Let's go. - Feet to the band. - I'm here for that. - Who you want in there? - Well, this is what I am. - How about Dams and Injus? - I know everybody's saying Dams and Injus. I mean, if that's who's gotta be, then hey, you don't have to pull my leg. - I would say, like, you know, like, let's do that. - I'm here for Dams and, but you know what I'm also here for? I'm here for a young girl older guy, love story too. - Mm. - That's weird. - I don't know. - I think it could be kind of cool. It could be kind of cool. - Like, like, what, what? - Like, Mia Idris Alba. - Oh my goodness. - Me too, oh? - I don't know. I'm a little uncomfortable with that one. Me personally, but I mean, you know. - I don't know. - I don't know. - I'm here for Damsin. - Okay. - If it's Damsin, it's Damsin. - Okay. - You know. - So, let's get into some of these IMDb questions real quick, because I want you to break down if these things are fact or fiction. - Oh boy. ♪ Baby, this is Kiki Poma, yeah ♪ - Y'all, the holidays are coming up so soon. And you know what that means. We've got some serious shopping to do, but I'm not even stressing, okay? Your girl stays prepared, and I know exactly where I'm headed to make it all happen at Ross. They always have what you need at the price you need, at this hell of expensive time of year. Yes, it's holiday decor, like plates and candles, to keep your home looking festive. It's gifts from toys to sweaters for everyone on your list. 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I love that AG1 sources the best and highest quality ingredients they can find. Since making AG1 part of my mornings, I've noticed my energy levels are thriving, and my digestion is improving. And these flavors, they are the still the assignment. I live for the tropical blend, but they also have original berry and citrus options that'll have you excited to start your day. And get this, AG1 is dropping their best offer ever. Head to drinkag1.com/kiki to get your welcome kit. Vitamin D3 plus K2, AG1 flavor sampler, and their new sleep supplement, AGZ for free, which has been a game changer for my nightly routine. That's just $126 in free gifts for new subscribers at drinkag1.com/kiki. Your wellness routine is about to be that girl. You already said that Jordan's slapping hopper wasn't improv, that was true, so we can knock that off. Now, in girl's trip, they said to Rajipi Henson was initially offered the role of Dina. Is that true? - Not true. - That ain't true. Either wow, is there any actor that you haven't worked with that you'd want to? - Yeah, yeah, plenty. I would love to work with Will. I'd love to work with Eddie. - Oh my gosh, will it Eddie? - I'd love to work with Damson. There's Idris, you know, there's plenty. - Yeah, I love all those people, you just name it. - Violet Davis, yeah, I mean Angela Bassett. - Yeah, Angela, okay, night school. The film was shipped to theaters under the name Christian Chickens. Is that true? - What? - I didn't even know they did that. Like, do you guys ship movie names, like? - That's interesting, maybe they did. I don't know, that's funny though. - Yeah, I'm like, when I heard that, I was like, really, they did that. - Maybe because they didn't want to get it stolen or bootleg or something like that. Maybe that's what they did. - Yeah, okay, that's another one that was wrong. Okay, this is. It might not be run. That might be correct. Okay. So that's going to never do a middle. That was cliffhanger. The best man. Lorenz Tate was off of the lead role of Harper Stewart, returned it down because he felt it was too similar to his character. And I saw that he said that. That's not true. So you saw that he said that. I saw that. Now I was like, Lorenz, you know, and I love Lorenz. That's my guy. But like, that's definitely not true. And that would be the reason that I would not want to do because I mean, it was very similar to Darius in love, Jones. I would not have done it. And Lorenz is great. Love them. Now there was something else that I have for Lorenz, but I can't talk. No, you got to tell me. No, I can't say it. No, please. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's disrespectful. Why? Next question. Damn. That was going to be good. I'll tell that later. My memoir. All right. All right. Okay. So looking back, do you have, do you feel like there are any early mistakes that you made or just the differences? Okay. What are some major things to look out for? I think, you know, I'm a writer director and that's what I thought I was. I was like, you know, I'm an author. I want to do that. Like when I came up with this man, like, you know, and of course, when you, when you do a movie like that, that's number one, the box office that, that everybody, I'm the prom queen, all of a sudden. Everybody wants to dance, right? So like, that's not how great I am. And I'm about to something. And yeah, that's, I am great. And then there are things come along. Hey, would like you to direct this. And I'm like, well, I didn't write it. So I'm not going to direct it. And hey, we'd like you to write this thing while I get to direct it. I don't think