May 2003
Daddy Day Care : An Interview with Regina King
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May 2003
Daddy Day Care : An Interview with Regina King
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| (May: Main Page * Features * Reviews * Screenings * Teen ) Current Issue * Archive |
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Interviewed by Lakesha
Cash
 Daddy
Day Care: An Interview with Regina KingAs Mother’s Day approaches, fathers will have a treat taking their kids
to see Daddy Day Care, a hilarious comedy film featuring Eddie
Murphy. Playing his wife and mother to their son is Regina King. Playing
the mother role is nothing new for her for Regina “completed” Cuba Gooding
Jr.’s character in “erry Maguire. Later this summer, she will star
with Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde 2 and is currently shooting
Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story with Jamie Fox. In an interview
with blackfilm.com, Regina King talks about her role in Daddy
Day Care, her other projects, and the roles of black actresses
in the industry. LC: How’s it going? RK: It’s going great. The film is going awesome. It’s just an incredible experience. I’m talking about Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles story. LC: What happened when he [referring to Jamie Foxx] got back after the incident? RK: Actually, I was there for the incident. You can’t actually believe everything that you read or write. I will just say you have to be asked to leave some place to refuse to leave. LC: What does that mean? RK: It means that he wasn’t asked to leave. He was not asked to leave. He wasn’t even asked for his ID. I was actually asked for my ID. I think that I’m not supposed to actually talk about it because I don’t know what, legally is happening with it right now. But it’s just unfortunate. But that’s New Orleans. It’s a corrupt little city. LC: Diedra Dixon, his sister was really mad? RK: Well I mean, what can you do? I mean the press has power to do that. LC: But he was arrested for scuffling with police officers, wasn’t he? RK: Well I mean, if you’re grabbed and you don’t know who you’re being grabbed by, you know? Me personally, I know what a LAPD officer looks like but I don’t know what New Orleans PD looks like. LC: And they drive in trucks down there, in concealed cars. RK: It’s really a corrupt city. It’s just an unfortunate situation. But it’s not affecting our shoot at all. Jamie is an incredible guy. I just have to say it’s really just weird. Jamie’s a person that’s never been in trouble ever, we’ve never seen him in a light in any way other than just with another beautiful woman on his side. That’s it. You think he’s guilty of anything? And then that’s it. And then all of a sudden bam! You know? LC: This role (Daddy Day Care) is a bit of a departure for
you. We’re used to seeing you as the nice, RK: Slightly naughty (laugh). Yes I am slightly naughty. But
once again I’m a strong woman. I have to be that. But that’s one
of the things when I auditioned for this role, I was like, “I gotta
get it, I gotta do this” because unlike this film, I was not
expecting to actually play a wife for quite some time. I kinda
decided I wasn’t going to play a wife, I needed to kinda back off
being the mother because it seems like that’s all people want me to
do, which is a compliment in itself because people are saying you
do it well. But when I met Eddie at a concert and he said that he
wanted to do this movie with me so I’m not going to tell Eddie
Murphy no. That’s an awesome opportunity so that’s how I changed
my mind about being a wife and a mother. I didn’t want to be a
wife and a mother soon but the wife of Eddie Murphy and the mother,
kinda put a different spin on things. LC: So you’re like America’s mom because it’s been well, Eddie, Cuba, yeah you’re America’s mom. RK: I know. I know. I read in one of the Hip Hop magazines that I’m the “ultimate wifey.” LC: Well there’s nothing wrong with that. And you’ve done it so well. But what role would you really like to play now. Obviously you’ve done this and people call you for that and that can go on for a long time too, which is a good thing. RK: It’s a good thing you know, hey, if it came down to I need a job and I would rather need the job and it’d be the role to “well we know we can have her be the wife” opposed to “well she can be the ho’” so I would not totally turn my back on it. LC: But what role do you want to play? RK: Like any woman that’s a strong physical woman, of course I’d love to do something athletic and just show my strength physically. But I’m really interested in doing something with a group of women, powerful actresses like myself, black actresses more specifically, that’s like “The Hours” or something like that. I’d like to do something with like Latifah and Angela Bassett, just strong, character, driven, heartfelt film.
RK: I’m on the mission now. I am currently looking for those
stories and researching them and I do have a couple that are there but
aren’t developed yet. That’s kinda the hard part in this business when
something’s not developed. No one wants to write something for free and
the studio, if they don’t see it, they don’t want to buy it. They can’t
visualize it, they won’t buy it. It comes to dollars and cents and they
don’t really believe that. But women sell, and especially black women;
that’s even double. But we know that we do, we’ve seen it happen i.e.
Queen Latifah, just most recently Bringing Down The House sold.
