Essence Atkins & Golden Brooks Talk Black Love, Sisterhood And Redefining The Leading Lady

There is a certain striking elegance that Essence Atkins and Golden Brooks carry with them. For a pair of Black women who have been in Hollywood for three decades — it’s an earned grace and an assuredness that has in many ways allowed them to transcend that confining and often confounding label of leading lady. When speaking with them, just a couple of weeks away from the debut of their latest film, Coins Forever, Atkins and Brooks are stunning, vulnerable, and warm.

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Photo Credit: Michael Rowe / for HelloBeautiful

Exclusive First-Look: TV One's 'When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story' domestic violence PSA

Ahead of the premiere of TV One’s new original film, When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story the cast and crew are speaking out about the horrors of domestic violence. Based on a popular episode of TV One's  For My Man, When Love Kills depicts the true life tragedy of a teen mom in Atlanta who found herself the victim of mind manipulation and physical abuse at the hands of a man who was supposed to love her. Instead, he got her entangled in a life of stripping, prostitution, robbery and eventually, murder. “When I was 14, I dropped out of school – a lot of people don’t know that. By the age of 16, I was bartending in a strip club, by the age of 20 I was stripping…so I understand how Falicia got there,” says film director Tasha Smith. “By the grace of God, I ended up here, but she ended up in jail for the rest of her life.”

Before Falicia was convicted of murder, she was a young girl looking for love and validation in all the wrong places. In an effort to reinforce the film’s underlying message that real love doesn’t hurt, TV One, in partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, will air a public service announcement during the film presentation.

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Interview: Pooch Hall On TV One's 'Media' & Playing A Certain Type Of Villain

In the upcoming TV One film, “Media,” Pooch Hall stars as Clay Jones, the eldest son, and CEO of Jones Universal Media Properties (JUMP). Hot-headed and determined to succeed at any cost, Clay attempts to keep a tight reign on his family’s empire in the midst of his mother’s; founder Jackie Jones (Penny Johnson Jerald) interventions as well as his siblings’ various indiscretions that lead to revenge, betrayal and a devastating tragedy. Brian White, Chrystee Pharris, Blue Kimble, Gary Dourdan, Stephen Bishop and Finesse Mitchell also star.

Produced my media mogul and Radio One founder Cathy Hughes, “Media” provides an inside look into just how ruthless family-owned business can be. I recently spoke with Pooch Hall about the upcoming TV One film which is also serving as a backdoor pilot for a potential series. We spoke about the film’s parallels to “The Godfather” trilogy, playing a particular type of villain and what he has coming up next.

Aramide Tinubu: Hi Pooch, how are you?

Pooch Hall: I’m pretty good sweetheart, and yourself?

AT: I’m great, thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today about “Media.”

PH: Oh sure, of course.

AT: Clay Jones is a very different character than Derwin from “The Game” or even Daryll from “Ray Donovan.” He’s quite unlike anyone you’ve ever played before; he’s very brutal and manipulative. How did you prepare for this role?

PH: It was really getting familiar with the material for one. And, I recognized the family dynamic because it felt so similar to “The Godfather.” I watched “The Godfather,” studied Sonny, and I recognized some of those elements in my character. I just really looked at that film and saw Sonny’s confidence and lack of fear as the eldest son, and I just tried to do my character justice as far making him believable and entertaining and having layers. Anyone can play a bad guy or a tough guy, but if it’s not believable, then no one is going to buy it. I’m also extremely family oriented, and I have brothers and sisters, so I just took from that.

AT: Certainly! Why did you decide to join the cast of “Media?” What was it about this project aside from those references to “The Godfather” that made you want to be a part of it?

PH: I’m a big fan of Mrs. Cathy Hughes and her story of starting from the bottom and working her way up; just seeing a strong Black woman in our community. When I first heard about this project I just thought, “Wow, this is so interesting.” I knew all of the work she’d put in because of her reputation so; I got the script, I read it and liked it. The role was something very different for me. That’s what really attracted me to the project.

