We had the pleasure of sitting down with the very beautiful Eve and Regina Hall to talk about their new movie Barbershop: The Next Cut, the message behind the movie, playing strong female characters in a male dominated industry and for Eve reconnecting her with a role that she first played back in 2002
Q: What was the importance for you guys to bring a female perspective to a movie like barbershop, because you know even if you look at the first one you were probably the only female voice present
Regina: Well no I was just gonna say it’s just kind of… you know we do have different perspectives.
Eve: um–hum
Regina: And I do remember the first time I went to a unisex shop; I was more concerned about guys seeing my head with out my hair.
Eve: Hell yeah
Regina: Without my hair. I was like ‘I don’t know if I like this, there’s no like’ God forbid if someone cute walked in and you’re sitting there with the hair…
Eve: under construction
Regina: Yeah under construction
Laughs
Eve: Braids
Regina: But we definitely do share different view points. So it was nice I think to add to the movie that part since so much takes place in the barbershops so you actually have the opportunity to kinda hear…
Q: What thing I really like about it was when the guys are going off on something really ridiculously sexist or something like that, you know, you snap back at em there’s not real rancor, it’s just like okay you expressed your idea, we’re gonna shut that down, then on to the next thing. It’s not like when someone post something on twitter or something and the entire world’s gotta destroy them for it. Very forgiving atmosphere with anyone surrendering
Eve: That’s what it is in a barbershop or beauty shop that you’re able to be feel like you can say what you need to say and not, even if it is an argument, it’s not an argument, it’s a heated discussion and everybody respects each other’s opinion.
Regina: It’s like a healthy debate
Eve: Right
Q: It didn’t get really nasty is what I liked. Even in the situation with you and your husband and the girl kind of coming in and trying to step in on your territory, you stood your ground. As a strong black man he stood his ground, she did what she was supposed to do but it ultimately came back to you guys loving each other. So can just talk about strong relationships and why it was important to show that aspect.
Eve: We were… Me and Nikki first talked about not wanting to be the girls that’s like “yeah bitch wawawawa” that was important to both of us
Q: And we appreciated that, because we got enough of that.
Eve: A hundred percent and Malcom he didn’t want that either. He didn’t want it to be a drag down fight or anything like that and then with Common. Me and Common talked about it as well. Yeah relationships are hard sometimes. Shit happens, you know what I mean. In the situation that they’re in where this woman is trying to be everything for everybody, including herself. She’s trying to be a better businesswoman and whatever, shit does happen and we talked about how the foundation of the relationship is what needs to be seen. There is a reason why you came together. There is a reason why you love each other and you’re going through everything. We just need to bring it back to that. So yeah hopefully it came across on screen. It was important to us for us to show that. That love and understanding.
Q: It did and she was the breadwinner as well and I know sometimes that causes rifts in relationships.
Eve: That can be hard.
Q: When you’re the bread winner.
Eve: Definitely.
Q: I love that you guys played around with that.
Eve: Yeah, thank you.
Q: Can you talk a little bit more about working with Common
Eve: Common is great. Like honestly, I was nervous, because … like damn I’m gonna mess that shit up
Laughter
Eve: But he was so good and so… He’s a very serious, serious actor. And I appreciated the fact that we went over scenes. We would just get together on our own and go over scenes and talk about things and how we wanted to look and I really appreciated that. He’s great.
Q: When you first got this script, what was your reaction to the evolution of your character?
Eve: I loved it. I mean that was a lot of the reason why I wanted to do it, because looking at her, I was like “damn Terri grew up,” but I love the way they did it. And it also resonates to my real life. You know married now; have step kids and all that, so I think they did a great job with her.
Q: And Regina you get to be a newer character to the barbershop and bring another, you know you’re a partner with Cube. And we get to see you kind of finagle keeping your girls in check, but also making him respect you as a businessperson. So kind of talk a little bit about your character and why you decide to sign on.