Right now the door is open, you know, so I put in a doorstop. LC: Just recently, Halle Berry was on Good Morning America, and basically said, in essence, the problem with black actors and black females is that there really is no problem anymore, that the door is open. Do you really agree with that? Are there no issues anymore? RK: No it might not be a problem for her anymore and that’s a wonderful thing. The less problems there are for individual actress of color, the better it is for us as a group. But you know, every situation is not always for the people. Sometimes it’s an individual thing and you’ve gotta do what you gotta do for yourself and hope that, that’s going to spread, that it’s gonna open things for others. LC: Larry Elder, I was listening to his show by chance and he brought it up, I think his philosophy is there really are no more racial problems, prejudicial problems for black people in this country. That’s basically his philosophy. So I’m asking you as a black woman in the business, I mean are we putting restraints on ourselves by that kind of thinking or does it really exist in a world that maybe Larry Elder has left. RK: In Larry Elder’s world, that maybe so. That’s wonderful that Larry Elder has experienced that. That is great for him. Seriously, if he can actually say that then, that’s his experience. LC: My point is Larry Elder tells a lot of people that, primarily white people, and he affects a lot of attitudes. This is no joke now.
LC: I would not take him lightly. I really wouldn’t. This guy is syndicated all over the country. He has people listening. RK: Yea. He’ll probably crucify me when this comes out. LC: I’m not saying that he’s some kind of disciple and that people are going to follow his every heeding but he’s talking to people who like what he’s saying. And there are millions of people who like to hear what he’s saying. RK: Yea, there are millions of people out there who like to hear what he’s saying but, right now, they aren’t the general consumers. The general consumers are younger than that, the ones who are actually going out and buying the movies and going to see the movies, don’t really know who Larry Elder is. LC: But I think the real question, at least what I get from
that is, when I see Legally Blonde 2, I think of RK: But you’re right, no. Like I said earlier, there’s a
doorstop in the door right now. The whisper of the possibility is
there. I just think that there definitely are more opportunities
but it’s still a “good time struggle” for us. You know what I
mean? I’m not like, I can’t believe she’s getting 15 million for a
movie and she’s just done this one thing. That’s what it is. I’m
really happy and I really do love my life and I have an incredible
husband and little boy that are my world. So I can’t hold on my
back that, man we don’t get any breaks because we do, and we’re
going to get more and I think all of us are trying to work to
create more. LC: Talk about Legally Blonde 2 for just a little bit, we didn’t see anyone of color in Legally Blonde. RK: That’s why I said about Larry Elder that I don’t think that many people take him that seriously because the director of Legally Blonde 2 and Reese Witherspoon, the character I was actually playing was actually written for a white woman and they wanted me. They saw Regina King play this part. LC: But you can say that proves his point. RK: No it doesn’t prove his point. That proves that they recognize a talented person and that they think I was the best person for the job. But that doesn’t mean that I can go get a movie green lit. That means that Reese Witherspoon and Charlie [director of Legally Blonde 2] recognize great talent. But neither Charlie nor Reese are financing films.
RK: In Legally Blonde 2, I play the chief of staff for
Congresswoman Rudd who’s played by Sally Field, an actress who I
adore and seeing her work at a young age was one of the reasons
that I knew that being an actress was something I wanted to do. I
had been doing it all my life but not necessarily getting paid for
it, just entertaining the family. My character is similar to the
Selma Blair character in the vein that she is the nemesis to Elle,
Reese Witherspoon’s character. Elle comes to Washington with her
blonde ambition and my character is like “you gotta be kidding me.”
And a lot of great stories just kinda come out. They’ve pretty
much followed the same pattern of Legally Blonde and it’s funny.
It’s got some hilarious stuff in there; her dog ends up being gay.
It’s really funny. It’s a funny, entertaining film. I think this
one, unlike the other one, is not about the big moral at the end of
the day, but it is a movie that encourages people to follow their
voice and make sure they have their voices heard. LC: Mother’s Day is coming up next weekend and actually just in time for this film to open. Being a mommy, what is your big wish for Mother’s Day? What do you want? What will you be giving and how do you really think this movie will be received opening up on Mother’s Day weekend? RK: Well, I wish for Mother’s Day, that the schedule of this movie will change so I don’t have to work on Mother’s Day. I’m flying my mom into New Orleans to be with me on Mother’s Day. And I think that this movie is going to be huge because it’s in between two really big action films and two totally different audiences. And just the climate at my son’s school, that’s all the kids are talking about, Daddy Day Care. They are not talking about X-men. They are, but they are seriously ready to see this movie. LC: How old is your son now? RK: He’s 7. And the school goes from Kindergarten to 8th grade. And these kids have never ever noticed me before and now the 8th graders are like, “can’t wait to see Daddy Day Care. It looks funny man!” So they’re excited about it so I think it’ll be good. Mom’s, most of the time, don’t want to see the movies their kids want to see and I think this is one of those films that at the end of the film, everyone’s like, “remember that part when he burped and the bubbles came out?” Everyone will have a nice little memory, a nice little chuckle inside of them. LC: To go back to what we were talking about earlier about you being every mom. What are the attributes that you feel that you embody that makes people, over and over again select you to play the wife, to play the mother, to play that person? RK: I think part of it is being a mom and a wife in real life and just knowing what my husband is needing and how much I’ve had to change from being a single independent woman to a wife. It’s a major change. And I think that a lot of actresses are single and are not aware of the sacrifices and changes that you do make in becoming a wife and a mom. Especially a wife, man! I’m not even talking about that you don’t even have any other partner; I’m talking about the day to day sacrifices that you make. So probably, not saying that any other actresses aren’t great at what they do, but it might be just that one little thing is more believable because I actually do experience it day to day. LC: What does spirituality mean to you and how do you practice that? I mean weighing all these sacrifices, motherhood, wifedom, and a verging career. I would think there’d have to be something that keeps you a little more grounded with yourself. RK: Well I think your spiritual foundations starts from a child, from your family, your mom usually is the one that, not necessarily creates it but brings it to your attention. To let you know about it, to let you know that you have it, lets you know what it is when you’re feeling it because a lot of times, you feel it. As children we feel some moments when we’re spiritually charged but we don’t know what it is until someone defines it for you. I just think when your heart and your mind and spirit are aligned, you’re always spiritually grounded.
