Session 35
Session 35 brought to you by Crystal Wright-Johnson. She decided to bring her at home girls nights and little sister big brother conversations to your ears. While collaborating with other hosts, they plan to be authentic and have real conversations. You may relate, learn, disagree, laugh or cry but we’ll be honest and true to who we are. This podcast wants to grow in ALL ways. So join the conversations and help us do that. New episodes on Wednesdays.
Session 35
Live From The Haunted Heist Premiere
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We’re on the ground at the Haunted Heist premiere, and you can hear it in our voices right away: the nerves, the excitement, and that feeling of stepping into a room where something big is happening. We talk to the cast as they come off the red carpet and get straight into what people actually want to know, how the roles came together, what surprised them on set, and how a comedy horror film finds the balance between laughs, scares, and a real haunted mystery vibe.
The best part of the night is our signature question, the “Session 35 moment,” the experience that changed the direction of your life. The answers go way beyond press lines: surviving a serious car accident and discovering purpose, living through loss and letting faith reshape how you show up for people, and the hard-earned confidence that comes from rebuilding your path. It’s a reminder that behind every performance is a person carrying a story.
Then we sit down with director and actor Lil Rel to talk independent filmmaking, casting stand-up comics who can truly act, and what it takes to stay organized enough to finish a feature on schedule. He also shares how mentors like Ava DuVernay and Shawn Levy helped him level up as a director, why improv can be gold on camera, and a real conversation about autism parenting and using comedy to tell the truth without turning pain into cheap jokes.
If you love film premieres, behind-the-scenes interviews, Detroit entertainment, comedy horror, or creator stories with real heart, press play now. Subscribe to Session 35 Podcast, share this with a friend who loves movies, and leave us a review telling us your own “Session 35 moment.”
Welcome To The Premiere Night
SPEAKER_01Court, cork, cork.
SPEAKER_06Happy Wednesday. Happy Wednesday.
SPEAKER_01What up everybody? You know I'm Crystal. Who is y'all? Oh, Keila.
SPEAKER_04She does just other stuff.
SPEAKER_01Right. She says she could. That's okay. We're gonna run it back. Hey y'all, this is Session 35 Podcast. I am Crystal. I'm Keila. I'm Jennifer. And I'm Kira. And we podcast. Yes, and we are here at the premiere for the Haunted Heights.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Eddie.
SPEAKER_01We're excited to meet the incredible cast and their crew. So we appreciate y'all for joining us tonight to come along with these interviews. Yes. So I hope y'all are ready for our show. Yeah, we're about to have a good time. I'm nervous.
Playing Joanna And Going Full Out
SPEAKER_01Hi, how are you doing? I was just talking all your social medias and all your pages. I'm looking you up for you. I'm Crystal.
SPEAKER_06I'm looking for Jennifer. Jennifer. And I'm Kira.
SPEAKER_01All right, you look beautiful. You look really pretty tonight.
SPEAKER_05Really, really pretty. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01No, but don't worry, we're running back.
SPEAKER_04Can you tell everybody your name and your roles in the film? Yes. I keep it. I played Joanna in the film, which is real his character twice.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I love when we play wise in the film. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Oh Lord.
SPEAKER_04How did you come up with this role? How did you come for this world? So Rail actually called me to audition. He was like, yo, I'll do your name in the hat for movies. Like, can you do a self-tech? Oh bad. I was headed off the spot. I was like, oh yeah, I said the same thing about tonight. No, he did it like an hour. I was like, Oh, okay, an hour. Okay. So I work on the script real quick. I call my friend LA, like, can you read for me off FaceTime? And then submitted the audition. It went to the spa. By the time I finished, I got a text that kind of was hinting at like, you got it. Like I was in the room when the producers watched the tape, and I was like, okay. That's it. So yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04Is that the quickest you ever done a role? Probably. Maybe, yeah. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01How much of your real personality is in the role? None.
SPEAKER_04Oh my god. Oh my god. When I watched it, I was like, who is she? Joanne is crazy, Joanne's out of pocket. I don't want to be getting out of pocket like that. People think I do it, but I'm like, no, my friends, but not no man.
SPEAKER_03That was a good acting then. Because it takes you out of your real character for real. So that's real good.
SPEAKER_04It was fun to do that, but it was like, I would never. Is there any cast member that kept laughing upset? Tiffany and Carlos. I would probably say Carlos the most, but Tiffany and Carlos. We was all sitting in Tiffany's room on lunch, and it was like, we forgot we had to film. We like, oh, we gotta get back to work. We just laughing, cracking jokes, sharing stories.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. What can that audience expect without you giving away any spoilers?