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Interview: The Cast of TV One’s ‘Bad Dad Rehab’ Talk Fatherhood, Finding Their Characters & Social Responsibility

My father was not perfect. A Nigerian immigrant born in the late ‘40s, he had his work cut out for him raising two little girls on the South Side of Chicago during the ‘90s. Naturally we butted heads quite often. Some days our arguments stemmed from our cultural differences, other days it was simply normal tensions that brew between daughters and their fathers. Despite all this, there are memories that I have of him that will remain with me until the day I take my last breath. From school science projects and “Harry Potter”, to my love and obsession for films, my father was pivotal in molding me into the woman that I am now. When I laid him to rest on a bitterly cold day the year I turned twenty-three, I knew that despite everything, he’d done the best that he could. Unfortunately, there are millions of people, especially in the Black community that cannot say the same about their fathers.

TV One’s original film “Bad Dad Rehab” follows four fathers whose parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. On their journey to do better, the men find themselves enrolled in a focus group that supports men as they strive to become better fathers and overall human beings.  Ahead of its July 3rd premiere, I had the opportunity to chat with film star and producer Malik Yoba. I also spoke with the majority of the gentlemen in the cast, Robert Ri’chard, Rob Riley and Rick Gonzalez. Wesley Jonathan also stars in the film. We chatted about finding their way into their characters, the pain of broken families, and the fear of fathering.

Aramide Tinubu: Hello gentleman, it’s fantastic to be chatting with you all today about your upcoming film with TV One, “Bad Dad Rehab”. Mr. Yoba, I know you were really inspired to be a part of this film because you started a foundation when your daughter was born to make sure that fathers knew their rights. What inspired you to create that foundation to give fathers, and specifically fathers of color a voice?

Malik Yoba: I think a lot of it just comes from my own relationship with my father. My father was very present, very domineering; he was a very strict presence so he always pointed out how lot of my friends didn’t have their fathers around. He was a determined cat, so I come to it naturally in terms of wanting to help people and that sort of thing. Becoming a father myself and realizing the lack of resources inspired me. I knew that it was a problem and I’m a self-starter and entrepreneur, so I always looked at opportunities in both the non-profit and for profit space to create products and services for men. Reading this film, it was so close to a piece that I’d written. Literally, Rick [Gonzalez]’s character in my film was this Latino guy who has a kid against his wishes and he’s a barber.

AT: Oh wow, that’s exactly who Rick’s character Pierre is.

MY: Yeah, it was that close, it was just one of those things. I was grateful that I woke up to a text message from my manager saying you have an offer to star in this film. It was just one of those things that you know you have to do, and I’m just glad that everyone else felt the same way. It’s been such a good thing, not just producing the film, but also working with TV One to market the film as well. It’s been very important to me to be involved in how the message is conveyed to the consumer. It just made sense all the way around.

AT: Wonderful! Mr. Gonzalez, I’d love to chat more about your character Pierre. Where did you draw your inspiration to play him from, and where do you think his fear of becoming a father comes from?

Rick Gonzalez: My daughter is about to turn three-years-old and for me, the experience of being a dad is very spiritual and arriving at this character was very spiritual. I really wanted to understand why Pierre would turn his back on the responsibility of raising his child. I had to understand how that made me feel personally, and then I had to do the homework on understanding why Pierre would do that. I really had to put my feet in his shoes in order to feel that, and to see where that would lead me. Pierre’s emotional scenes were shot in the final two days of filming so that helped as well, because I was able to go on this journey with him the entire time until I arrived at the climax.

AT: That must have been extremely emotional for you.

RG: Yes, each father in this film had to recognize their truth. I think recognizing their truth and owning it is where their healing began. So that’s how I got into what Pierre was thinking. At the premiere at American Black Film Festival, we all talked about why we cared about these characters, and I said that this was ordained for me. For me to be a dad now, and to take on Pierre I think it was the perfect thing. Each character in this film recognizes the mechanisms that are inside of them that makes them turn away from enjoying the act of being a dad. We really felt that our writer Kiki [2015 TV One Screenplay Competition winner Keronda “Kiki” McKnight] had a good hold on the commentary and the truth of what these dads were going through. I think that this film really spoke to all of us.

AT: Fantastic! Mr. Ri’chard I know that you play Tristan, can you talk about who he is?

Robert Ri’chard: Yes, I play Tristan. He’s the classic deadbeat dad. He has five kids, four baby mamas, three cell phones, and two hundred sneakers. The film sort of opens on Tristan and you can see that in society how a lot of men glorify self-preservation and selfishness. Over time with Tristan, we discover where that comes from. That’s the beauty about “Bad Dad Rehab.” So many guys have the nicest car or the best sneakers or the most fly haircut, but you don’t see them being responsible with their seed. We get to examine that. It’s like, how are you glorifying yourself and not taking care of the most precious thing in your life?

