'Black-ish' Star Marsai Martin And Mega-Producer Will Packer On The Melanated Magic Of 'Little'

Marsai Martin’s portrayal of the precocious and witty Diane Johnson on ABC's Black-ish has been brilliant since she premiered on the show in 2014. However, Martin has had her sights set on the big screen since the beginning. The Texas native was just ten years old when she approached Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and Hollywood mega-producer Will Packer with an idea for her very own film — the body-swap comedy, Little.

"It was me, mommy, and daddy, we were actually talking about the movies that they're watching back in the day,” she explained to Shadow and Act during a visit to the Little set on a hot day in July 2018. "One of my mom's favorite movies growing up was Big. That's where it all started and then we just started brainstorming and thinking about how it could be turned into a Black Girl Magic-type of situation."

Will Packer remembered that meeting and what compelled him to back the film and subsequently pitch it to Universal. "It’s crazy, what were we doing when we were ten years old?!" the Night School producer said. "I could see the movie even back then. It’s interesting because it’s Hollywood, it takes time to get a movie going, and because she is on Black-ish we could only shoot during her hiatus which is a certain time every year. She pitched it when she was ten, so we tried to get it ready to hit her hiatus when she was 11, but the script wasn’t ready. We tried again when she was 12, but the actors we wanted —their availabilities didn’t line up. Then I was like 'Yo! This is the last chance, she’s going to get too old and the movie won’t work.' Fortunately, we got it done just in time and I’m glad because as a teen, she’s able to embody the character differently. It’s funnier now — it’s edgier."

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Photo Credit: Eli Joshua Ade/Universal Pictures

Photo Credit: Eli Joshua Ade/Universal Pictures

Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Producer Will Packer and Director Malcolm D. Lee Talk The Cleverly Crafted 'Night School' →

Life comes at you fast, which is certainly the case for Kevin Hart’s character Teddy in the new Will Packer-produced comedy, Night School. Teddy is a high school dropout, whose charisma and impressive salesman abilities have allowed him to create a precariously built life of luxury with the woman of his dreams, Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke). However, his world crumbles under his feet when he finds himself out of a job without a degree or any other skills to fall back on. Determined to keep up the facade of his luxe lifestyle, Teddy turns to a night school class and a no-nonsense teacher named Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) — with the hopes of finally earning his GED. With electrifying chemistry between Hart and Haddish and a fantastic supporting cast that includes Romany Malco, Keith David and Insecure’s Yvonne Orji, it’s clear that after Think Like A Man, Ride Along and The Wedding Ringer, the Hart/Packer machine is just getting the ball rolling.

Shortly before Night School's premiere at Urbanworld 2018, Shadow and Act sat down to chat with Packer, the film's director Malcolm D. Lee, Hart, and Haddish. After many years of friendship, the actors were finally able to work together on a film, something they talked about extensively when they were coming up through the comedy clubs of Los Angeles.

Hart and Packer had been working on the concept for Night School for quite some time, but the final script came together just as the frenzy surrounding Girls Trip was kicking into high gear.

"Kevin and I were developing," Packer revealed. "This is his first time producing a movie, so he and I produced it together. This is our seventh movie together, but we did not have a director. Malcolm and I had just finished Girls Trip, and I showed Kevin an early cut of the film. He loved it and said, 'Let's go get Malcolm Lee.'"

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