SPEAKER_04Without giving away spoilers, y'all know it's funny. I think it's something different. I feel like we don't particularly see this with this genre in black films. So I think that's kind of like the unexpected right there, just the the element of like horror and like the haunted kind of mystery antique type situation that's happening with it. Yeah, I think we don't typically see that. So I would say that. Yeah, and it's still it's still a movie based about friendship too. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh okay. So if you wasn't an actress, what would what what kind of career would you get into right now?
SPEAKER_04I was about to say, well, my mom and daddy, like, girl, where you go with this engineering degree? That's what you need to be doing. Oh no, she's smart. She's smart. So I guess I'll be doing that, but honestly, I'll be thinking about it. Like, I should have been a race car driver.
SPEAKER_01Really? Oh, oh, yes. Oh, so you'll be you'll be getting no speedy tickets on the road.
SPEAKER_04I do. I do. Oh, I was doing 101 this morning. I was like, girl, yeah. And I'll be switching lay like like I got that instinct. Oh wow. Like I really could have been a good race car driver.
SPEAKER_01Oh, no, I was saying something.
SPEAKER_04Is there anything else? Any other movie than a comedy movie? That I play, yes, like the BN other than a comedy movie? Wait, I'm sorry. What's your question? Other than a comedy movie. Have it. I don't want to.
SPEAKER_01Both. You can ask. You can ask or both.
SPEAKER_04I would, yeah, you know what? I really want to do drama. Even though I do comedy and when I do stand-up, I really want to do drama. Yeah, I got a show. That's why I was like, I gotta go in my show. I'm gonna run do a show and then I'm gonna come back for the movie. But I would I would love to do another comedy. I really want to play Regina Haw's Little Sister and something. So Kevin Hart, you wanna put that together? Please do that. Yeah. Please do that. And then I'm in another comedy show on the airport that'll be coming out in the fall. And then I have a show, Keys to the City, which I'm I think I could say it's going on to be in like a few weeks. So and that's a comedy, so that I wrote in Starty An.
SPEAKER_01So I know you gotta go, but before you go, we try to ask every past member this quick question. Okay. Um it's our signature question. Okay, session 35. What is the moment that it experienced that changed the direction of your life?
SPEAKER_04And an experience that changed the direction of my life. Good or bad. Gosh. I was a honestly when I was in my earring and failed. When I was in high school, I got into a really bad car accident. And I feel like it was like always new, you know God, you hear about it, you know, or not hear about it, but you know what I mean? Like I think that that really made me develop a relationship with God. Because it was like, okay, I know you're real. Like, yeah, I hear, oh, God is good, and I know, but then it was like, it's no way I should have made it out of this. And then it's like, okay, I got a purpose. So that kind of changed just my relationship with God, which when it strengthened that, it strengthened my faith, which you need in this industry to keep going. And then it also was like, oh, I really have a purpose, which almost made me like, I always knew I wanted to go into some field with computers, but I also was like, yo, I want to act. And like maybe that is really my purpose. And maybe you know that having having that platform will be able to reach out to young black girls or whomever and inspire them in a you know in a different way. And so I feel like that kind of changed, that changed me. And also, I always knew I wanted to act, but I think that was the moment where it was like, you should go after what you want to do, even though I still went to school, but you know, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, I thank you so much for spending time with us. Congratulations. Congratulations on the premiere. And don't forget us with Session 35 Podcast. Yes, please. Thank you, ladies. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_11Yes.
Grief, Faith, And Five Wisdom Rules
SPEAKER_11What the hell? You got us up in this creepy, dusty house. Man, this ain't no Airbnb. It's a B and E.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01You gotta write it for you. Um, not yet. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Hey, there we go. Hell of a writer.
SPEAKER_08Now, what y'all got going on?
SPEAKER_01Wait, I didn't say that. Oh, that's right. She said, uh-uh, I'm behind the scenes. I'm behind the scenes. She's behind the camera. Keep me going. Okay. I'm on Carrie networking behind the scenes, and I'm gonna write.
SPEAKER_08So I'm gonna see it moving. Hey, crystal writing, so y'all heard it, right?
SPEAKER_01I appreciate that. You know, before you go, uh-huh, we asked, we're gonna ask everyone. What was your session 35 moment? That's the experience that changed the direction of your life.
SPEAKER_07The change the direction of my life. Good or bad?
SPEAKER_08Okay, well, I'll say that when I lost my son.
SPEAKER_07But one thing I can say that my love grew stronger for God, you know, and I didn't blame him for none of it because, you know, we have to listen to him from our gut and not our ears. So it's just direction. So God gave his only begotten son, John 3.16. So I returned the angel that he foreseen for me to be a father to where he just could have been a blessing to just be a passerby or a friend. But he just saw that much more in me to be the father of one of his angels. So I returned my son. So that that made a great direction into my my life, my career, where I no longer at the end of my show do a big joke, but I leave people for words of wisdom. And I got five pieces. So I can five pieces of words of wisdom. So, of course, now I said I got it from God. I didn't make this up. So here we go. Um, first piece don't replace your attitude with anger, just replace those that make you angry. Ooh.