RK: Oh wow, probably right now, working on this Ray Charles
story. Jamie and I just shot a scene and afterwards we just like
held each other, like wow. I can’t tell you because it’s going to
give up the movie, but it’s just this moment in the movie where my
character and his character have just gone as far as we can go and
we have to leave each other and it’s sad, it’s strong. We knew it
was going to be a big scene but until you’re in it and everything
is bursting out of you and afterwards it’s just like “whew, damn we
did that man, boy, whew, did they say lunch?” LC: Eddie Murphy has become really good at playing these characters where he’s a father, or just a goofy kind of a guy, based on where he came from, is this where he belongs? RK: Oh, without a doubt! He’s given me the opportunity to know how powerful it is. Although I know how much my child loves these children movies, but the fact that his mom is in one right now, you should see just how his eyes just light up. Before the commercial of a movie that I’m in would come on and it wasn’t really that much of a big deal. But this movie, and it’s Daddy Day Care and it’s about the daddy. He just loves it. And he loves all of Eddie Murphy’s movies, Dr. Dolittle, we have to buy the DVDs when they come out. So I’m grateful for him to be a black man giving our children that person, their favorite dad, their favorite funny guy. You know? He knows it. He knows what he’s doing. That man got five kids. He knows what he’s doing. LC: Thanks RK: Thank You |
| (May: Main Page * Features * Reviews * Screenings * Teen ) Current Issue * Archive |
professional,
outstanding wife and you get a chance to play slightly naughty. 
RK:
That’s why I said everything for some people is an individual thing and
I think that there are times when you must approach things as an individual
and do what’s best for you. But then there are moments when you do, as
people of color, have to look at the bigger picture and think about things
that we say before we say them. I actually read an article, not too long
ago, in USA Today, where the producer/director of Deliver Us From Eva
said that now if he goes into a studio and he says that he has Gabrielle
Union or Vivica Fox attached to a project, it will be green lit. That’s
not true. It might happen at certain studios, but that’s not true. He
can’t walk into Universal and just because he has Vivica Fox attached
to the project, they’re gonna say, “alright, yeah let’s do it.” That’s
not true. And you are right, when you do make some of those statements,
some people that aren’t black or the people who actually have the money
to do everything think “oh well, you know, it’s not that bad.” So you
are right, we do have to be responsible for some of the things that we
say or think about them before we say them, or say them within our own
groups and let us talk about it and hatch it out between each other before
we make certain statements. I don’t know, I don’t think most people take
Larry Elder too seriously. I don’t think so. I think a lot of white people,
not to just single out white people, at least the ones I know personally,
don’t really take him that seriously. To the point that some of the things
that they say, they’ll even say “did you hear what uh” - and of course
they’re gonna ask me ‘cause I’m black and he’s black - “what he said about.
. .” I don’t remember. It may have something else silly that he said not
too long ago. But I don’t think people really take him that seriously. 
Regina
and I don’t think of Reese because I’m not going to be interviewing Reese.
She’s not my audience. And I think the question at least for me would
be, is it possible today, as you are same age, for you to have the kind
of career this girl has had when your credits and resume are certainly
just as and if not more so, impressive and that’s the question. Has Halle’s
success, her win, has it truly broken the glass? Has Halle been offered
the contract to do ten movies the way Alicia Silverstone was after Clueless?
After doing almost probably a billion dollars at the box office, is Regina
able to go in the studio and say “I want to do a movie on Bessie Coleman,
I need $50 million?”
LC:
Can you talk about it [Legally Blonde 2]?
LC:
Regina, what moment stands out in your illustrious career ‘cause you’ve
got so many things and worked with so many great people? But is there
that one moment that stands out when you say “wow that was really awesome?”