The Knockturnal was on the scene at the world premiere of “Like A Boss” starring Tiffany Haddish and Salma Hayek! The film comes out this Friday, January 10th. You do not want to miss it.
Best friends Mia and Mel (Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne) are living their best lives running their own cosmetics company they’ve built from the ground up. Unfortunately, they’re in over their heads financially, and the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the cosmetics industry Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) proves too tempting to pass up, putting Mel and Mia’s lifelong friendship in jeopardy. The beauty business is about to get ugly. The film also stars Billy Porter, Jennifer Coolidge, Ari Graynor, Natasha Rothwell, Jessica St. Clair, and Karan Soni.
Check out our exclusive interviews!
The Knockturnal: We all know this is a comedy, but behind every comedy is truth, and I feel like there is an underlying message behind the film; of really being your own boss, and women of color going after what they want. What advice do you have for women of color watching this who might want to pursue their own thing, whatever it is?
Tiffany Haddish: I say definitely pursue your own lane, do not delay, do not say “oh I don’t know if they’ll let me,” do it. Do it, invest in yourself, believe in yourself, the only way to create generational wealth is to have ownership. Own your business, create your thing, even if you fail, f*** it! Like, so what? Do it, do it again, do it in a different way. But there’s success and failures. You learn from those. Like, that’s how you become stronger. If you’re afraid to make mistakes, then you’ll never move. You’ll never move. You wasn’t afraid when you learned how to walk. Right? You gotta move, create, create. Do not be afraid to have your own. Create generations of wealth, you gonna create these babies? Create something they can inherit.
Billy Porter: Do the work. Do the work. Whatever it takes, you do the work. No is not an option. And you keep showing up every day. Get out of bed, put one foot in front of the other. Do one thing every day, that gets you to where you want to be. And you’ll be fine. I am living proof of that.
The Knockturnal: Tell us about your character.
Karan Soni: [I play] Salma’s assistant who is basically very jaded and mean and I take my anger out on Rose and Tiffany, and that’s my whole thing, and it’s really fun. I just got to be mean to Rose and Tiffany the whole movie. I wore some very dope tracksuits.
The Knockturnal: Have you had any real-life experiences or encountered any at your previous jobs?
Karan Soni: I’ve been assistants to people for short stints, I’ve been fired a bunch. I’ve mainly just worked in restaurants, and so that’s like my main, struggle bus situation. But I’ve been assistants to people, so it’s easy for me to tap into that, yeah!
The Knockturnal: Now this movie is all about entrepreneurship, and finding your own path and going against the grain of what’s already been established. Do you have any advice for upcoming entrepreneurs who might be watching this film?
Karan Soni: Yeah, I think it’s important not to limit yourself. If someone tries to tell you not to do something, then you should do it if you feel strongly about it. Most people that I went to high school with are like doctors and lawyers and businesspeople now, because I went to high school in India, so it was always stacked against me to be here and I think I would just say if you feel strongly about it then just work hard and then don’t take no for an answer and if you find people that support you, just try to be with them versus people that are like telling you not to do something.
The Knockturnal: What has been your favorite part of this whole filming process?
Karan Soni: My favorite part was something we didn’t have on set, but we would have potlucks at Tiffany’s house every Sunday – we filmed at Atlanta, so away from home and every Sunday she would basically have us come over and she would cook us chicken and we would bring different foods and we would just eat our faces off and it was great. We were all there and we’re getting to hang out and bond with each other. It was great.
Ryan Jamaal Swain attended to support his Pose co-star Billy Porter.
The Knockturnal: Can you speak about people the importance of entrepreneurship in the community?
Ryan Jamaal Swain: I think as people of color, we have been told you have to be greater than, better than, so many times, but when we have the opportunity to be, we then don’t have the tools, the literacy, financial literacy, the intellectual prowess, but I think what is so brilliant about this movie … I went to Howard University, I went to a school where black excellence has been at the forefront of everything, and I think what is so catapulted into this now, is that you have to realize that in order for us to tell our stories authentically and the way that we need to, we have to be the ones wielding the pen, we need to be the CEO’s, the COO’s in order for us to get it right … for me I think it’s so important because what that does is just ushers in a new generation and a new generation of wealth, you know? Jay-Z talks about it, Beyoncé talks about it, Nipsey Hussle, just about … educating yourself on that, and then going forward and applying it to your community.
The Knocturnal: What was the highlight of working on this movie?
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7HK3RogcYU/
Rose Byrne: Working with these women was so special, you know? It’s not often that you get such a great cast of women and it was really fun! Not that I don’t love working with men too … it was a really specific genre that I was excited to do.
The Knockturnal: Behind every comedy is some truth. An underlying message in the film is really going out and being your own boss. What advice do you have for women who are trying to be entrepreneurs?