SPEAKER_08Second piece.
SPEAKER_03You know, we got that ooh, right?
SPEAKER_07I don't want that. Oh man. Second piece. If you want to be with the best, then be the best. That way the best will want to be with you. Third piece. There are two types of people on this earth. Make sure you neither and be unique. Fourth piece. A man don't want a woman he can't teach, but a woman don't want a man she can't learn from.
SPEAKER_03Oh, definitely.
SPEAKER_07And fifth piece, very important. In order for you to get the home that you love, you gotta first love the home that you're in. This home that I'm speaking of, you can't furnish it. It's your body, it's your temple. So let your castle resign in the kingdom of heaven by repenting of your sins and allowing God to leave and guide your life.
SPEAKER_03You don't know these things to be okay. My mind is a pen, my heart is a bed.
SPEAKER_01That's right. I love that.
SPEAKER_08I love it. So I tell shirt still in there, so don't put it too far. No.
SPEAKER_01I'll try that. I love that. I love that. Really? I know I said before you go, but I had another question too. Sure. Um, it's not your only your first film. How many times have you been in any films?
SPEAKER_07Oh I got on my IMBD, I got a lot of films. Some that didn't come out, but I think they're waiting for stuff like this. Yeah. So, you know, they wait for it. Yeah. Because I know I did one film with um Glenn Glenn Plummer. Okay, and it was called Pope. I wanted to really see that film.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So it might come out. No. Right.
SPEAKER_07But but I am working on a big, big, big thing. I'm working on it. And I can just say this much. Um, I know if I couldn't, but um I'm playing the great late Richard Pryor.
SPEAKER_08I'm just about to say, can you give us a little bit? I'll give you a little bit. I won't say I heard your first thing. You heard it. We heard your words.
SPEAKER_03Exclusive. Yeah. Exclusive.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, you can't somebody that uh got the uh Lisp and aid, they can't say the exclusive.
SPEAKER_08No, they cannot. They say crazy accents. No, but he goes a little rich. He goes a little rich.
SPEAKER_00You say, man, I just get down on the sea, honestly. I was gonna go down, right? You know what I'm saying? Man, I always had faith in the real rate. You know, I just think it down, baby. No, I ain't saying nothing to it. That's gonna be good. I'm looking forward to that.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so I'm looking forward to that. But thank you so much for spending time with us.
SPEAKER_07Oh, yes, and what's what's your podcast, you're on session 35 all the way live. Y'all better go on here, creating time.
SPEAKER_08I ain't saying nothing. Don't get in the feed out.
SPEAKER_01Okay, congratulations on the premiere. We really appreciate you because I'm loving us and look forward to working with you, seeing you again August 2nd to August 8th.
SPEAKER_08There we go. All of a sudden all we late. Prestige Entertainment, continue here at House of Live. What I'm talking about. You get your tickets at www.theprestigedroit.com.
SPEAKER_01Okay, right here, thank you so much, right? Thank you so much for doing it. I appreciate you. I'm going. That's gonna be fun. That's gonna be lit, ladies. That's a local artist, that's somewhere where you can stop and go have some fun. All right.
Red Carpet Energy And Horror Favorites
SPEAKER_01Jason, why are you being like that? We're gonna have to bring Jason in on the show so he can explain why he's been yelling at us. He needs to make one yellow phone. Oh, he did a couple of times. He needs to make one of those Netflix documentary. Right when he sitting down and say section 35. Yeah, that's what he needs to make. He's gonna do a tell off. He wanted closer to us. Can you hear me, Jason? Yeah, like right here. Yeah, you seen it on the air. Yeah, so so far we have interviewed Martini Harris and Leticia. Like, I want to go see him. I had saw a couple clips of him doing comedy and it seemed real funny. So we definitely step out one time to one. Yeah, yeah. That's good. You knew what it was. I won't be able to do it all day. I won't be able to do a seven, I will be able to do the eighth. Where are you gonna be? It depends on the time. My high school 20 year reunion. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Wait, the the party party or the kickment? Don't nobody care.
SPEAKER_01We could be your presence. She ain't got a husband. Y'all are silly. All right, y'all. So what are we trying to talk about? I wanna so how much have are y'all going to low we hear now? So we talk about how we hear at a live premiere. We hear it first. We are hitting up on a bar chair. Oh my god. We need to do a network documentary on how I'm getting constantly abused. You already did not post about it, though. She's a manipulator. She is the abuser, y'all. We the old ones over here getting our witnesses. I have witnesses.
SPEAKER_06But this is uh this is a big experience I've had in a while.
SPEAKER_05Happy we were picking this.