so. Well, maybe. And I'm like, no, I'm not going to do a maybe, right? If I'm going to get myself into it. So I think early on, I was like, I could have been a lot more open to opportunities. Yeah. Because, you know, you, and you also, I got very much to a place where I was like, oh, I'm going to do this and say tunnel vision on it. You have to, you see, people attach to all kinds of things, right? Because you never know what's going to go, right? Taste change, studio heads change, you know, budgets change. Actors suddenly, like they're in a stratosphere now. And they can, or they're, we don't want to work with them anymore. So it's like, you have to like have multiple things going. And not just put all your eggs in one basket. So those are a lot of those lessons I learned very early on. And, you know, you have to like diversify. Yeah, I feel the same exact way. I think it's so. No, I've been trying to get with you when you're like, you're like, I don't know if I can do all that. Malcolm's never called me guys. He just made that up right now. I talked to your people though. He never did that like playing around. Because when you call, I'm picking it. All right, I'm getting that number. Okay, it's done deal. You did another one of my favorite movies. My family and I watched it all the time. Welcome home, Roscoe Jenkins. I mean, some of the funniest people ever. Monique, obviously, Martin Lawrence, that's the entertainer. I mean, it was just, how was that being on set? I mean, you've got to be a fan of improv when you're doing something. Fantastic, that's the thing. It's funny to say that because, you know, when I did undercover brother. Oh, yeah. He's very different than the best man. And I tried to treat it, you know, the same way as a director. Like, okay, no, no, say the line like this. But you have to let comedians improv. They got to be in the moment. They have to like, you know, feel like fresh when they deliver and stuff. So I remember when they did, what did Roscoe, you know, they weren't improv. Like, Cedric wasn't improving and Mike and like, you know, well, Mike always improv. He never remembers his lines. Mike, I've never heard that about it. Because he did. I'm a Virgo with boots. And it was the same thing. Oh, yeah. But he's great. Brilliant stuff, right? So what's crazy is like, we try to do the movie. And they're not like going off book. And I'm like, guys, I didn't cash you not to be funny. Yeah. Like go off because they were being very different to me into the script thinking that I wanted to. No, no, do it. And so yeah, that was fantastic. I mean, Monique and Mike and Cedric. They were so. Martin and Michael Clark dunking me. We're still in peace. I mean, James Earl. Joe and me, he we're still in peace. I mean, fantastic cast. And I think an underrated moving. Yeah. I mean, you know, I always go back and forth with that term underrated. Because it's like, what are we basing it off of? Because it really is a classic. But you know, we never, you know, it's like everybody always says that every other day about it. But it's underrated and it's like, but is it if we love it, you know? Well, that's what I'm saying. Like, who does it get the credit, you know? Yes. You know, I totally agree. I mean, in '99, you told the Washington Post, it's important to make full black male characters. Because we've been vilified in the media. Not just in Hollywood, but television and by our set, but by ourselves. Yes. And I was talking about that actually withwood on forever about seeing these more nuanced black characters. I remember thinking to myself like the circle of the best man. Everybody had a dope job. There were new ones. They was like, you say it was given my homeboy's wedding, but it was also given. I'm living and working in corporate America. It was like showcasing the conversation around assimilation, the code switch, the realities that we have, the dual realities that our culture exists in. But like you said, at the same time, being characters that anybody could play. That's true. But centering the culture. Yeah. Anyhow, not to get so long-winded, I'm just curious for you like going into the industry with that being your mind frame, how difficult has it been to maintain that intentionality? I don't know. I mean, I've had a pretty good run. You know what I'm saying? My production company is called Black Mailed Productions, M-A-L-E-D. And I love Black men. I love us. I love how we interact. And I really wasn't seeing us prior to doing best men in a way that I thought was authentic. And so I'm always going to protect us. And then it's continued in all my work, whether it's Roscoe or Space Jam, like a father-son story or a barbershop, father-son story as well. Roll bounce, same thing. Roll bounce. Oh my gosh. And first of all, I've always been a huge fan of Biowire. I love Biowire's transition to the movies. And when he started just acting. I mean, it's so true what you're saying. I gotta tell you man, I appreciate it so much because for me, a lot of times, a kid growing up in the 90s. I mean, I'm looking and I'm saying these are my uncles. Yeah. This is how my dad is. Right. This