Rose Byrne: Be careful of people like Salma, because her character incredibly duplicitous and not to be trusted but to be smart about it, and if you’re going into business with friends just make sure you know what you’re doing, I would have to say.
The Knockturnal: What else are you looking forward to in 2020?
Rose Byrne: I’m from Australia and there’s terrible fires back home right now, I’m really looking forward to that being over and for the rain to come so it can be taken care of because the people are losing their homes and lives and wildlife, about a half a billion wildlife has been killed, so if anyone has even a dollar to donate to any of the foundations, it would be incredible. It’s on my Instagram page @FullyRoseByrne, I’ve listed a few of them that you could go to, even a dollar if you have the means.
The Knockturnal: What are you looking forward to this year?
Gia Gunn: Honestly for me as a trans activist that is out there fighting for all types of women, this 2020, my biggest tip is to just stay true to yourself and pay no mind to those who aren’t paying your bills, because honestly 2020, it’s all about us embracing us, it’s all about women coming together, women of color honey, yes 2020, period. And yeah I just want to see all types of business take off this year, all types of dreams come true, and honestly just all sorts of people to discover themselves and us come together as a community.
The Knockturnal: What do you have up next?
Gia Gunn: It’s so amazing when people can just be themselves and be embraced for who they are, I think for so long we also have told ourselves these stories that we can do certain things or we can’t do certain things or that we don’t deserve certain things or that only a certain demographic does this or does that, but here in 2020 I think we’re learning that you know what there is no race, there is no gender, there is no sexuality, there are no boundaries it’s literally just about us as humans being us and us as women, also not only us being women but us also being respected as the women that we are.
The Knockturnal: Do you have any new projects that you’re working on?
Gia Gunn: Baby, I got podcasts coming up, I got one woman shows coming, I got lots of content coming, I got bilingual content coming up, I’m a fluent Spanish speaker.
The Knockturnal: We stan a bilingual queen!
Gia Gunn: Yes! So I’m really looking forward to connecting with more of my Latin community this year and also showing the world who I truly am as the pro-trans woman that I am.
The Knockturnal: What are your 2020 goals?
Jimmy Yang: Invest in yourself.
Ryan Hansen: Invest in yourself!
The Knockturnal: Also do you have any favorite moments from filming?
Jimmy Yang: Dance rehearsal was very fun! That was our first day and we had a big dance rehearsal with the full cast and we got to meet everyone, and what better way to meet all of these superstars than to dance with them?
Ryan Hansen: Sure, it’s cut from the movie, our dancing, but hey, we had a full day of dance rehearsal, and we still know the moves!
The Knockturnal: Can you guys tell me a little bit about your characters?
Jimmy Yang: We play Ron and Greg, I’m not sure who’s Ron and who’s Greg anymore.
Ryan Hansen: We don’t know who’s who, but I don’t think it matters. We’re just a pair of douchey guys–
Jimmy Yang: Douchey guys!
Ryan Hansen: That own a cosmetic line called Get Some!
The Knockturnal: What advice do you have for people who want to be their own boss?
Langanja Estranja: I think the most important thing you can do as a boss is be fierce. Being fierce isn’t necessarily being mean or being rich, I think fierce to me is someone who’s in control, someone who knows exactly what they want, they know how they’re going to get it, and most importantly they’re able to communicate. Communication is key in being a boss. If you can’t get your team to work for you, you’re up Sh*t’s Creek.
The Knockturnal: What new projects are you working on right now?
Langanja Estranja: Sure, well I am definitely an artist, a jack of all trades, so this year I’m really focused on my music. I released a couple of singles within the last year, but this year I’ll finally be releasing my full EP, I’m also known for my cannabis advocacy, so I’ll be launching a brand new edible with Fruit Slabs this year. Definitely lookout, and just, in general, I’m looking to rebrand. I think people know me as just a drag queen but I’m a choreographer, a stylist, a makeup artist, I do it all. So this year I really want to explore the different avenues and not just be so focused on Langanja, the character from season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The Knockturnal: What are you working on this year?
Natalie Odell: I have a show called The Scholarship, with my best friend Young Ezee, it’s actually doing really good, it’s on The Zeus Network, it’s about the struggles of getting a scholarship and there’s a lot of twists and turns, it highlights the struggles in the LGBTQ community, and just every type of community, honestly. It covers everything, and it’s a comedy but it has some serious notes in it as well.
The Knockturnal: And so this movie is all about entrepreneurship. What tips do you have for women of color who are interested in being their own boss?
Natalie Odell: Well, first of all, being a woman of color, it already gives you the drive to be a boss anyway, you just have to have the self-confidence to do it, put yourself out there, never let anyone tell you no, and just whatever you decide you want to do, be consistent with it.