SPEAKER_01Yes, think about how many people looked at to do this if we were chosen. We were chosen. We were the chosen one. We were the chosen one. Yes, it's live in here. I wish I'd have the red carpet, y'all. Well, we took pictures on the red carpet my first time. On the red carpet. We feel like we like the BT awards and shit.
SPEAKER_03It does feel that way. So it does.
SPEAKER_01Y'all better get ready. What you mean? Get ready.
unknownGet ready.
SPEAKER_01Y'all better get ready because it feels that way. I know. So a haunted heights is a comedy horror. Right. I think of that as like a spoof, like the scary movies and stuff like that. Yeah. Do y'all have a favorite comedy horror movie? You know what's crazy? I I don't care enough and watch TV. So I don't even think she should be included in anything, but I watch these. And if she's here talking to you about movies that I don't watch, are you saying for the movie? Because you're gonna be forced to watch a movie here. She or she tells them all my business. This is what I also scary movies either. But I do scary fun, but it's comedy. I think that's one reason why I'm like it. But I do have a scary movie that I do love. Okay, what is it? Well, yeah, I like it. I don't love it. When I tell y'all not, it's a scary movie or a comedy. Scary. No, it's actually just a scary movie. And a lot of people say when I say it, they be like, it's not scary. It's not scary. See, I do. I've never seen those. 13 ghosts. Like, I don't remember that. So 13 goals. So it was like it was like in the basement of this house, or if it was like, I don't know what it was, I can't remember. But it was like all of these spirits, all these personalities were down in the basement. And it was like 13 of them. Oh, you gotta watch it. I feel like I've heard of it, but I don't know that. So I'm in black and white. Don't do this. So it's it has a great like it has a great plot to it. I love scary movies. If I'm gonna watch a scary movie, I want it has to have a good plot to it. It just can't have all that killing and stuff in it and spirits and stuff. I can't be they're gonna be killing people in horror movies. See, that's what see y'all talking about real scary movies. I said assault comedy. I'm not talking about real horror movies. I said comedy, comedy horror. I don't need like scream from okay. I think my favorites would be scary movie. Well, I guess what I mean, scary movie. It was a scary movie. I can agree with you. And scary that's what I thought was a recent one. That's because they're the only type of ones y'all seen. No. Okay, have you seen a different one? Uh-oh. So I don't watch them. I mean, you guys just say I only watched. I don't really watch it either. She only watched me. Me too. Me too. I get in trouble when I talk to my husband. Why? Because you be screaming at the TV. You be here at the TV gym. That's why I can see all y'all. I pulled my phone up on the charges. Yeah, Jim, that's what you be here in the meeting last night. You can watch a girl on TV. No. No. She called the meeting last night and I write no. Yeah, you don't think it's crazy? You're gonna write a love story. I'm writing love stories or drama. I know it. Well, the drama heartbreaker. I can do a rhom palm make and drama story for me. I'll give it to you. Yes, ma'am. Okay, I can give it to you. Try in a minute. You give me one word, I can give you 20 pages of that one word. Shut up. Now we'll ever be coming out with our birthday. What? Who needs a paper reader? I'll be the producer. Okay. Productions. There we go. Yes. We can get it done. We got any um directors. Y'all come on hit us up. Okay.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_01She's gonna write actor at the end. Our bosses are in the middle. And I'm gonna write that boy. Okay. Yes. So y'all still didn't say nothing about no round custom. Y'all have not seen no comedy horror movies. I'll be a scary movie. I don't think so. But I can't remember off the top of my head. Who's writing again down?
SPEAKER_04Me.
SPEAKER_11I'm gonna be the first one to die.
SPEAKER_10I can't believe ghosts are real.
SPEAKER_11That means my grandma's a ghost. She'd be in the house and she probably see me. Putting that peanut butter on your balls and letting the dog lick it off. Shut up, Shari.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for stopping by Section 35 Podcast. That's for you. Just keep it in your hand. No, I'm just gonna give it to him, but we don't share. Here you go. How are you doing?
From MMA To Acting With Improv
SPEAKER_00I'm well, how are you?
SPEAKER_01Good. Thanks for stopping by with us. Not a problem. I'm Crystal. We're Section 35 Podcasts, by the way. But I'm Crystal. Nice to meet you everyone. I'm Teela. I'm Jennifer. And I'm Kira.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. I'm Taiwan McLittle.
SPEAKER_01Can you tell everybody? Yes. Please tell us the role you play in the film.
SPEAKER_02I'm looking here, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01You can look at us and write the right thing. Okay, okay. Just talk to us. No problem. All right.
SPEAKER_02So I play, I play handyman film.
SPEAKER_01Handyman. Yes. Okay. I am.
SPEAKER_02Well, I can't really give it all the way to you, but let's just say that I'm spicy in the film. How about that?
SPEAKER_03Okay, wait, all right, wait. That's the best way to play. That's the best way. Okay.