Regina: Well, when they said they were doing a new one and I read the script, I enjoyed it. I kind of liked that it had a message that it was not just, the banter that people love was still there, but it was also elevated to something that was happening on the street in Chicago. And everyone I think is aware of the state of Chicago, the state of the violence, the issues with guns, young kids dying, gangs. So, just the fact they had that as a back drop and that it was then more than the back drop. It was more than the reason they started the business, it was part of why he wanted to leave and I think I loved the father son aspect and all the characters had actually grown. For my character coming in it’s hard, cause Cube’s really strong presence, you know what I mean. So you have to figure out, what feels like that can be an honest counter part, but not adversarial. You know so where can she be feminine and you know when you have your booth, and I’ve talked about this when you do styling it like it’s not her shop so do the girls rent the booth? How are you in charge of the shop? But these are all women, they’re adults so you are not feeling like a mother hen so it was just trying to figure out the balance of playing the function of Angie, which is kind of a bit of the conscience of Cube when he is making decisions and you know realizing he has a responsibility and it’s not the same thing as it was before, without trying to challenge him, but challenging him.
Q: The movie’s about community are you in any? how do you support the community?
Regina: Oh I don’t. I don’t believe in community.
Laughter
Regina: That’s a really great question. I mean there is some many communities. There’s neighborhoods. There is so many communities in the world, honestly. I’m from D.C. and actually my friend is now the mayor. We grew up together and I’ve been talking to her trying to figure out what can I do for D.C., which is actually having its own new beginnings of issues with the emergence of that strange marijuana that’s there now.
Q: Those little bottles
Regina: Yeah, and playing a part in what was my community. Not forgetting that community, even though I don’t live there and trying to figure out where you can make a difference. This movie was specific, because they were all working regular people and I think more than that I think there is something about people, I feel we forgotten at this point in time, that our voices really do matter. I feel like we, well I’m always listening to NPR, who always 109.7 pfa, y’all we have to do this and I’m like oh can we do that. It was kind of great to watch a movie where people took a small step that was a big step. Emotionally it did resonate until Cedric said to him, ‘we may have lost one, but how many maybe did we save.’ So you know that’s a good question. I don’t know that I know one hundred percent how I feel quite yet.
Q: And I would like to know what does it mean to you as well?
Eve: I think community means, like you said there are so many communities, it’s coming together with people to make a change, to make a difference, to be on the same path, to want to make something better. To me that is community.
Q: Do you have any non-profits or anything that you’re involved with?
Eve: I support a charity in the Congo actually. It’s a school for 235 little girls, so that’s something I do. Closer to home, I’m the girl that people know, especial that everybody knows my mom, so my mom would be like ‘such and such called, they need you to come talk to these girls or such and such called,’ so whenever I get those calls to come back to Philly. I’m always there, especial if it’s anything to do with you women. That’s my thing.
Q: You want to expand that to Hollywood and talk about all the controversy that’s been going on casting lately?
Eve: I mean it’s been going on forever. I think it’s not something that’s new, I think that we though have to step up and start making our own projects, as well. But that, I think, it’s really out there, hopefully there is going to be a real conversation to make shit change and to make things better.
Regina: I’m only gonna start helping privileged males.
Laughter
Regina: That’s my goal.
Q: Let my get you guys back to my question to you. You have an uncanny talent, these quote unquote black movies, you get cast in them, but you keep redefining your character every time. How do you manage to go into it, knowing that you bring a special element, but still bring something different?
Regina: Thank you. Ironically, I start every character all with hair.
Q: Top of your hair to the tip of your toes. That’s important
Laughter
Regina: I always feel like the hair comes first once I can see the hair style, then I can see who see is.
Q: She has some purple hair
Regina: This one…
Q: Was it blue? Did you ever have hair that color in real life?
Regina: No, but you know what I thought? She’s got her, she’s gotta flair, she’s her own woman. She’s in Chicago, wouldn’t it be funny? I just thought. She had a mole too, I don’t know…
Laughter
Regina: And she had a mole. And so I don’t know why, I was like she has mole, but everyday Ced would be like “You’ve got the mole.”
Laughter
Regina: Eddie was very in love with that mole. Eddie’s character loved the mole, but you know you just try and think if you’re gonna be in movies where gonna have similar audiences, is that they might want to see …
Q: Different side
Regina: Yeah different, at least, element, cause it’s still you.
Q: What do you think is the biggest, for both of you ladies, why do you think that it is important that we continue to see strong women characters in films like this? You being a strong mother, you being a business owner. Why is important that we see black women in these positions in movies like this, kind of like leading the families?
Eve: I think it’s important because you know why shouldn’t we see it? I think there is a crop of women coming up that need to see it. I don’t honestly think there is enough of it out there. So the fact that you know this movie show cases that I think is a great thing.
