In his new feature film, “Chocolate City”, director and writer Jean-Claude LaMarre presents a “fun” and playful side to his artistic imagination. “Chocolate City” is a hot new dance movie about a young man named Michael (Robert Ri’chard) a.k.a “Sexy Chocolate” who is going through some unexpected pressures while hiding his new profession from his mother (Vivica A. Fox) and girlfriend (Imani Hakim). The film’s co-stars include: Michael Jai White, Tyson Beckford, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Comedian DeRay Davis and Eurika Pratts. We sat down with Jean-Claude LaMarre at his studio to discuss the making of “Chocolate City” and why he thinks this is his best film.
Los Angeles Sentinel (Maleena Lawrence): What inspired you to write the screenplay “Chocolate City”?
Jean-Claude LaMarre: I met a lot of guys who were legitimately dancing. It fit their lifestyle and mindset. The world that I painted was an amalgamation of different experiences of people that I had seen during my little two-week trial into the world of the male exotic dancer.
LAS: What special attributes make “Chocolate City” worth seeing?
JCL: It’s sensual. I think we are living in a period where women and their sexuality are moving more towards the forefront now. Let’s talk specifically about African-American women. I think the African American female’s sexuality has been exploited to a large extent for the entertainment and pleasure of white men historically and black men as well. Yet, I think their sexual desires have been discouraged.
Now with social media, it’s given African-American women a lot more freedom to be sexual. There’s an argument made whether that it is a good or bad thing but nonetheless it’s happening. Like twerking to use, as a case in point, is an expression of something bigger and it comes out of the African American female experience. We can trace it back to Africa but it is reflective of something even deeper. It’s an expression of sex and sensuality. These kinds of expressions are becoming more prevalent and prominent. This movie (Chocolate City) comes at a very good time in the exploration of the Black woman’s sexual desires.
LAS: “Chocolate City” is quite different from your previous films, what do want the audience to connect with once they watch this movie?
JCL: First of all, I think it’s a good movie because it’s a good story. It stands on that alone. In terms of the more explicit content in the film it aims at a specific mainstream African American female demo. It’s not too racy but racy enough. I think you’ll watch the movie as a black woman and be entertained, hot and bothered. Unlike “Magic Mike” where all men didn’t feel comfortable watching because it played more homo than heterosexual. In this film we’re dealing with a lot of alpha males (Tyson Beckford, Michael Jai White, Darrin Dewitt Henson). It’s more masculine. Interestingly enough, you can bring your boyfriend, husband or fiancé to see it because it’s that kind of movie.
LAS: What is the overall message in “Chocolate City”?
JCL: When you talk about the Black Family structure, most households are led by black women—the relationship between the mother and her children is an important relationship. In this movie there is no dad but I wanted to show the closeness of the mom and the son. And how that relationship is so important. Our main character had a lot of respect for his Mom. He cared deeply about what she thought about him dancing. Which was pretty much my experience too because my mom would of killed me. When you’re 17 or 18, all you think about is money and the character in the movie wanted to help his mom.
LAS: How was it working with such a talented and attractive cast?
JCL: Everybody was great. To be honest with you, I have a fairly good idea of whom I wanted to hire. I was an actor. I have known Vivica A. Foxx, Michael Jai White, Robert Ri’chard, Eurika Pratts for some time. And I have a good sense of who they are as people.
LAS: In comparison to your previous productions, why was directing “Chocolate City” different?
JCL: As an Independent filmmaker, when you factor in limited resources, confined budgets, limited access to real talent as far as actors, there is a struggle as far as to make our idea into reality. If the idea is bigger than your budget then the final product you wind up with is a version of what you wanted to make but not really what you set out to make. That’s always the balance and struggle. Even dealing with my past films, I really wanted to make a cool western but I didn’t have the money and you find yourself fitting a peg into a square. But, with this movie, I think I achieved it—balance. It was the right budget for the right story. I was able to bring what I envisioned conceptually and on the page to the screen. By that definition this is probably my best film.
LAS: In the fast pace world of new media, what should today’s filmmakers keep in mind when creating authentic content?
JCL: For me the universe in the last 15 years has opened up tremendously and the wealth of information that’s out there now, there is no reason not to be armed with information and knowledge. We can put fancy labels but at the end of the day, we are storytellers. Dig and find those interesting stories and go tell them with the world.
LAS: From concept to creation, what is the most important part of the filmmaking process?
JCL: I am a writer and director. I am so close to the material. Ultimately, the casting choice comes down to what I perceive the characters to be. The filmmaking process is a collaborative effort. The producer, production team all have a say in the final outcome but it is the director who sets the tone.
The process of making a film by its very nature is collaborative. The clearer the vision of the director, the easier the process.
LAS: Why did you choose the path of being an independent filmmaker?
JCL: There’s an old expression where I am from, I grew up in Brooklyn when I got in the states that says, “Real recognize real”. Anybody who is in the business of making films who knows of me expresses these same feelings. And these are feelings of admiration, mutual respect for what it is I am doing. I think you think of legacy 40 years from now. Every movie is someone’s favorite movie. You have to be aware of the fact that as a filmmaker you speak volumes when you create this art form. Making movies is not like a painting that you stick in the closet. Gang of Roses, I sold to 12 African territories so that a movie has an afterlife way beyond the American market. You’re touching people with your story and to me that’s a huge responsibility and it’s fun.
I never started out doing this. I was going to go to law school. Then Spike Lee saw me and said he liked the way I look and would I be interested in being in this movie. I said, “Nah, I’m cool. I’m not interested”. I asked him, “What movie was it?” He said, “It’s a movie called Malcolm X”. He kept on me and I eventually did the movie. I ain’t looked back to law school since.
LAS: What’s next for Jean Claude LaMarre?
JCL: I am working on this script called Black Winter. It’s a black Nazi story. I got a Caribbean movie, the Wedding Guest List that I want to make to explore the full breadth of the Black experience. We’re not just slavery or civil rights. And of course, “Chocolate City” hits nationwide theaters on May 22, 2015. It’s a film is for everyone.
LAS: How does Jean-Claude LaMarre, an Independent Filmmaker stay at the top of his game?
JCL: First lets describe what Indie is—Independent is independent of control. I think that is fundamentally the heart of what this is all about for me. I could of gotten a studio deal along time ago. I remember my agent called me up with my first studio offer, which was a movie called “Soul Plane” and I turned it down because it wasn’t anything I wanted to do. For me, we are in the business of telling stories (writers, producers, directors). I appreciate the African American community because that is the community that raised me but I grew up in a small village on an island in Haiti. Give or take 1,000 people, I grew up only knowing Black doctors, Black lawyers and my president was Black long before it was popular. So, I did not meet my first white person until I got on a plane at the age of seven to come here. I literally did not see a white person till then and he was the pilot. Even though, I spent the bulk of my existence here in the U.S., the one thing I’ve always maintained is, wait a minute I grew up in a place where we can do this on our own. So the independent spirit comes out of that experience for me. The idea that in 1804, a group of slaves said, ‘I no longer want to be under your control’. And just like the slaves, it didn’t matter if they were governed for 500 years, have an amazing democracy, a series of corrupt dictatorships, or coup-after- coup. It was the ideas of we’re going to do this thing. The Haitian people were a beacon of hope for the rest of the Black Diaspora. And it doesn’t matter to me whether I make a good or bad movie. I want to make a good movie but ultimately I want the liberty to make my movie. So, I don’t have a choice, it runs through my blood to be independent.
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