SPEAKER_02I'm sorry. It is.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02It is. I was very uh surprised that I got this. I was like, wow. Because I normally get action kind of stuff, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02Do you like comedy? I do.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02I'm surprisedly well at conveying comedy on screen. People don't know that because I get all the action stuff, like a lot of text symbols stuff, that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Alright.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So can you give us a time where something funny or memorable happened on set? All right.
SPEAKER_02I'll give you the exact thing that happened on set. I don't know if you know how this happens in the goals, right? Okay. But uh, you know, we we get uh email from our agent, we answer the email and we see that you know alert, right? So when we get the email, if it says urgent, we already know it's something something's big. So this email came with, hey, you you wanna do well on this. Anyway, booksy study my lines and get the set. Little rail goes to about four takes with me and says at the at the last take, oh, we're gonna throw out everything. We're gonna throw all the lines. Let's just say what you want to say.
SPEAKER_01I was not gonna say.
SPEAKER_02Well, so again, if you know how this goes as an actor, we don't know what makes it in the film.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. So when y'all see the premiere, y'all see it for the first time because you see it with us. Okay. Anything.
SPEAKER_02What I'll say a couple of producers have approached me and said, hey, we gave you your ado on this one. So I'm like, oh my God, let's see if they done it. That's good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But you already told me that I can't act that real time.
SPEAKER_02I am engaged. I am an engaged man. Kelly Santiago's trying to be Kelly Sciatic on this little. So once upon a time, you got a mouth on the life yet to like kinda was like this road. Okay.
SPEAKER_01So it was kind of easy. It was kind of easy for you. A little bit.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_01That always made me better.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that made me. So when you think when you say improved, it wasn't that bad.
SPEAKER_05So before you came and after, what was your career?
SPEAKER_02I was a fighter. My last one was a fighter. That's why I got this cat tea for it. The Igor ear is that's what it's like.
SPEAKER_01So you were a fighter?
SPEAKER_02Yes. Oh yeah. Once I dropped out of college, I started fighting. Then I stopped fighting to be acting.
SPEAKER_01UFC fighter?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, mixed martial arts.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Mixed martial arts. Yeah. About three years, Bellator in Canada. Yeah. Yep. I was training up to it and then got injured, and that's how I got into acting.
SPEAKER_01Because you got injured?
SPEAKER_02Because I got injured.
SPEAKER_01That's so different. Like that's a big change.
SPEAKER_02My sister-in-law, my former sister-in-law, my sister pumped my head up to be an act. She said, I have the looks to do it, I should do it. And I was just like, nah, nah.
SPEAKER_01Big up to her. You owe her big money and big checks and everything.
SPEAKER_02Oh, she already has a management role.
SPEAKER_01I love her. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02In the future for sure. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Was it hard for you to prepare for this character? I've been doing this for about nine, ten years.
SPEAKER_02So I'm pretty, I would consider myself a vet. I was fine until he said, throw the lines out. And I was like, oh. Uh oh. Improv, right? Improv. Yep. So if I don't know what you're seeing in this film, but I know a lot of it is improv if you s if I'm in the film a lot.
SPEAKER_01Which cast members kept y'all laughing on set? Right.
SPEAKER_02Oh man. So I'm I I'm gonna say I like Lakeisha and I like Lil Rail himself, was funny. She was I like Lil'Rail and Carrie, just the background of what they were Carrie's was a right. Right. What what they were saying in the background was hilarious. Yeah, so yeah.
SPEAKER_01Can you give us something that that was funny that happened on set?
SPEAKER_02Yes, so I I guess I could say this. I was grabbing something hot okay with the unmitted hand. Oh so like and I did it twice. So it was like, and both of those things I killed the tape, but obviously we have to do it over because I grabbed something out the uh the oven with my with your bare hand. Uh huh. Oh wow. I'm I mean I'm being spotted because I gotta pick and say what I because I'm gonna look for that part.
SPEAKER_01I got you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but I think it's there because they've been approaching me about it. So okay, yeah, oh man, I'm gonna say it's between it's a time between King Batch and Carlos Miller.
SPEAKER_01Really? Yeah, and before you go, what can the audience expect without giving any spoilers? Just invite the film in whole.
SPEAKER_02A cohesive, a complete work project that came together on an independent budget and it all worked out. It all nurses. Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_01That is a blessing. And I got one more question before you go.
SPEAKER_02Sure, sure.
SPEAKER_01So we're asking our uh all the cast the signature question because this is about session 35 podcasts. What is your session 35 moment? Which is what is the moment that changed the direction of your life?
SPEAKER_02Oh wow, ooh, damn. Yeah, what kind of podcast is this?
SPEAKER_01Yes, everything.