is what, like, finally, but when I've seen the world, when I've seen best men, when I've seen so from, like, these are the people in my life. Right. You recognize them. And I wasn't recognizing people that were educated black. It's like people didn't get with boys and hoods. Like, God, that was boys into hood. Right. That's not every boy everywhere. Exactly. That's why the damn movie was boys into hood. Right. Every boy not into hood. Right. Yeah. And you know what I mean? Like, they was trying. They was explaining stuff in the titles, but they kind of blanketed it over the whole culture and so we needed those different expressions. I think so, because we exist. We exist. Yeah. For a lot of people, the industry can feel very hard to access. And I feel probably even harder, maybe when you were coming up, then maybe now with social media. I don't know if you feel that it's made it easier for people, but what is a good stepping stone? Because I mean, when people ask me, I don't even really know what to say. It's hard. I mean, there's no like magic formula. No. Right at all. Right. It is an industry of relationships. You have to have something that people want. Yeah. Yeah, that's something that people that think is marketable. That's why I say like, you know, the best man was the right script at the right time. You know, because they were like, oh, we see this. We can make this. Wedding moves are very popular. There's a plethora of black actors out there that can fill these roles. So, you know, I think, yes, there's a lot more access. You know, and you can get your stuff seen, but everybody can get their stuff seen now. So, it's kind of flooding the market a little bit. It's hard to stand out. But, you know, I think right now this generation of filmmakers needs to define what their story is. Yeah. And I don't see that happening right now. I don't know what is their breakfast club. What is their super bad, you know. And I would love to see that happen. And I think there's an opportunity for indie filmmakers to, you know, break through as well. Yeah. You know, and really make a splash that way and like, you know, like into what to Rick's point, do a low budget thing and hopefully it delivers high. Yeah, because you can't, I mean, when you do do that, I mean, it's like how, I mean, there's only up that we can go. You don't want to always do it that way. But if you want to do a series of things, it's definitely a good way to freak the system. Yes. Another thing that I always think about too is like ownership. You talk about blackmail productions. I mean, having your own production company doing your own, we're starting your own infrastructure. I think there's a piece that a lot of sometimes we don't think about, you know. Yeah. You always just outputting and trying to catch on to something else. But I always try to encourage entertainers whether they are producers, directors, actors or otherwise. Create a thing that allows you to continue to create on your own terms. If you can do it, I mean, you know, like, you know, Tyler Perry is a genius in what he's done and like, you know, cultivated his own audience, very loyal audience. And he's built upon that because he really, you know, he's a businessman. He really like cultivated that audience and kept it going. Not everybody can do that. Like I'm not built like that. You know, or I haven't built like that. I rely on people who are like, oh, we like you. So here's some money to do. I'm like, please. But you know, it's funny. Like I tried to go the indie route. It doesn't always work for people. It's tough. But his brothers are people who I always like admired for that. I mean, they were in comedians in general. There was a time where comedians was always doing their own movies. Always. Yeah. Or television shows. Or television shows for creating their own things. And like, we don't get that as much anymore. Like that straight to DVD. That straight to the consumer vibe. Who's the funny, who's the funny person now? Who's the funniest stand up right now? I don't know who that person is. Stand up exactly. Right. Like, you know, like you got to like those, those voices have to be cultivated. And also platformed. You know, like the way they did with deaf comedy jam. Like, you know, a lot of comedians got their platform there. Yeah. And I remember who got jokes too. Deaf jam, comedy jam, who's got jokes. Yeah, we don't have a lot of that stuff anymore. And it definitely is important. We think about Friday. That's where Chris Tucker did somebody seen him on. That's right. Put him in a movie. - That's exactly right. - I could talk to you all day, there's so many things. I do wanna give a shout out to Dr. Camille 'cause you guys have been married for what? Over 25 years, I was trying to read. - 20, let's see, we got married in 2025 years. - That's right. - We just celebrated 25th. And we've been together 31 years in October. - Oh my gosh, I'm just such a blessing. - It is. - The noise that you guys have. - Langston, Lennox and Lucas. - Oh my gosh, you guys like the elves. - She, like the iteration. So she was like, there's an all elves. I