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Image: Bad Dad Rehab/TV One

Interview: Miki Howard, Teyonah Parris and Director Christine Swanson Talk TV One’s ‘Love Under New Management’

There are some songs that when played, take us back to a specific time or place.  Miki Howard’s “Come Share My Love” reminds me of my childhood; riding in the car with my mother while Miki’s stunning voice smoothly glided out of the radio. For years, I never knew much about the songstress herself. However, when TV One’s “Unsung“ episode surrounding Miki Howard aired in 2010, I along with the rest of the world, was enraptured not just by her stunning music and success, but also by her turbulent personal life.

As a result of the overwhelmingly positive reception surrounding Ms. Howard’s story, and in celebration of Black Music Month, TV One is debuting their first ever Unsung-inspired biopic, “Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story”. Directed by Christine Swanson, and with Teyonah Parris starring as Miki Howard, the film is set to premiere on TV One, Sunday, June 12 at 7pm ET.

Along with Parris, the star-studded cast includes, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Gary Dourdan, LisaRaye McCoy and Darius McCrary as the late Gerald Levert.  Leading up to the film’s premiere, I got the opportunity to chat first with director, Christine Swanson and then with Teyonah Parris and Ms. Miki Howard about the film, creating a special bond, surviving and the music that runs throughout the story.

Aramide Tinubu: Ms. Swanson, I’ve admired you since your feature film debut, “All About You”. You’ve done amazing projects in the past with TV One, but “Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” is different because it is biographical. What was that experience like for you, and how did you come aboard the film as director?

Christine Swanson: I was hired by the network to direct the movie. This kind of biopic based on someone’s life who is living is obviously a little intimidating. Then when I actually met Miki Howard, that was a little intimidating.  She’s just this music icon in my opinion, because when I was growing up, Miki Howard was the soundtrack to my youth.  Just interfacing with that pivotal person from your youth, added to the fact that I had to tell her story, was kind of nerve wrecking on a number of different levels.  Mostly, I just wanted to honor her legacy properly in a way that was pleasing to her.

AT: Oh certainly.

CS: Then of course, when you’re doing a movie for a network you have to please the network. However, you also have to have a specific directorial vision. Just balancing all of that was a very fun challenge. It was difficult, but it was really a delight for me, because I’m a director and I love story telling. To tell Miki’s story the way we did… the movie doesn’t do justice to her life. We come close to showing what a breath of fresh air she is. However, there was a lot more of her story that I wish I could have told, like in a miniseries or something.  But, I think we packed a whole lot in a short amount of time.

AT: Oh yes, you really did. You got those thirty years that were essential to understanding Miki personally, while getting a grasp on the trajectory of her career. You just discussed navigating your way through your particular vision, what TV One wanted and what Miki wanted. How did you decide what parts of Miki’s life were most important to show and which parts to leave out?

CS: Let’s just say that the story wrote itself in terms of everything that’s in there. It’s all from Miki Howard. Her initial story was based on a self-published unreleased autobiography. It was used as source material for the script. When I received the script, I was kind of perplexed about how to approach it, but I knew that I had to talk to Miki. So initially when I met Miki Howard right out of the bat, we spent over fifty-hours just talking on the telephone.  In talking with her, it was as if someone stuck a syringe needle in my vain. It was as if someone had shocked me with a potent dose of Miki Howard. That became the inspiration that I used to infuse her story. I just felt like I was a conduit for her story. I balanced all of it by knowing that I wanted to hear Miki’s voice. I was always like “Who are you? Tell me about yourself. You did this, what did you think about this? How did that turn out? How did you get here?” Just getting all of that from Miki was really the main motivation and the main driving force behind the story. It’s all Miki. If you talk to Miki she would say that she loves this movie because every bit of it comes from her.

AT: That’s wonderful, it’s such a privilege, to be able to tell your own story.

CS: I know, and that was my only goal. I was like if Miki ain’t happy then I failed. And you know, the network was very supportive in telling a really good biopic because this is their first, and they wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be their last. They said to me, “Whatever you need, just make a good movie.” Because of that, they gave me they best actress on the planet right now.

AT: Yes, Teyonah is amazing!

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Image: TV One