SPEAKER_02What I'm saying is that what what what rated is it? Like, is it Detroit? What is it? We're in Detroit. We're in Detroit. Damn. All right, I guess this is Detroit. Well, okay, put it like this. It started off bad and it turned out good. Okay. So uh I went to federal prison.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_02And while marijuana conspiracy, but while I was in there for those years, I had aspirations to do this. I visualized myself doing this. So here I am. So I'm gonna say that was a pivotal milestone turning turning point moment.
SPEAKER_01Literally turning training.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yep. You can do anything with that time. I did somewhere else. I did those five years, and I said, Hey, I'm gonna come out and I'm gonna do what I dreamed on how I left the game alone. I haven't lived back since 20 years.
SPEAKER_01That's good. Yes, that's good. Any what's your next upcoming project?
SPEAKER_02Um, so I have uh well, I'm not branding, I got several, but so I have Creature Jackson, that is my own action film. Okay, because that's kind of like my pedigree. I do action films, right? If you want to watch something right now, I mean what about your friends? That's okay.
SPEAKER_01That's on my list.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah. Yes, yes, on Amazon Prime. Yep. And I just booked, well, I can't even say. So if you didn't know anything about acting, we can't say, even though we know even though it's signed, uh-huh, we have gag orders. So I'm just gonna wait and say, stay tuned for Taiwan, Nick Little in the future.
SPEAKER_01I love that. Yeah, I love that. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for stopping by, kicking with Session 35 podcast. Pointly, you have to say it. Who's your favorite new podcast?
SPEAKER_02Oh, session 35 for sure.
SPEAKER_01Y'all keep going on it. Okay, congratulations on the premiere. We look forward to seeing you and many more things that you're doing at night on field.
SPEAKER_02Appreciate you, appreciate it. Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_02No problem. Well, give us a chance.
SPEAKER_01Me, I thank you, thank you.
Why These Stories Hit So Deep
SPEAKER_01Look at that, y'all. That was nice. That was so dope. Yes, like to hear the experiences that these actors and actresses are having, like, it's so inspiring. You know, I love how when we asked our signature question, everybody had this pivotal moment that God like clearly stepped in on the yard. So far, everybody changed everybody. Because he changed life. Yes, amen. Because he is real. Okay, you better say it. And he said he's in the film, what about your friends? Something having changed that. That's actually, I think that's on to be. I seen it on my list. And somebody else is in that film that I know. I can't remember exactly. Did it just come out of something? No.
SPEAKER_05Y'all see Lorena.
SPEAKER_01Y'all is the director. Yes. He directors, actor, director, producer, producer, the man of the hour. Y'all remember them? So we hope we get a chance to talk to them. Which one?
SPEAKER_06Oh, yes. That was a good movie. That was such a good movie. That was his friend that was taken care of everyone last week.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yes, yes. That was a real good movie. Yes. Oh, that was real good. It was different.
SPEAKER_06Comedy like Uncle Drew.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was thinking. I love to make it out. He wasn't getting out of it. That was very scary. And I would never watch that again. I was too. But you know what? That was a creepy. That's a very movie. I'm jumping out of my kiddie. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_11There's gotta be some dark stuff in here that can help us out.
SPEAKER_09It is time for our unholy communion.
SPEAKER_11Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01I think it's your uh no right here. Right there. Right in the movie, he's plumber. Here you go.
Directing Haunted Heights With Lil Rel
SPEAKER_01How about you? Why are you session thirty five? We're session thirty five podcasts on Crystal. Y'all heard that.
SPEAKER_00No, I was looking forward to talking to you.
SPEAKER_01I'm just so happy to okay, yes. Okay. I'm gonna let you off my first. I'm stuck. How you doing, this is I'm Jennifer. Hey Jennifer. Hi, I'm Laquila. Hey Laquila. And I'm Crystal. Hey Crystal. How you doing? I'm good. So um we know that you are an actor in the film and you directed the film. This is your film. What inspired this story or this type of project?
SPEAKER_09Um, you know something just um first of all, I was happy somebody would let me direct the feature. And so shout out to Sean and Josh, who I did uh the movie The Mill with that's on Hulu. I did that with them first, and then they called me and said, Hey man, have you thought about directing? I was like, Yeah, and it's like, well, we have a high idea of you know 100 heists and we got Carl Reed writing it, and we want to bring you in to help us put this thing together. I was like, all right, let's do it. And also, I was excited too because I really wanted to cast standard comics that can act, and that was a big deal to me. And so, like, being able to get like some Detroit comics in here, Martini Harris, Joe Blunt, Chicago comic, Tara Terra, yeah. Keisha, I didn't know Keisha was from Detroit until like, and she's been on the road with me until like maybe around the time we started doing this. I'm like, You from Detroit? And so she came here and stayed with her mama while we were shooting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love that.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, so it's it's a good group, and it was so much fun to do. And you know, you got Carlos Miller, like this, like his first breakout road, you know what I'm saying? Who've been killing the 85 South and touring and doing his thing, and then Tiffany Haddish is one of my best friends. She's a big part why we got the funding. It's like, if you can get Tiffany, we'll get you the money. I was like, Okay, and she didn't even let me finish asking her the question before she said yes. That's a friend, and then same thing with you. I called everybody, like personally, I believed in you, everybody did. Like all I picked up the phone, yeah.