was like, okay, it's fine with me. I love this so much. And you guys have two totally different careers. Like, I mean, but you kinda both study people. - She's super educated. - She's like, she's got like five master's degrees and a PhD and I'm just like, are we done with school now? (laughing) But, you know, I would not be the man that I am or the career that I have without her. And yeah, she's a psychotherapist. She's all, it's so funny. For years, people always come to her and talk to her. And I was like, baby, you need to be just like Lucy, put your shingle out, five cents, and let's go. Talk, right? But you can charge me for this. You're getting too much free advice. - Oh my gosh, well, she's that lady that all these people need to settle the couch up. Go on his, he died to come in, talk to that lady. (laughing) All right, I've run out of time with you. So I wanna play a quick little game before you go, okay? And it's called Malcolm Knows Best, a little playoff of the best man. - Usually Malcolm does no best, but go on. You gotta tell my kids that. - Oh, pretty much I'm gonna give you some category of some classic films, people, et cetera. Just different categories. And you gotta pick the best. It's really hard. - Okay. - You have those friends over this. - Oh boy. - I'm kidding. All right, are you ready? - I don't think you are kidding. (laughing) - Okay, pick the best installment. The Best Man, 1999. The Best Man Holiday, 2013. The Best Man, the Final Chapters, 2022. Best Man, Unfinished Business. - Woo! I'm ready for this. I mean, that's pretty big what you just had. - I stand by it. - You stand by it. - Ten toes. - Ten fingers. - Yep. - Period. Okay, modern black romcoms. Love Jones, Brown Sugar, The Wood, Love and Basketball. The Best. - Boy, Gina is my girl. Okay, Gina is my girl. And I love her, I love that movie, but I'm going with Love Jones. - OMG, Love Jones was so-- - It's one of my favorite, it's very much inspired me to write "Face the Fam" but also Best Man. - Oh boy, was such a hater. My comedian, Bill Bellamy. He was hating all the damn time. I'm on there, he's like, boy, get up off his back. - Exactly. - Okay, sitcoms that raised us. The Cosby Show, a different world. Martin, live in single. - Cosby Show. - Yeah. - Yeah, you know, let's see. - Classic. - It's a beautiful, rest of piece, "American Normal Warner." Yeah, I mean, that was, I mean, we didn't have a house that nice, but we live in a brownstone in Brooklyn. - Here. - And, you know, I'm like, ah, that's not real with black people. I said, that is real black people to me. And so, yeah. - Well, your parents are just, 'cause I've seen that you, not only in black, but in black. - My dad, yeah, my dad was a school teacher, but he was a musician. His brother and sisters had a jazz group called The Sentence of Mike and Phoebe. That's my long lineage of family, a shout out to them. And my mom was a medical records administrator. And then she eventually became a college professor and taught people to read. - That's incredible. That's incredible. So, yeah, I was like, you know, the Cosby's. (laughing) Comedy icons in their prime. - Okay. - Bernie Mac, Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Kevin Hart. - Eddie Murphy. Sorry. Eddie Murphy. - Here, it was quick. You knew it was not even a question. - Yeah. - I got the chance to work with Eddie in my last project. And it was really hot. - I saw the trailer for it. It looks good. - Oh my gosh, with Tim. I'm sure you don't Tim. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I loved it. It was the best ever. I mean, he's really, really chill. But his comedy, my mom always told me he's a kid in your comedy sense from reality. But when you see someone really do situational improv as quickly and as in tune as he does, it really, it's a masterclass. - He's a genius. - He is. - He's an absolute genius, like unparalleled. - Yeah. Well, that's it. That's all I got, Malcolm. I'm really excited for it. - Oh, are we done already? - We literally done. - Oh boy. - I know. - We'll have to do this again. - We have. - Or on some set. - I mean, your words to God ears. - Yep. Thank you so much. - My pleasure. Thank you. Malcolm D. Lee has built a body of work that truly lasts. Films that connect across generations and put our culture front and center. From the best man to role bounce to the pages of his new book, he's never stopped finding new ways to reflect who we are with honesty and style. Thank you, Malcolm, for the stories, the laughs, and the blueprint. Baby, this is Kiki, baby, this is Kiki Palmer, yeah. Baby, this is Kiki Palmer, is hosted and executive produced by me, Kiki Palmer. Lucas Siegel is our host producer. Our producers are Lauren Hampton and Molly Nestor. Hillary Estee McLaughlin is our executive producer. Production services provided by Evolution Media. Our original theme song was written and performed by me, Kiki Palmer. For team Kiki, my producer is Sharon Palmer. For Wondery, our managing producer is Olivia Fonte. Senior managing producer is Nick Ryan. And our executive producers are Emily Feldbrake, Erin O'Flarity, and Marshall Louis.