Regina: It think seeing something makes you believe, so I think those images, I think of images that I saw and that I still see. I mean I still see women do thing that you know I go “oh wow that’s amazing. I could do that.” So young girls they, I mean we still live in an age where there still maybe girls that don’t have, a mom doesn’t know she can do it or a young girl does have her mom maybe she’s hearing words that tell she can’t do it, I don’t know. But I always just hope that there is some impact that is resonating with somebody that you don’t even know that it that can maybe change one person and that person might change thousands.
Q: This is for Eve I have all your albums…
Regina: Uh oh
Laughter
Q: I have all your albums, but it’s been a long time since we got a new one. Have you got an inspiration lately?
Eve: Yeah, I have. I will be going in the studio in the next few months, actually, finally. I needed to wait to be inspired and it took a minute, but now I’m completely ready and I found where I want to go and who I want [to] work with and it’ll still be an experiment, cause I haven’t been in the studio, but I am excited about it.
Q: Do you still write from time to time?
Eve: I write all the time. I write, it’s my therapy, it is my therapy and there’s time when I’ll hear a beat or something and I still write. I keep to myself, but it’s something I feel like I need to do and it’s my therapy.
Q: What do you think of Nicki Minaj and how she’s basically taken the spot you were once in? Working with her, alongside her, did you see a lot of yourself in her?
Eve: No I didn’t. What I say though in the world that she’s in, I remember being on set, cause she was super busy while she was working on movie she was also having to travel every weekend and I was like “damn I remember being that busy and that you know” and I think it was great. I think the fact that she was able to do what she needed to do on her music side and still come and do want she needed to do on set. I think it was a great thing.
Q: Lastly, I’m not gonna hold you for long, what producers are you eyeing to work with?
Regina: I’m in charge of this project.
Laughter
Q: Can we say?
Since when me and Regina did With This Ring, Regina has been on my ass about getting back in the studio and I was like literally you need to be my manager, I swear to god. But I need to hear that kind of thing as well. Sometimes you go away and you just don’t think about it.
Regina: She forgets how loud she is, and how phenomenal she is.
Eve: Thank you
Q: Scott Storch is back.
Eve: Yeah I know. It’s funny, I saw him the last time I was in LA. He was like “yo I just moved back to Calabasas” and I was like what, okay. And he was my first producer, one of my first producers when I was 14 or 15 in Philly. So that would be amazing to get back with him.
Regina: You never know.
Q: I got a bunch of girlfriends that are from Philly, I love your music I grew up on it, but a lot of my girlfriends, they can not wait for you to have more music, you know what I mean. So when you say you got inspired again, it was cool that you were playing opposite common, because I feel like that’s the type of rapper that you are. You talk about conscious things that are happening to women, things that girls out there, we can rap along to every single word, so what kind of music you think we are going to get with this new album?
Eve: Definitely the same, I want to make sure this music means something. I definitely don’t want to be making a song, just to make a song. But I want to show case what I am now and where I am in my life now. I’m not trying to relive any moments I appreciate all those moments, I would be here without them, but you know I need to take that and bridge it to where I am now. So yeah that will be the challenge.
Q: What are you working on?
Regina: I think I’m going to be in a song.
Laughter
Q: I was gonna say…
Eve: Obliviously.
Regina: I think I’m gonna be in a song.
Eve: Or at least write.
Regina: That’s a given. The video is a given.
Q: What’s next for you Regina?
Regina: I have a movie coming out called When the Bough Breaks
Q: Can you tell us a little about it?
Regina: It is a like psychological thriller, about a young—I said young
Laughter
Regina: It’s my desire.
Laughter
Regina: It’s about a used to be young, a former young, no, a youngish woman who has a frozen — it’s about couple their down to their last embryo, so the hire a young surrogate. And you now that didn’t go well.
Laughter
Regina: But it’s got a lot more twists and turns than that. It’s just that without giving it away, but yeah no it’s great.
Q: I know people love seeing you in front of the screen.
Regina: oh and a Hulu series
Q: oh yes Hulu
Regina: Crushed which is a true story, I just want to say this, speaking of which is a true story about a black family that owns not just a winery and vineyard but an entire estate in Napa. And it’s the only black owned one and it’s kind like how that happened.
Q: And these are both dramatic?
Regina: No that’s a comedy.
Q: Oh that’s a comedy.
Regina: You can’t have a black family in Napa.
Laughter
Regina: Starting a vineyard and make that the drama. It’s kind of funny. We’ve got a great, really well rounded cast of everyone who are wonderful.
Q: Nice that’s awesome
Regina: Thank you everybody