SPEAKER_01We heard that, we heard that. So, how did you prepare to step into this role?
SPEAKER_09Um, I reached out to so Ava DuVernay, which yeah, no, Ava, she was one of my mentors for this. I called her to when I was directing my first film. Shout out to her, man, because she's a very busy person, and she picked up the phone and sat on the phone with me for like two or three hours and just gave me a bunch of notes and things to look out for and to do. And then Sean Levy, who I did that movie Free Guy, with uh with Ryan Reynolds, and he does Stranger Things, and he was another mentor of mine. He picked up the phone, man, and like sent me their shot list and all these different things. So it was I had a big big time directors helped me prepare for this. Okay, yeah, what separate yourself?
SPEAKER_05No, how did you focus from being a director to be actually playing the role?
SPEAKER_09That's a great question. Um it wasn't easy, you know what I mean? Because I like to like dive into characters most of the time, like I like become the character, like while I'm shooting something. This one was a little complicated because I I had to do both at the same time, so I made sure I casted myself with one of the easier characters to play, that it have to do all like some of the stuff that the other characters had to, so it was a lot. Yeah, I cheated. I cheated, so so I made it a lot easier, but I like being busy on sets, so like to constantly be. I don't even know if I slept for real. Man, I it was every I took the script home, did rewrites because you know, you got these comedians here who like gave us so many different versions of what we thought we was doing, so I had to do rewrites to adjust to what they were doing, you know what I'm saying? So I don't know if I slept. Yeah, no, I really don't, but I was having so much fun. I like I love this, like it didn't feel like birthday.
SPEAKER_05What do you like? Like more comedies, or what do you like to write?
SPEAKER_09I want to be the comedy guy. Ava said that to me. She said, Look, real, nobody has like most directors do comedy so they can do other stuff. Which, if you watch, that's what happens most of the time. Nobody's like, I'm the comedy guy. She's like, that space is wide open. I was like, Well, here we go. And so, you know, it's it's you know, outside of this, I start my next project in the next maybe four or five weeks that I'm directing and producing. It's a limited series that it's a big announcement with that that who I'm doing it with, so it's a big deal. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're all night. I love it, I love it. We're coming to cover that too. What was the hardest part about bringing this film to life?
SPEAKER_09Um, it wasn't that it was. I I think pre-production was hard, was the most difficult part because I wanted to make sure we were organized enough so we didn't go over our days. So we didn't. We decided 18 days, we made our 18 days. We didn't go over, we didn't do anything over, and so that's because of the the preparing ahead of time. That was something Ava and both Sean told me to do. Like Sean Levy, when I did free guy, he was so organized, and we had like people walking around with flamethrowers and all types of stuff, and I was like, damn, he's really organized. So that was very important to me to really be very organized, and we had such a great crew, man, man, everybody was amazing, and and was all bought into it. And when everybody's bought in, man, you tell you move at a great pace, and we was able to get everything done. But that was the only thing that was I was a little nervous about was making sure we could pull some of this stuff off too on our budget, so like even just some of the special effects, like rewriting things so it's more practical. So honestly, I watched a lot of old horror movies to look at some of the practical effects that wasn't like all the big, you know, glamorous uh things you could afford things, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That was one of the funniest things that happened on set.
SPEAKER_09Funny things that have it on set, especially, especially with Tiffany. Tiffany, Tiffany had it just all energy, man. Like she and she's funny all the time. I mean, that's really the funny thing. She made everybody loose, which I one day, like because we got you know, uh towards the end of I had to tell the uh crew before she came in, like, look, y'all, I know she gets all y'all excited, y'all start singing and dancing. We got a hard day today. You gotta kind of ignore a little bit. Okay, we gotta get through the day, so yeah.
SPEAKER_01Your personality is in your role.
SPEAKER_09Um, well, a lot of it, really. I mean, like the way my character's irritated is kind of how I am in real life. This irritated dad energy, that's what I have. Right, yeah, ooh, that's a great question. Damn, ooh. It's hard not to say get, it's hard not to say get out. It's hard not to say get out. I mean, like, get out is my favorite. No, well, because I love doing Uncle Drew because I'm a big basketball fan, and so working with those NBA legends and like talking to me about in-between takes about basketball was crazy. Like, you asked Reggie Miller, why even Michael Jordan got to that fight and he'd tell you what happened, you're like, for real. So it but I got all the real stories, so it was so but get out really working with Jordan Peel was such I took a lot what he did and and brought it into what I did with this film.
SPEAKER_01Actually, I got a quick personal question before you go. So I know I connect with you as an autism parent. I'm a mom of three with two of my youngest having autism. As a comedian, is it easy to find the joy in laughter for the day-to-day with your awesome with our awesome babies?
SPEAKER_09You had to like well, my comedy has always been based on my life, so like the newer material I've been doing about it, I had to get comfortable with it because I think you know what we don't talk about most of the time when you when you have to own what's going on for real as a parent. I think every day you wake up like like you just want them to pop up, and then everything is just you know, yeah, and you go through the reality of it, it's like nah, it's not gonna happen like that. And you know, some shout out to Holly Robinson Pete.
SPEAKER_01Shout out to Holly Robinson.
SPEAKER_09I did we did the um that the Lego show on Fox. And man, I got a chance to sit with her, and she don't know how much she but her and Tisha Campbell really blessed blessed me in a way where I just being very transparent and open so I so I can get more comfortable because what I understood was and even one of one of one of my bonus daughters did this. She was like, I saw her land on the floor with my son one day, and I'm like, Damn, you just go in his world, you know what I'm saying? Stop trying to make him whatever because this ain't this really this really ain't the best thing, best exact. They they're they're laying like they're really just laser focused, you know what I'm saying? And so if you go into their world, you understand things a lot more.
SPEAKER_01So happier in their world too, they don't care about a lot of things that we we care about too much.
SPEAKER_09But it's some funny man, because it's me and a couple other comedians, it's it's cats really starting to write some funny stuff to this, and it's crazy because you wouldn't believe how many other parents is like when I started doing it on stage recently, it kills it like it's been killing, like you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_01You know, you gotta find the laughter in our pain a little bit.
SPEAKER_09You gotta and do it the right way. I think that's what's great about comedy. I think you know, people think you can't talk about stuff, but you can talk about anything if you make it funny. The problem is people be doing stuff and saying stuff that's not funny.
SPEAKER_01I think you even know what what is there to find it to make it.
SPEAKER_09You gotta because you gotta have real hard in it. Like people just saying hateful stuff don't know how to find a funny in it. You're right.
SPEAKER_01Well, I know you have to go. I really appreciate you for stopping by with us. And you gotta tell everybody who is your favorite new podcast.
SPEAKER_09Damn, you have a book.
SPEAKER_01Yes, you gotta record.
SPEAKER_09Hold on, I gotta do the right drop, so I don't want to mess this up. All right, right over there. I know, but like what wait, what's the name of the club?
SPEAKER_01Session 35 podcast. Here we go.
SPEAKER_09You know what? Y'all ready? You know what's my favorite podcast? Oh, what am I looking at? This camera, right here. Oh, he wouldn't even he wasn't even recording.
SPEAKER_03We love okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_09I just got done doing one of my favorite podcasts. That's right, session 35. This is where you should be listening to. These ladies are amazing, and they are the voice of the culture.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, y'all heard it. Y'all heard it. We inside me here. We appreciate you so much for talking about seeing us.
SPEAKER_09Thank y'all so much. Thank you so much, real. Thank y'all for coming too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's important for having it on us. Thank you.
Closing Thanks And Afterparty Jokes
SPEAKER_01Y'all, we just need to do this. Y'all believe it. I'm so excited. Y'all, you can check in. I don't even want to know what we do.
SPEAKER_06I don't even want to know. We ain't, I don't want to know. Well, hi, I'm Kira from Session 35, and I just want to thank everyone for joining in tonight on our special night. This was very amazing to experience this, and I want to say we had a blast. For me, I was very nervous, but I'm happy that I got here and experienced this.
SPEAKER_01I'm Jennifer. I just want to thank everybody for coming out and chatting with us. This was most definitely a good experience, and we'll see y'all next time. And I am Keila, everybody. Thanks for tuning in with us. I had a wonderful experience. I can't wait for many, many more. We I think we all was nervous. I was definitely nervous. So I can't believe who we all interview. I'm excited. I am so excited. We got a chance to make some great connections tonight, y'all. For our first, I think we did a really well job. So, just what an incredible night. So, I want to thank all the actors who stopped by and kicked it with us. And we're looking forward to the next premiere because this ain't this the first one, but it definitely ain't the last one. So, thanks for tuning in with y'all for Session 35 Podcast. I know I'm Crystal, and we are out.
SPEAKER_10When the ghost went inside of me. Hey, yo, pause. Guys, you are silly. Look, I'm just saying, when a ghost came inside of me, or you're gonna double down on that. Never pause on it.
SPEAKER_09Ghost in the mirror and up.
SPEAKER_01Alright. Yeah, all right. Oh, that was so awesome. You girl, me.